The Brunts Academy can trace its history back to an elementary school that was founded in 1687 and had endowments equal to £100 per year. In 1709, Samuel Brunt left a bequest in order that local children could learn an honest trade. The bequest and the school resulted in 40 boys and girls learning reading, writing and arithmetic by 1831 with the girls particularly studying needlework. It was not until 60 years later that the school and the bequest were combined. In recognition of his significance in the school's founding, Brunt was referenced in the school's former 'school song'; 'Old Samuel Brunts was a yeoman staunch/ In the days of good Queen Ann/ He’d a heart as big as his periwig/ And he loved his fellow man/ As he strolled one day down Toothill Lane/ With his red-heeled shoes and his gold-topped cane/ He took a pinch of choice rappee/ “And I know what I’ll do with my lands,” said he.' In 1830 Brunts Charity owned buildings and land in East Bridgford, Nottingham's marketplace and at Claypool in Lincolnshire. It was the richest of all the charitable foundations in Mansfield in 1832 when it was paying out £4 a year to 220 different claimants. By 1891, Samuel Brunt's bequest was worth £3,800 so the new school was named Brunts Technical School. A new building was established at Woodhouse Road, Mansfield with the new Brunts Technical School officially opened 29 September 1894. In 1976 Brunts Grammar School became a comprehensive. The old school buildings were closed prior to 1999, with pupils transferred to a new build on a greenfield site nearby at The Park.
Organisation
The school's intake is taken from a number of schools known as the 'family of schools'. The list includes King Edward School, Sutton Road School, St Peter's School, High Oakham School and Newgate Primary School. The school uniform includes distinctive green blazers for both boys and girls. The school colours are green and gold, and the school emblem is a rearing griffin within a shield with the academy's motto, Nil mortalibus ardui est, meaning "nothing is impossible for humankind" emblazoned upon it. The Brunts Academy's school song was composed in 1944 by former music teachers H S Rosen and A D Sanders.
Academic standards
In 2002, there were nearly 1,500 pupils in the school, of whom fewer than 1,300 were at age 16 or below. The school achieved 57% A-C passes with only 5% achieving no passes at all. This was 5% better than the county and 10% above the national average. Overall the school is characterised by a high proportion of white pupils compared with the national average and nearly all students have English as their first language. Attainment is "broadly average" and at the inspection of the school by Her Majesty's Inspectorate in 2009, the school was assessed as "satisfactory" with higher marks for its pastoral care.
