John Hampden Grammar School

John Hampden Grammar School is a selective state boys' grammar school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is named after the local Member of Parliament and English Civil War commander John Hampden.On 1 June 2011 Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, approved the school's application to become an Academy.HistoryEarly origins – the Schools of Science and ArtIn the early 1890s a fund was set up to raise money for an art and technical school in High Wycombe to help support the traditional skills in the town of cabinet making, carving and polishing. Early donations to the fund included a grant of £575 from the School of Art in Kensington Gardens and a further donation from Buckinghamshire County Council's education fund which had benefited from proceeds derived from an unpopular tax imposed on wines and spirits. To make up the shortfall needed to pay for the building the schools' trustees and general committee ran a three-day fair in the grounds of Wycombe Abbey, the home of the then Lord Carrington. The fête took place in July 1892, with Lady Carrington arriving by a special train from Paddington. The Great Western Railway also ran excursions from Maidenhead, Thame, Aylesbury and Chinnor and the revelries were led by the band of the 17th Lancers. By the end of the event the committee had raised £800.