Talk:Stockport Grammar School

Lists of names
Lists of names in this article should be sourced in accordance with WP:BLP. As there is no way of constantly maintaining linked articles, this applies to names which have a Wikipedia article as well as those that do not. Any name listed with no verifiable citations should be removed. Refer to WP:NLIST for guidance. Fæ (talk) 07:18, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Deviation from Wikipedia policies.
Though the article reads well- there appear to be significant problems in sticking to Wikipedia's policies. for instance the lead section that reads like advertising copy. There are guidelines for articles on schools that discuss the tricky problem of neutral language, avoiding advertising comment and independent references. It would appear that references to Facebook, twitter, stockportgrammar.co.uk and the educationbase.co.uk (a website which schools write their own copy) are dubious- and alternative references need to be found. Obviously isi report hosted on school site is legitimate and some extra references could be taken from this document. Paul Morleys work The North deals well with the lack of social mobility in the FW Scott days.
 * Manual of Style
 * Manual of Style/Lead section
 * WikiProject Schools/Article guidelines

Declaration: As a former pupil I am loathe to make changes though I have no financial or existing family interest. I will limit myself to a few format changes.-- Clem Rutter (talk)

Advertising copy
I have rm this from the article following the principle WP:LEADFOLLOWSBODY:


 * The Good Schools Guide wrote of the school that "the pupils’ overall achievement and their learning, attitudes and skills are outstanding. Pupils are exceptionally well educated and the school fulfils its aim to enable boys and girls from a wide range of backgrounds to realise their potential which gives them the best possible start in life." Stockport Grammar School was identified by the Sutton Trust as one of 10 schools nationally having a significantly higher acceptance rate to university than other institutions with similar A Level results.

Has anyone any ideas within WP:WPSCHOOLS/AG about what we can keep and where (the section) it should go? -- Clem Rutter (talk) 21:23, 13 February 2015 (UTC)


 * Welcome to the IP editor who tried to reintroduce this text. If you would care to register and thus get a User name, we can talk co-operatively on your talk page. You can use your user page to declare any conflicts of intereste. Wikipedia has strict rules about advertising copy- and though inclusion is vital to a companies PR strategy the copy must be carefully written. The lead is tightly monitored for neutrality. As a rule of thumb- if you use words- like excellent this triggers an alert. There is a policy guideline somewhere. I moved the text to a rather artificial subsection so it can be discussed. I have left the section on fees, at the moment because it may be useful to a historian comparing modern practice with the intention in Sir Edmund Shaa's will. But it is dubious. I have reverted the bit in the info box about Public School as I understand that is factually incorrect. The reference to Direct Grant Scools is back, and it now seems it is important enough to include a section on the 44 Act in the body of the text.   is not the correct way to start a new paragraph- see the use of double newline as here. Happy editing- and it would be great to see some of your sixth form creating Stockport based articles. --  Clem Rutter (talk) 10:14, 23 March 2015 (UTC)

I have removed the text once more- please observe WP policies. Can other editors please watch this page. 16:00, 14 June 2018 (UTC)ClemRutter (talk)


 * I've protected the page for a while. The entire article reads with a flow of prose which while 'nice' reading is unsuitable for an encyclopedia. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 01:57, 17 June 2018 (UTC)

Dubious Heraldry
The armorial achievements shown in the House System section appear to have been taken from a bucket shop site. Robin S. Taylor (talk) 19:39, 9 October 2020 (UTC)

Information to update
I work at Stockport Grammar School and have been asked to update the Wikipedia page to correct some facts that are now incorrect due to the passage of time. I would be happy to discuss these updates if anyone has any questions. The updates are:

·       The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference has now been branded HMC (The Heads' Conference) – see their Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headmasters%27_and_Headmistresses%27_Conference. Can the “Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference” text be changed to “HMC (The Heads' Conference)” to reflect this

·       Can the language in the motto be non-gendered – “He who endures, conquers” text changed to “They who endure, conquer”

·       The Chairman of Governors is now Jonathan Lee not Christopher Dunn

·       Can “Headmistress” be changed to “Head” to make it non-gendered

·       In the Academic Performance section, it talks about the average A level grade being B+. Results are generally looked at in terms of % of A* and A grades, % of A*, A, B and C grades. The % of A level grades at A* and A for 2023 at Stockport Grammar was 39% (see https://www.stockportgrammar.co.uk/sixth-form/academic-ambition/a-level-results/)/). In the North West it was 24% (see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infographic-a-level-results-2023/infographics-for-a-level-results-2023-accessible). Could this be looked at?

·       The Extracurricular Activities section – the latest ISI report is at https://www.stockportgrammar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ISI-report-SGS-Nov-2023.pdf. ISI inspection reports don’t use one-word terms to rate school’s now. Point 2 says: “Pupils experience a broad curriculum complemented by an extensive selection of co-curricular activities”, Point 25 says: “Co-curricular activities provide opportunities for pupils to learn relaxation techniques for their physical wellness” and Point 30 says: “Eclectic co-curricular activities increase the scope for pupils to engage in issues beyond the school gates and develop their global awareness.” Any of these may be a better determination in that it is the most recent report.

·       The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award section mentions 2010 – this could now seem a bit dated. Could we maybe relace that sentence with “Each participant’s programme is tailor-made to reflect the individuals starting point, abilities and interests.”

·       Could the Model United Nations sectioned be changed to include a wider round-up of co-curricular activities? Possibly this: “The school has an active and comprehensive co-curricular programme that includes clubs such as Model United Nations, Eco-Schools, Amnesty International, Debate Club and Animal Club. Regular musical productions bring together drama, music, dance and backstage teams in an exciting collaboration to showcase and develop our pupils’ talents. Productions have included ‘Wind In The Willows’, ‘The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe’, ‘Chicago’, ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. The school has been awarded a Platinum Artsmark Award, the highest possible grading, by the Arts Council England. In recent years, musicians have taken part in concerts at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Bridgewater Hall and Manchester Cathedral. The school was also ranked as the top independent school in the North West for sport by School Sport Magazine in their annual Top 200 schools list.”

·       In the expedition list we could add some of the more recent trips that have included locations such as Honduras, Madagascar, Bolivia and Peru.

·       Can the ‘The Stopfordian’ sentence be changed from “The school's annual publication in 2012 was The Stopfordian, a comprehensive review of the school year” to “The school's annual publication is The Stopfordian, a comprehensive review of the school year” as the review is done annually.

·       There is not a Stopfordians Lacrosse Club anymore. However, there is an Old Stopfordians’ Golf Society. Could the sentence change to say “The Old Stopfordians’ Golf Society hold regular events where former pupils can get together. Courses they play at include Knutsford, Bramhall and Stockport Golf Clubs”

·       Could we add more women to the ‘Notable Old Stopfordians’ list. Suggestion include: o Nina Métivier, a BAFTA-winning writer, producer and script editor. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Metivier) o Abigail Dean, a writer who hit the Sunday Times bestseller lists with her debut novel,  ‘Girl A’ –(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abigail_Dean). o Holly Hunt, a field hockey player who has played for England and Great Britain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Hunt_(field_hockey)) o Di Stewart, a television presenter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Di_Stewart) o Sophie Skelton, actress best known for her role as Brianna Fraser in the Starz drama series Outlander (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Skelton) o Jess Piasecki, a British long-distance runner. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_Piasecki)

·       Can “Headmasters” be changed to “Heads” to make it non-gendered now that the school has a female Head

·       Can we add “2023-current Sarah Capewell” to the list

·       The references section – the following now go to dead links. Could they be removed: o Reference 4 - https://www.stockportgrammar.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/news-and-events/news/notice-of-planning-decision.pdf o Reference 5 - http://www.stockportgrammar.co.uk/whole-school/new-building/ o Reference 7 - https://twitter.com/stockportgs/status/146516949646573568 o Reference 8 - http://reports.isi.net/DownloadReport.aspx?s=7061&t=c o Reference 11 – http://www.cheshireindependent.co.uk/viewstory.php?id=1294 o Reference 12 – this is nothing to do with the school - https://www.greenhead.ac.uk/ Reference 13 – https://www.stockportgrammar.co.uk/2017/09/jungle-adventure-takes-pupils-new-heights/ o Reference 14 – https://www.stockportgrammar.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Taking-Stock.pdf o Reference 15 – https://www.stockportgrammar.co.uk/whole-school/stopfordian-magazine/ o Reference 18 - http://englishlacrosse.leaguerepublic.com/ProcessPublicSelect.do?psSelectedSeason=8296209&psSelectedDivision=136988&psSelectedCompetition=0&psSelectedLeague=2885817 o Reference 19 – we don’t do Lacrosse anymore so link is not needed - https://www.disleysport.org/?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=78

·       External links – the ISI Inspection link is now out of date - https://www.stockportgrammar.co.uk/school-information/inspection-reports-parental-surveys/ would be a better and ore updated link

~ Rob at SGS (talk) 13:59, 13 February 2024 (UTC)