Penistone Grammar School
school in Barnsley, UK
Penistone Grammar School (PGS) is a large co-educational secondary school with a sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England.
Founded in 1392, it is amongst the oldest extant schools in England, with alumni including Nicholas Saunderson, the probable inventor of Bayes' theorem, in the 18th century. At various times in its history it has been single-sex and mixed, free and fee-paying, selective and comprehensive, boarding and day. It has undergone several moves and extensions, and today houses around 1922 pupils from age 11 to 18. PGS' Ofsted overall rating is grade 2 ('Good'), following an inspection in February 2023.
History
The school was founded as the Free Grammar School of Penistone (then often spelt 'Peniston') in 1392, when it is recorded that a gift of land was made by Thomas Clarel, Lord of the manor at Penistone, to John Del Rodes "and others". The land, Kirk Flatt, was situated in the town centre on a site opposite St. John the Baptist Church (a site later rebuilt as the Sheffield Union Bank, which later became an HSBC branch, and is today the Vault restaurant).Penistone Grammar School's foundation deed:
Thomas Clarel, Dominus (that is Lord) de Peniston in 1392, granted to John del Rodes and others a piece of land in the Kirk-flatt, sicut se extendit et jacet inter quinque lapides per manus predicti Thomas Clarel pro metis positos, with license to grave turf on the Moors of Penistone.Thomas Clarel was born 28 Edward III 1355, and died by drowning in the River Don, on 1 May 1442. His will was dated 20 November 1441, and he was buried in the friary church, Tickhill, near the family's hall. The school was originally an all-boys grammar school, accepting both boarders and day pupils.
The public source identifies “Penistone Grammar School” as school in Barnsley, UK. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Penistone, Grammar and School.
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This entry incorporates text from “Penistone Grammar School” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.