St Lawrence Academy, Scunthorpe Explained

The St Lawrence Academy
Coordinates:	53.5909°N -0.6652°W
Head Label:	Head teacher
Head:	Matt Hire
Address:	Doncaster Road
Country:	England
Postcode:	DN15 7DF
Dfeno:	813/6905
Urn:	135674
Ofsted:	requires improvement
Enrolment:	807 students
Lower Age:	11
Upper Age:	16
Website:	http://tsla.realsmartcloud.com

The St Lawrence Academy (formerly High Ridge School) is a coeducational Church of England secondary school with academy status, in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England.^[1] The Academy teaches GCSEs and BTECs,^[2] and has specialisms in sports and science.^[3]

History

Grammar school

Scunthorpe Grammar School opened in 1927.^[4]

A 34 year old senior English teacher, Mr Caine, killed himself, possibly accidentally, on 7 July 1964, being found by policeman James Martin.^{[5] [6] [7]}

32 year old history teacher Geoffrey Stevenson was the Liberal candidate for Gainsborough in the 1966 general election, gaining around 6,000 votes.^{[8] [9] [10]}

It became a comprehensive, as High Ridge School, in 1968 when the Scunthorpe division of Lindsey turned comprehensive.^[11] The school lost its sixth form in 1968.

Comprehensive

In August 1971 ten swimmers from the comprehensive school attempted a relay crossing of the English Channel.^[12]

Technical staff, who were educated at the former Scunthorpe Grammar school, were killed in the notorious Flixborough explosion in June 1974, such as 27 year old Michael Skelton.^[13]

A community school administered by North Lincolnshire Council, High Ridge School converted to academy status on 1 September 2008 and was renamed The St Lawrence Academy. The school is sponsored by the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln.^[14]

In 2011 demolition of the old building began and construction started as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme. The new building was built by May Gurney and was completed in October 2013. The old hall is refurbished but still remains.

Headteachers

Scunthorpe Grammar School

• John Mclver from c.1950 to 1968

High Ridge School

• Gerald Derek Fish, until around 1984^[15], he lived at Scotter^[16], and he taught at Westcliffe Secondary Modern School in the 1950s^[17]
• Mrs Ann Marsh-Edwards, from November 1984^[18] ; in March 1996 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer^{[19] [20]} and died aged 53 on 15 November 1997^{[21] [22]}
• Eric Barker, from March 1996, the former deputy head, he retired at the end of May 1998 after 30 years at the school ^[23]
• Karen Parsonage, from September 1998 until July 2008, the former deputy head, and a squash player, from Scotter^[24] and an English teacher^[25], she had previously taught at the Havelock Comprehensive in Grimsby^[26]

Notable alumni

• Neil Cox, former Premier League footballer

Scunthorpe Grammar School

• Roy Axe, car designer with Chrysler Europe in the 1970s, designing the Talbot Horizon and Alpine, later working for Austin Rover Group in the late 1980s
• Prof Gordon Dougan FRS, Head of Pathogen Research at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridgeshire
• Stephen Edmundson (born 1950), senior cardiac surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust, and the National Heart Hospital, and the last head boy of the grammar school; he played for England youth football team^{[27] [28]}
• Ric Parker CBE FREng, Director of Research and Technology from 2001–16 at Rolls-Royce (at High Ridge from 1968)
• John Peck (politician), can be seen in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, who belonged to the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB)
• David Plowright, CBE, television producer, younger brother of Joan, Controller of Programmes from 1969–79 at Granada Television (which helped his brother-in-law)
• Dame Joan Plowright, actress, married to Laurence Olivier from 1961 to his death in July 1989
• Major-General Dennis Shaw CB CBE, Head from 1975-78 of the Commando Logistic Regiment
• Graham Taylor OBE, former manager from 1990-93 of England
• Michael Tomlinson (engineer) FICE FIStructE, Chairman from 1969-71 of the British Geotechnical Association, who researched soil mechanics, groundwater control and design of piles^[29] who lived at Burton upon Stather
• Allen Wade, Notts County footballer, PE lecturer at Loughborough University, until 1962, then technical director of the FA from 1962 to 1982, when aged 36
• Prof Stephen Westaby FRCS, Senior Cardiac Surgeon since 1986 at the John Radcliffe Hospital, and Professor of Biomedical Sciences since 2006 at the University of Wales

External links

• The St Lawrence Academy official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: St Lawrence Academy Location. tsla.realsmartcloud.com.
2. Web site: St Lawrence Academy - Subjects offered. tsla.realsmartcloud.com.
3. Web site: Specialisms. termdates.com.
4. http://www.briggensians.net/thelibrary/BGSTO1969.pdf The History of Brigg Grammar School by F. Henthorn (PDF)
5. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Wednesday 8 July 1964, page 1
6. Lincolnshire Echo Friday 10 July 1964, page 1
7. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Saturday 11 July 1964, page 6
8. Gainsborough Evening News Tuesday 26 October 1965, page 1
9. Lincolnshire Echo Wednesday 27 October 1965, page 10
10. Retford News Friday 29 October 1965, page 11
11. Web site: North Lincolnshire Museum Image Archive: Doncaster Road, Scunthorpe, looking east, with the former Scunthorpe Grammar School on the left, c.1960's. 13 October 2016.
12. Grimsby Evening Telegraph Monday 16 August 1971, page 10
13. Gainsborough Evening News Tuesday 4 June 1974, page 1
14. Web site: Meet the Sponsors. tsla.realsmartcloud.com.
15. Retford News Friday 16 May 1975, page 21
16. Grimsby Evening Telegraph Tuesday 20 April 1976, page 5
17. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Thursday 3 May 1956, page 7
18. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Saturday 10 November 1984, page 3
19. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Saturday 20 June 1998
20. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Saturday 14 June 1997
21. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Tuesday 18 November 1997, page 6
22. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Friday 21 November 1997, page 4
23. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Tuesday 19 May 1998, page 2
24. Retford News Friday 5 February 1982, page 5
25. Retford News Friday 29 January 1988, page 3
26. Grimsby Evening Telegraph Saturday 7 December 1991, page 2
27. https://bartshealthprivatecare.com/stephen-edmondson/ Stephen Edmundson
28. Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Friday 2 December 1977, page 7
29. https://books.google.com/books?id=0s3MBQAAQBAJ&pg=PR19 Pile Design and Construction Practice, Sixth Edition by Michael Tomlinson