Ilkeston Grammar School
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| Motto | Labor omnia vincit "Labour conquers all things". |
|---|---|
| Established | 1914 (county secondary) |
| Closed | 1977 (comprehensive) |
| Type | grammar school |
| Location |
King George Avenue Ilkeston Derbyshire DE7 England  52°58′18″N 1°18′59″W / 52.971558°N 1.316294°WCoordinates: 52°58′18″N 1°18′59″W / 52.971558°N 1.316294°W |
| Local authority | Derbyshire County Council |
| Gender | mixed |
| Ages | 11 (at end)–16 (at end) |
| Houses | Newdigate, Manners, Mundy, Cantelupe |
| Colours | Red and blue |
Ilkeston Grammar School was a selective co-educational secondary school, admission being dependent on passing the 11-plus examination. It stood on King George Avenue, Ilkeston, in the south east of Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England.
The photograph in the infobox shows the original school, now known as the 'King George Building' of Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy, seen from the junction of King George Avenue and Scarborough Avenue, c.2002.
What became Ilkeston Grammar School was established as a pupil teacher centre whose main claim to fame was that author D. H. Lawrence studied there. This centre became inadequate for Ilkeston's needs, and eventually a site for its replacement was purchased from the Duke of Rutland in December 1913.
The new Ilkeston County Secondary School (capacity - 250 pupils) was opened on 25 June 1914 by King George V when he visited the town accompanied by Queen Mary. The King pressed a button whilst standing in the market place which opened the school gates (a good half mile away and well out of sight), an explosive charge relaying the success of the operation back to the assembled crowds in the town centre. The King did, though, pass by in his car on his way out of the town and had a few words with the headmaster.
The outbreak of the First World War just two months later meant the loss of several male staff, so that by 1918 there was only one other male teacher apart from the headmaster. A change of head in 1919 brought a change in discipline; before this, corporal punishment had not been used but the new headmaster, Samuel R. Wood, introduced caning with vigour. He is remembered as 'a stern headmaster of little humour' but the school's record of academic achievement greatly improved.
After the 1944 Education Act the county secondary became Ilkeston Grammar School in that year and Mr Wood retired in 1946. By 1947 there were 422 pupils, still strictly segregated with their separate playgrounds and separate boys' and girls' school entrances on Scarborough Avenue. Trespassing into the 'other' playground was usually punished with a caning.
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