Borden Grammar School 3.79

Borden Grammar School is a selective boys grammar school with academy status situated in the centre of Sittingbourne, Kent, England, which educates students aged 11–18. Whilst the school mainly admits boys, a small number girls have been educated at the school within the Sixth Form. The school holds specialist status in Sports. The school has a Latin motto, nitere porro which translates as "to strive forward".HistoryThe school was originally built in Borden on College Road, funded with a bequest from the estate of a local farmer, William Barrow, and opened in October 1878. The school's name was not fixed in its early years, variously being called The Barrow Boys' Grammar School and Barrow's School, Borden, but was known as Borden Grammar School by the early Twentieth Century.In 1928, the School moved to its present site in Avenue of Remembrance, Sittingbourne, the new building being opened by George, Lord Harris, but retained its name despite no longer being in Borden. The old school building is now an Adult Education Centre.HousesIn common with many secondary schools in England, Borden had a house system from its earliest days; however this traditional system was ended by headmaster Stephen Wright in 2002. The original houses were 'Borden', 'Swale', 'Barrow' and 'School'. Aside from the references to the school's location and benefactor, the etymology of 'Swale' can be explained by reference to the local stretch of water, The Swale, which runs between Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey and also lends its name to the local Borough Council.