The school was founded in 1904 and moved to its present location in 1983. As part of its centenary in 2004 the school opened a new hall known as the Cavanna Centenary Hall, which was officially opened in March 2008 by The Earl of Wessex.[3] In September 2010, it gained Academy status.[4]
A long-standing headteacher, Roy Pike, worked for 43 years at the school, 27 years as head.[5] He retired in 2013, and was succeeded by Peter Lawrence.[6]
Academic attainment
In 2022, GCSE examination pass rate between 9-4 stood at 97.6%, with the proportion of top grades 9-7 was 58.6%. The proportion of boys at the school achieving a strong pass in GCSE Level 9-5 in English and Maths was 93%. Torquay Boys' Grammar School has a 99% rate of boys staying in education after leaving the school, or entering employment after Year 11.[7][non-primary source needed]
House system
Upon joining the school, every student is assigned to one of the school's six houses. The six houses were previously named after Elizabethan sailors, which had seen criticism in 2020 over their links to the slave trade,[8] and were renamed after locations in Devon in 2021.[9]
The headteacher and governors of Torquay Boys' Grammar School want the school to retain its grammar school status, arguing that pupils in selective grammar schools make more progress than those in non–selective schools.[16][better source needed]
The proportion of students attending Torquay Boys' Grammar School who are entitled to free school meals was well below the national average in 2007, despite the school's catchment area not being a prosperous area. The school has held specialist languages status for a number of years and has recently been awarded a second specialism in business and enterprise education.[17]
The school has its own astronomical observatory. Opened in 1989, it houses a 19.2" (0.5m) Newtonian reflector, and is used by the school itself, by the Torbay Astronomical Society, and is also regularly open to the public.[20]
The astronomer and broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore was a patron of the school and maintained close ties – Ralegh House performed the premiere of his operetta Galileo in the late 1990s. The current presenter of the BBC television programme "The Sky at Night" Chris Lintott, who lectures at Oxford University, was also a student at the school.[citation needed]
Notable members of staff
Retired teacher Carole Church was awarded the Ted Wragg Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2004.
This was followed by retired teacher Dave Berry who was also awarded the Ted Wragg Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2006.[21]
Adrian Sanders, Liberal Democrat MP for Torbay, between 1997 and 2015.[26]
Professor David Southwood, Science Director of the European Space Agency, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, Head of Physics Department Imperial College.
