Stockport Grammar School
Stockport Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Stockport, England, founded in 1487 by former Lord Mayor of London Sir Edmund Shaa. It is the oldest operating institution of learning in the North of England.HistoryFoundationThe school was founded in 1487 by Sir Edmund Shaa, the 1482 lord mayor of London.Sir Edmund made his will on 20 March, exactly a month before his death, which provided for a school and a small chapel in St Mary's Church in Stockport.The school was endowed with funds to maintain a priest who chanted masses and taught grammar.Move to ChestergateAlexander Lowe, the mayor of Stockport, left the school a permanent home in Chestergate in his will.The school became increasingly successful with pupils being accepted at the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge, while the curriculum became increasingly broad with the rudiments of Greek joining a study of Latin, the Christian religion, writing in English and arithmetic.Move to Greek Street5 years after the Goldsmiths' Company met to discuss the possibility of transferring the school to a different site, new buildings open where Greek Street meets New Wellington Road.As well as paying for the building, the Goldsmiths also increased the salaries of the headmaster and usher and paid the running costs.While the headmaster taught Latin and Greek, the usher attended to reading, writing, arithmetic and English grammar. He and the headmaster were the sole teachers for some 150 pupils for a school day which lasted from 8am until noon and again from 2pm till 5pm.Move to the current site on Buxton RoadThe Greek Street building became unsuitable for the demands of a modern school, so the governors look to locate to another site - where the school remains to this day.
