Open House celebrates community and heritage
We are immensely proud of our links with the local community and, from our foundation in 1487 by Sir Edmond Shaa, our place in Stockport’s history, present and future.
In mid-September, we were delighted to welcome nearly 100 local people to our Community and Heritage Open House, as part of the national Heritage Open Days festival.
Head of Senior School Mrs Sarah Capewell welcomed attendees to the event, before Director of External Relations Mrs Rachel Horsford spoke about the history of Stockport Grammar School and the school’s links and commitment to the local community.
Fortified with some delicious, freshly-baked cake from the school kitchens, our visitors then set off on guided tours of the school site, enjoying the chance to experience the old and the new.
Community Engagement
Bursaries
Every year we offer a number of free and partially-free school places to local children whose parents could not otherwise afford the fees. This is known as the Bursary Scheme. About 100 children currently attend SGS with this help which may be available to parents whose income is less than £59,950.
We also offer a small number of academic Shaa scholarships which give a reduction of £1,000 on each full year’s fees. And two Music scholarships are available each year to cover up to 25% of school fees for children who have already reached a high musical standard.
In the Community
We continuously look at ways to engage and develop relationships in support of fellow schools, public bodies, community groups, charities and other organisations.
Earlier this year, 268 young mathematicians from 38 primary schools across Greater Manchester took part in the Year 5 Maths Competitions, 84 local primary school pupils from 11 schools entered the Year 5 Art Competition and 264 Year 5s attended our Taster Days.
The annual Year 10 Science Competition saw 40 Fourth Year pupils from 10 local high schools compete in hour-long tasks in Biology, Chemistry and Physics in the school’s laboratories and 13 Year 2 children from state primary schools took part in a four-week music outreach programme.
Departments also have many links to the community. The Art department participated in the Chorlton Art Festival and had their artwork exhibited in local art galleries, the Sports department hosted and ran numerous meets and festivals, the Drama department’s production of Cinderella visited Blackfriars (Special Needs) School for a performance and drama workshops, and the Food Preparation and Nutrition department welcomed 15 teachers from different schools to a course run by an external provider.
Our facilities, such as the swimming pool and sports hall, have been used by organisations including Great Moor School, Rotary Club Charity Swimathon, Norris Bank Swimming Club, Aqua Seals, High Lane Cricket Club, Offerton Cricket Club, North East Cheshire Cricket Club and Kingsway Power Netball.
Pupils enjoy voluntary work at various locations via The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, of which we are proud to be a Direct Licensed Organisation, and Sixth Formers also take part in Voluntary Service on Wednesday afternoons.
The pupils, led by the Charity Prefects, help charities locally, nationally and internationally. Senior School activities raised a total of £6,729 for charities including EducAid, the Katie Thorburn Foundation and Mind. Whilst the Junior School raised £5,847 for good causes including the NSPCC, Children in Need and Comic Relief.
To raise money for The Wellspring and help homeless people in Stockport, Head of Senior School Mrs Sarah Capewell and Head of Junior School Mr Matthew Copping took part in the Great Manchester Run.
Find out more on our Community Engagement page.
