Way before Micheal Gove and the Academies Bill there was the Cocker Hill Academy.
The Cocker Hill Academy was the only recorded school in Stalybridge back in the 1700’s.
John Bradbury the botanist was educated at the Cocker Hill Academy by John Taylor. Taylor was a keen botanist himself and encouraged Bradbury’s interest.
Below is an advert I found for the school from 1807. James Knight was Principal and taught “reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, history, mensuration (The act, process, or art of measuring), drawing and penmanship” his wife looked after the girls department and taught “plain and useful sewing, knitting, embroidery etc”. The address is given as Blandford Street, Stalybridge. James Knight kept a diary from the mid 1850’s until 1862, some of them have survived and are available to view at Tameside Local Studies Library
Advertisement for the Cocker Hill Academy
Cocker Hill, Stalybridge 