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In between the excitement of the Spanish armada's defeat and the daring attempt of Guy Fawkes to blow up parliament the three Shuttleworth brothers Richard Nicholas and Ughtred were busy at the school struggling with Ovid's Metamorphoses and an Elementary Grammar. Their school – Burnley Grammar School – was already half a century old and the boys lived in the household of a governor, John Wodroffe of Bank Top. Their uncle, the Reverend Lawrence Shuttleworth was the builder of Gawthorpe Hall. But the school hours 6 am to 5 pm, the bad roads and the cost of shoes (one shilling and three pence a pair) made travelling from Gawthorpe impractical. Meanwhile two more brothers John and Robert Nutter were among the increasing number of the schools old boys who were arrested and executed after the Reformation for crimes of poperie. That was almost 4 centuries ago. Now Burnley Grammar School has understandably become the doyen of local schools. The story of the school is largely the story of Burnley itself and its history reflects the history of the country for it is one of England's oldest schools.

It is hardly surprising that the school with such a tradition has acquired an unparalleled reputation in the town. But it is not so often realised that our grammar school holds a place of esteem along the grammar schools throughout the country. A few years ago it gained a place in the coveted league table of the Times Educational Supplement with a number of Oxbridge places as the yardstick. Since Mr Noel Stokes became headmaster in 1961 240 of the schools boys have gone on to universities including more than 30 to Oxford or Cambridge. In the schools new buildings opened in 1959 off Padiham Road there are now more than 600 boys of whom 150 are six formers and 36 staff members. Carrying on the Oxbridge tradition are the headboy 17-year-old scientist Mark Crabtree who is going to Churchill College Cambridge and the deputy headboy Mark Milner who hopes to go to Merton College Oxford to read history. Any school would be proud of such academic and sporting achievements as the grammar schools but the prime purpose of the school is not to gallop up the league tables but to provide a real opportunity to boys with ability from any home.

Headmaster Mr Stokes commented - The uninitiated think a grammar school like ours is largely populated by the sons of professional men, business executives, landed gentry and factory owners, but it cannot be overemphasised that this is just not the case and fewer than 15% come from homes like mentioned. More than 85% came from working-class homes.

The earliest written record of education in Burnley is a reference in 1532 to Stephen Smith, Chantry priest and schoolmaster. The Chantry house in which Burnley's first school was held was built in 1500. The change over from Chantry to Grammar School was made after the six Burnley priests took the oath of allegiance to Henry VIII and the supreme head of the English church. Sir Gilbert Fairbank, late priest of Saint Peters Chantry became the first Head of the new reformed endowed school which was founded in 1559 and was probably held in the Tudor Cross house opposite the church. Sir Gilbert had won the friendship of the townspeople by his sympathy for the poor – especially for lodging 'hedgebreakers' for which he was fined 4d. In the early days lessons were mostly oral because of the expense of books. The minimum age was five and subjects included Latin, Greek, some Hebrew, drama,logic, rhetoric, music, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. In 1602 a new school was built in the churchyard by John Towneley but he quarrelled with the governors and the following year another school was built in Bank Parade.

Meanwhile the national quarrel between Catholics and Protestants continued and Burnley Grammar School provided its share of Catholic martyrs including the Nutters. Other old boys became famous for different reasons: Richard Shuttleworth one of the three brothers became Sheriff of Lancashire and MP for Preston. He was also head of the country's militia in the Civil War at the time when grammar school boys were no doubt eyewitnesses to local battles between Royalists and Roundheads, the attack on Towneley Hall, and the flight of Yorkshire Roundheads to Burnley. Other famous old boys of the 17th century were Charles Sagar of Ightenhill who went to Cambridge, became head of Blackburn Grammar School and was later imprisoned in Lancaster Castle as a dissenter. Lawrence Halsted became the keeper of the records at the Tower of London. The 18th century was characterised by the worst evils of industrialisation, Bonnie Prince Charlie, the formation of the USA and the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars. Meantime the Burnley Grammar School boys enjoyed their Shrove Tuesday cockfights (the headmaster claimed the cocks which managed to leave the pit unscathed) and the privilege of locking the headmaster out of school on one day in the year.

Extra money was made by another custom – barring the way of the newly married couple from Saint Peters Church. Half a crown for the library and 6d each for the boys usually settled the right of way. At this time annual fees to the school were 10 shillings.

From the increasing number of illustrious Old Boys was the Reverend Henry Halliwell who became nationally famous as the translator of the classics. But school was not solely devoted to the classics. Boys learnt maths from Cocker's arithmetic – still in the school library – and were faced with problems like this – a merchant bought eight tuns of wine which being sophisticated he is willing to sell for £400 and loseth at that rate £12 in laying out £100 upon the same. Now I demand how much it cost him per tun?

The 1800s saw the rapid growth of the towns population and the deterioration of the school buildings described by a charity Commissioner as the wretched building in which classes are taught and which is alone sufficient to dishearten Masters and boys.

The governors agreed to share control of the school with the town and in 1873 the new block on the Bank Parade was built. Fees went up to 2 Guineas per year and at the end of the century a 4 guineas uniform fee was charged. A 19th-century report stated that the boys were rough and belonged to the lower middle class- entering the grammar school in an imperfect state of education. But those boys saw the building of our present town with its streets, mills and coal mines and took part in the gradual evolution of a better Burnley. The Borough took financial control of the school in 1909 and started a scholarship scheme. As previously the school continued to turn out famous old boys including Richard Shaw, Burnley's first MP, William Mitchell the next MP, Philip Hamerton who contributed to the Saturday Review, The Globe and the Pall Mall Gazette and Thomas Mcghie who became Printer and publisher of the Northern Daily Times at Liverpool.

From 100 pupils at the turn of the century, numbers increased to nearly 500 within 40 years. Not surprisingly the old boys Association which has a London branch is one of the most thriving in the country with membership of 1200. Mr J K Halliwell headmaster of Heasandford junior school is secretary of the BGS Old Boys Association and describes his job as very rewarding When Mr Halliwell was on holiday in Bath recently he met by chance Mr Lesley Laid, an old boy of BGS who is now a school inspector in Wiltshire. In Bridport he came across another old boy Mr Elliott Andrews now town clerk of Bridport and a former centre half for the school football team. The Old Boys Association has provided numerous items of equipment for the school including an organ and an outside pavilion as well as prizes and scholarships.

For deserving pupils a 'Pot of Gold' scheme has been started, the brainchild of the schools most famous living old boy, Lord Jackson of Burnley. Now Burnley Grammar School faces a new chapter in its history, the possibility of a change to the comprehensive system and the end of the 11+. In the words of Mr Stokes – it is a challenge which we have to accept. If there is goodwill on all sides, it will work very well. But it really depends on the parents making the right choice.