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Clitheroe Royal Grammar School was founded in 1554 as "The Free Grammar School of King Philip and Queen Mary." It is in Clitheroe, UK, and has about 1,200 students. It is a selective state school, with entrance being gained by an eleven-plus exam.

The school was founded “for the education, instruction and learning of boys and young men in grammar; to be and to continue for ever.” CRGS celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2004.

After 44 years of sharing the school buildings with the boys, the newly-built Girls Grammar School opened in 1958 and amalgamated with the Boys Grammar School in 1985, and had renovation work in that year and in 2005.

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School continues to thrive on two sites with the Sixth Form Centre occupying the historic buildings in York Street and the Main School at the former Girls Grammar School buildings on Chatburn Road.

Contents 1 Uniform 2 Intake 3 Lessons 4 Sixth Form 5 Teaching 6 Timetable 7 School Council 8 Commemoration Day 9 Language College bid 10 School Newspaper 11 Debating Societies 12 Other Student Groups 13 Famous alumni 14 External links

The main school uniform consists of:

Item	Boys	Girls
Blazer	Royal Blue (3 silver-coloured buttons)	Royal Blue (2 plastic buttons)
Shirt	Plain White	Plain White
Tie	Striped in blue, red, and yellow (with thinner stripes for prefects)	Striped in blue, red, and yellow (with thinner stripes for prefects)
Lower Part	Grey or Black Trousers	Black Trousers or Grey Skirt
Socks	Grey or Black	White
Shoes	Plain Black	Plain Black

The main-school intake each year is 120 children who have each passed the 11-plus entrance exam, with 100 from within a 'Catchment Area' and 20 from outside. This is then divided into four forms (C, R, G and S). This means the pupil population is about 600 (120 per year, with five years). Sixth Form entry is based on grades and takes in over 300 students per year. The required grades are 3B's and 2 C's at GCSE (which must include English Language), as well as certain grades for individual subjects, usually B's in particular subjects.

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School teaches the following for Years 7–11:

• Languages
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish (Year 10 onwards)
  • Latin (Year 9 onwards)
• Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics

(Chemistry, Biology and Physics can be taken either separately or as Double Award for GCSE)

• "Humanities'
  • History
  • Geography
  • Classical Civilisation (Year 10 onwards)
• Music
• Religious Studies (with Ethics for GCSE)
• Technology
  • Food Technology
  • Resistant Materials
  • Systems and Control
  • Textiles
  • Graphic Products
  • Information Communication Technology
• P.E. (Up to two hours a week in year 7–9 and one hour a week in year 10–11, no examination taken)

Students also do a rotation of Personal/Social/Health Education (PSHE) dealing with citizenship and society among other things.

At the Sixth Form, the selection of subjects is somewhat wider.

• Art and Design
• Biology
• Business Studies
• Chemistry
• Classical Civilisation
• Computing
• Critical Thinking
• Design and Technology: Product Design
• Economics
• English (Language, Literature or Combined)
• French
• General Studies
• Geography
• German
• History
• Mathematics (and Further Mathematics)
• Music
• Physical Education
• Physics
• Politics
• Psychology
• Religious and Ethical Studies
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Theatre Studies

The school employs around 80 teachers along with laboratory and IT technicians.

CRGS does not operate a singles/doubles system. Instead, the five lessons per day are placed with a fifteen-minute break in between. They are all single, one-hour periods with an hour for lunch between third and fourth periods. Main School registration usually begins at 8:50am and lasts ten minutes, and the final bell rings at 3:45pm, or, on a Wednesday, 2:30pm. Assemblies are usually held every Tuesday for part of the first period at Main School, and less frequently at the Sixth Form.

The school has a student council that meets fortnightly. Two representatives are elected from each of the 20 main-school forms in September, whose responsibility it is to go to these meetings and put forward points about the school. These are usually ideas from pupils passed on to the council members in a tutorial period. Often these relate to fund-raising events (outside of the Fourth Year Charity Committee) or new facilities. It has a Chairperson and Secretary from the 5th year, with a senior teacher overseeing each meeting.

Every year, the school holds a commemoration day to remember the founding of the school. It happens of St John the Baptist's Day in the local parish church of Mary Magdalene.

From the Statutes, dated 1622:

We ordaine and be yt a Statute of this Schoole for ever. That from henceforth once every year upon St John Baptists day called Midsommer day in the forenoone there shalbee a Sermon preached in the Church of Clitherow where the Maister Usher and Schoolers of the said Schoole shalbee p'sent before the Governors of the said Schoole and therein shalbee a comemoracon of the foundation of the said Schoole with an exhortation to the said Governors Schoolmr and Usher that they faithfully and diligently p'forme their duties.

Or, modernised:

Let this be a Statute of this school forever. Every year upon St John the Baptist's day (Midsummer's day) in the morning there shall be a Sermon preached in Clitheroe Church where the Master Usher and Scholars of the School shall be sent before the Governors the School and there shall be a commemoration of the foundation of the School with an exhortation to the Governors, Headteacher and Usher that they faithfully and diligently perform their duties.

In the autumn term of 2005 CRGS set up a language college committee which allowed students to join in, in the idea of becoming a specialised Language College. Along with the help of members of staff meetings were held on Tuesday Lunchtimes.

Having succeeded with their bid, the school now receives extra funding for expansions and developments into further Language areas.

There is a Language College Committee, which, led by a senior teacher who coordinates the plans for it, aided the bid. Many ideas are being considered there including a summer fete, a Chinese pen pal link and a radio station.

Mandarin, Urdu and Russian are now being taught in after-school and lunchtime sessions, at both the 6th Form and the lower school. Key Stage 3 is not currently being taught any of these lessons although this is also being discussed at the committee for the future.

The building program has started and will contain 4 classrooms and 2 store rooms. More information will be available soon.

The school newspaper, the Royal Blazer is printed three times a year, corresponding to Christmas, Easter and Midsummer. The paper is distributed within school free of charge, but is put up for sale in the local area. Students are encouraged to contribute articles on subjects important to them and the local community. With a readership approaching 2,000 (students, parents, teachers, old boys and girls), it is an important publication for the school. The Royal Blazer is printed and assembled in offices in nearby Burnley.

There are debating societies at both the Main School and Sixth Form College. The latter is named "Soundbite" and is run by a small group of upper-sixth students. "Soundbite" fields debaters to most of the major university competitions including Oxford, Cambridge and Durham, and meets on weekly basis. The Main School society is run by two sixth form students.

There are many groups for students to join and be an active part of, including:

• Drama Club
• Quiz Team League
• Science Club
• Sport Teams
  • Basketball
  • Cricket
  • Football
  • Hockey
  • Netball
  • Rounders
  • Rugby
• Music
  • Choirs
    • Junior Choir
    • Chamber Choir
  • Instrumental Groups
    • Concert Band
    • Orchestra
    • Swing Band
    • String Ensemble

• Captain James King
• Judith Hart
• Sir Peter Iveson of Langho

• Clitheroe Royal Grammar School - Official Website
• Ofsted - Recent Ofsted Report
• League Table Results - Latest results for 2005