King James's Grammar School[2] was founded as chantry school in 1547 and received its name and a royal charter in 1608 thanks to the efforts of three men who travelled on horseback to London to get a royal charter from the king. They rode from Farnley Tyas, the nearby village, having been sent to London to get the charter by the local wealthy men from Almondbury who wanted a local school for their offspring to visit. Extensions were made to the school by William Swinden Barber between 1880 and 1883,[3] in 1938/9 and 1963,[4] and in 2022.[5]
The grammar school era ended in 1976 when it became a comprehensive school: King James's School. The school was designated a specialist Science College in 2004. In September 2012 the school converted to academy status. The current principal is Ian Rimmer.
The school made headlines in 2017 after the issuing of its new rule book which contained 40 new rules. These rules claim students were not allowed to smile, look out of the window or use words such as 'dunno' when the school were approached for a comment on their new rules; they declined to comment. Various news sites titled the school 'Britain's strictest school.'[8]
In Easter of 2022, a new building on site was completed after numerous delays in order to accommodate the new students who were previously situated at a different site following the closure of Almondbury Community School.[9]
Publications
The school is the subject of two histories: A History of King James's Grammar School in Almondbury (author: Gerald Hinchliffe) and King James's School in Almondbury: An Illustrated History[4] (editors: Roger Dowling and John Hargreaves).
A book Morning Assembly[10] (editor: Roger Dowling; text: Harry Taylor/Andrew Taylor) gives a detailed account of the life of former headmaster Harry Taylor together with a compilation in facsimile form of some 100 prayers collected by Harry Taylor for use each day at morning assembly.
A book No Beating about the Bush[11] (editor: Roger Dowling) gives a diary-style account of the final teaching year of Head of Latin and deputy Headmaster David Bush.
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(March 2019)
An Illustrated History of King James's School in Almondbury (2007), Gerald Hinchliffe, Edward Royle, Richard Taylor, et al., The Old Almondburians' Society, 112pp, full colour