Sir Roger Manwood's School is a grammar school located in the medieval town of Sandwich, Kent, England. Founded in 1563, it is one of the oldest schools in Britain and the third oldest state grammar school in Kent. Originally an all-boys school, the school became co-educational in 1982 and welcomed boarders until 2020. It now solely operates as a day school.

History

The school was founded in 1563 by Sir Roger Manwood, an eminent barrister, jurist and supporter of the reformation of the Church in England. Manwoods intention was to create a free grammar school to make education more accessible to the local townspeople. The original location of the school was at Ash Road in Sandwich but it was moved to its current location at Manwood Road in 1895. There are four foundations which appoint governors: Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lincoln College, Oxford, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and the Diocese of Canterbury. In 1960 there were 100 boarders. The boarders were separated into two houses; ‘The Grange’ accommodating the girls and ‘The Lodge’ the boys. After a long-running tradition of being an all-boys school, girls were first admitted in 1982. As of September 2020, the school no longer ran their boarding facilities. The school was reported as being 'Good' in all categories by Ofsted in 2022, dropping from the previous report's 'outstanding'.

Admissions

In order to gain entry the prospective student must first pass the 11+ examination. Once enrolled, new pupils are assigned a house, which will also be their form group from Years 7 to 9. From Years 10 to 13 pupils from each house are mixed into new forms. Each house is identified by a different colour. The houses and colours are as follows: Atlas House is red, Carmarthen House is orange, Founders' House is green, Stour House is light blue and Ypres House is dark blue, with student ties striped accordingly. The houses were previously Tudor (light blue), Trappes (dark blue), Knolles (dark green) and Dorman (red).

Headteachers

Combined Cadet Force

The school has a Combined Cadet Force (CCF) group with an army section, operating after school on Thursdays. Annual CCF events include an inspection day, a summer camp, and a Founder's Day parade celebrating both the founding of the school and paying homage to Sir Roger Manwood.

Notable former pupils

The Old Manwoodians Association is an alumni association for ex-pupils of the school. Old Manwoodians include: Arts and entertainment Academia Medicine Engineering Journalism Sport Clergy Politics