History of Grammar Schools in the UK - The Early Modern Period
The key event in history of grammar schools in the UK in the Early Modern Period was the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-1541) when the majority of monasteries, friaries and convents in Britain were dissolved. Cathedral schools were closed as well but many were re-founded under new names. Also, many new schools were founded on the site of the former monasteries.
In Wales, many of the oldest still operating grammar schools date to the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries including the Christ College in Brecon (established on the site of a Dominican friary in 1541 by King Henry VIII) and the Friars School in Bangor (founded by the will of Geoffrey Glyn in 1557 on the site of a former Dominican monastery).
During the reigns of Edward VI (1547-1553) and James I (1566-1625), a series of grammar schools were founded by the monarchs. They were open to all (boys, of course) including those who couldn’t afford to pay the fee but students from poor families were the exception rather than the rule and was places were provided mainly for those with royal titles.
The Early Modern Period was also a time of major changes for grammar schools in Scotland, especially after the country’s break with the Papacy in 1560 which marked the beginning of the Scottish Reformation. Just like in England and Wales, the church was stripped of control of many schools. Examples include:
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High School of Glasgow, Glasgow. What is today High School of Glasgow (the name dates from 1834) was originally the Choir School of the Glasgow Cathedral. Founded in 1124, the school suffered the fate of many other cathedral schools in Scotland during the period of the Reformation. Renamed as Glasgow Grammar School, the school came under the control of the city council.
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Royal High School, Edinburgh. Established in 1128 as a seminary of the Holyrood Abbey, the Royal High School came under the control of the city council during the Reformation as well. In 1505, it was renamed as the Royal High School and became the first ‘high school’ in Britain.
Private initiative in founding grammar schools was especially strong during the Early Modern Period and many nobles and wealthy individuals felt the need or duty to found a school. Some of the best known privately founded grammar schools from the Early Modern Period include the Blundell’s School, Tiverton (founded by Peter Blundell’s will in 1604) and Spalding Grammar School, Spalding (founded by John Blanche and John Gamlyn in 1588).