Fostering curiosity is what The Grange Academy is all about. This co-educational secondary school and sixth form sits in Bushey. It is in the English county of Hertfordshire. The Grange Academy has a rich history.
The school’s story began in Watford. It started as a technical school. The current site was once a private junior boarding school. Watford took an early lead in technical education. In 1922, it restructured its School of Art, Science and Commerce. By 1929, a Junior Technical School opened in the old public library. It was on Queen’s Road. In 1930, these schools merged. They became the Watford Technical School. Lord Eustace Percy, a technical education advocate, opened an annex.
Inspectors praised the school in 1934. They noted its high employment rate in skilled trades. The school became selective and prestigious. However, it remained behind Watford Grammar School for Boys and Girls. Expansion plans were shelved due to World War II.
Around 1960, the Watford Technical High School moved. It relocated to cheaply built buildings on Bushey Hall Road’s north side. The Queen’s Road site was later demolished. It made way for the Harlequin Shopping Centre. In 1971, the school became a comprehensive. It was renamed Bushey Hall School. The change brought no immediate changes to students or staff. Both the road and school were named after the original Bushey Hall.
The school moved to the London Road site in 1988. September 1988 marked the first year at the new location. The old Bushey Hall Road buildings sat empty for four years. They were eventually demolished after a drowning in the old pool. Now, a housing estate and caravan site occupy that space.
The London Road site has its own story. It was once Bushey Manor. In 1928, buildings were erected for the Royal Masonic School for Boys junior school. The school opened there in 1929. The design included housing for 400 boarders. These buildings lined a quadrangle from the main building.
Falling enrollment caused the junior school to close in 1970. Grange Park School, a secondary school for boys, then occupied the site. It remained until 1987. That’s when Bushey Hall School moved in.
Architectural details hint at the building’s Masonic past. Stone globes top the main gate’s brick pillars. One globe is lunar. The other is oceanic. Inside, a stained-glass dome displays the twelve signs of the zodiac. Masonic markings appear on stone lintels over doorways.
Bushey School gained grant-maintained status in the mid-1990s. It became a foundation school in 1999. In 1993, the library was replaced. A learning resource center was built near the gymnasium. Arson destroyed the gymnasium roof in 1994. The school lacked funds for repairs. A temporary structure served as a replacement.
In the mid-1990s, other schools introduced partial selection. This skewed The Grange Academy’s intake. The school’s results suffered. In 2008, Ofsted placed the school in special measures. As part of improvement efforts, the school sought academy status.
The school became an academy in September 2009. It was renamed The Bushey Academy. The David Meller Educational Trust sponsored the academy. It moved to new buildings in January 2013. In April 2017, Jon Hebblethwaite became principal.
In April 2018, Ofsted rated the school “Inadequate”. Future Academies became the sponsor in February 2020. The school was later renamed The Grange Academy. Dr. Philip Hills became the principal in July 2020.
Today, The Grange Academy thrives. Principal Danny Bryant leads the school with a focus on knowledge, aspiration, and respect. The academy aims to equip students with the best education possible. The Grange Academy strives to grant students freedom through education. It offers a wide range of subjects. These include Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, and History. The Grange Academy prepares students for success.