Our Heritage

First Class 1887

WHGS was founded on 26 January 1887 as a Grammar School William Hulme, founder of the William Hulme Charity, lived 1631-1691 in Hulme Hall, Stockport. Following the tragically premature death of his beloved son, he left provision for the foundation of exhibitions for four students to study for Bachelor od arts degrees at Brasenose College Oxford. The income for this charity was originally £64, which came from rents and dues on his many outlying properties.  In 1881, the Trustees of his charity were empowered to build schools in Manchester, Oldham and Bury - they were known as the William Hulme Grammar Schools. The Manchester school, originally the Hulme Grammar School, changed its name to William Hulme's Grammar School in 1931.

The original part of the school was designed by A H Davies-Colley in 1886-1887 as a large, high (up to four storeys) building of red brick and yellow terracotta. There is a hall of c.1910 in the same style. Both buildings are strictly symmetrical. The building lies on top of a large tunnel network. In the original building, there is a ground floor hall surrounded by balconies on many levels. The main staircase is opposed by large stained glass windows. The basement level was refurbished on one side in 2007 in order to allow lessons to be held in two small classrooms. The tunnels, archives and CCF stores still remain, though. At the front of the school in the basement are the staff changing rooms, medical centre and store cupboard (in which the timpani, though seldom used, are kept).

The stage of the main hall lies opposite the hall entrance, above which are a number of magnificent oil paintings of previous headmasters, some near to 6' in length. Around the oak-panelled walls of the hall are boards bearing the names of old boys who have been awarded Scholarships or Exhibitions to Oxford or Cambridge, long serving teachers and all past headmasters. Above these are numerous house flags and shields. On the west wall is the stage staff balcony. The stage staff are appointed each year to operate and maintain lighting and sound for the school. Beneath the balcony is the organ. There is also a fairly new grand piano which is frequently used for public concerts and recitals. Beneath the main hall was originally the changing rooms but is now the music department which is equipped with an older grand piano in the rehearsal studio, along with several upright pianos and a number of computers and keyboards.

Leaving the old building from the back, one enters the north quad. Opposite is the science block, which was built in 1927. It houses approximately 10 physics, chemistry and biology laboratories and also classrooms for mathematics and business studies, along with the studies of the heads of those subjects. There are darkroom facilities within the physics department. It has been extended twice. The first extension, in the 1940s, added 4 labs at the north end of the building. Its purpose, according to the Headmaster at the time, was to "prosecute study and further the development of truth; if that can't be done, what else is there?" The second extension was in January 1985. The gap at the back between the then-Donner library and the 'old' biology laboratory was filled to give a new biology lab and a multi-purpose large lab. The latter of these was refurbished in 2002 as the Dr Barnes Laboratory, in memory of Dr John Barnes, head of chemistry.

Donner Block
On the other side of the north quad is the Donner block, named after Sir Edward Donner, a benefactor of the school. It was built as an extension to the technology building in the mid 20th century. In 2007 it was completely gutted and is currently being rebuilt. Building work is expected to finish in summer 2008, at which point the building will house a refectory-type area along with new classrooms which will house Mathematics, History, Geography, Religious Studies and Business Studies.

South Quad
On the other side of the Donner Block is the south quad. This is surrounded by the dining hall, the Donner Library and the Zochonis Centre. This is the most recent building, and is home to Modern Foreign Languages, ICT and English.

Libraries
The Donner Library moved to the previous VIth form common room in 2007. This is its third location - it has previously occupied what is now the Mathematics department and the Donner block first floor. The old Junior Library was housed in the basement of the old building underneath room 7, in what is now the CCF stores

Sports facilities
Behind the academic buildings, and backing onto Princess Road are the sports facilities. There is a sports hall with full cricket nets, gymnasium and changing rooms as well as a more modern pavilion/changing room suite. A full-size AstroTurf pitch with adjacent netball courts was built in 2002-2003. In winter the playing fields are used for hockey, rugby and soccer pitches, and in summer for rounders and cricket pitches with high quality wickets. Badminton, basketball and tennis are also played.

Throughout the year there are regular inter-school and inter-House matches in all the main sports. The Corps also has an indoor rifle range on the campus.

Harris House, Hardraw
The school, through the J.G. Bird Trust, owns an ex-school and attached headmaster's house in the village of Hardraw, near Hawes, Wensleydale.[4] School parties of up to 30 students and staff frequent this listed building known as 'Harris House' to take part in outdoor pursuits. It was built in 1875 and comprises the school teacher's house, junior and infant classrooms and the former kitchen. It closed in the 1960s and was bought by WHGS, which at the time owned several centres similar to but smaller than this. It was then converted for WHGS use. The centre was known as 'Hulme House' until 1993, when W.C. Harris, an Old Hulmeian, left £50,000 in his will for the renovation of the property. The house was hence renamed after its principal benefactor. The accommodation holds 34 people with 3 dormitories for 8 and 3 other rooms which sleep 2, 3 and 4 people; groups regularly use the centre for outdoor pursuits, field courses, Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions and training.

School life
Charities
The School supports two charities, St. Ann's Hospice and Henshaw's Society for Blind People. A number of fund-raising activities are held throughout the School year, including bag-packing at local supermarkets and providing refreshments at various School activities.

The House system
The House system had operated for more than 100 years until recent changes were made. The original houses were Whitworth, Gaskell, Byrom, Fraser, Heywood and Dalton. These have now been replaced by Hulme, Jones, Bonnick and Roberts, all named after benefactors of the School. The House Masters are all senior staff. Heads of House and House Prefects are elected annually. House artifacts, namely shields, banners and portraits, can be seen at the school in the New Hall.

Origins of Houses
The Houses in the old system were named after influential Mancunians:

Byrom - John Byrom, Poet
Dalton - John Dalton, Physicist
Fraser - James Fraser, reforming Anglican Bishop of Manchester
Gaskell - Elizabeth Gaskell, Author
Heywood - Oliver Heywood, Banker and philanthropist
Whitworth- Sir Joseph Whitworth, Engineer
New-system houses are named after influential Hulmeians/benefactors:

Bonnick - WHGS Teacher, 1950s-1990s
Hulme - William Hulme, founder
Jones - Unknown
Roberts - William Roberts, benefactor

Combined Cadet Force
Towards the end of their third year (Year 9), the majority of pupils pupils join the voluntary CCF (the "Corps"). Uniform is issued and cadets accompany the Contingent on a Field Day in June and, if they wish, Summer Camp, where they take part in a wide variety of activities. They train once a week at School, following syllabuses which lead to promotion and qualifications.

Cadets join either the Army (Duke of Lancaster's Regiment) or the RAF Section, both of which are officered by teachers, whereafter a minimum of five terms' service is expected. They may then choose to continue as NCOs in the Sixth Form, during which time they undergo more advanced training and assist in instructing the younger cadets. The Corps meets weekly and takes part in a Field Day each term. In addition to Summer Camps, there are two camps at Easter, one on an RAF Station, the other adventurous training in North Wales. Membership offers many advantages, not least of which is the opportunity to apply for a wide range of residential courses offered by the services; especially popular are leadership, gliding, first aid, engineering and signals.

Music
A concert band/orchestra exists and plays in several concerts each year along with the choir and jazz band.