Walter Durdant, Bishop of Lichfield, in his charter, speaks of the school at Derby as the gift of himself and William de Barbâ Aprilis.

Walter Durdant, Bishop of Lichfield, in his charter, makes mention of the school at Derby, as the gift of himself and William de Barba Aprilis.

Flamsteed, the astronomer, received part of his education at this institution.Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries from 1536 to 1541, which included Darley Abbey, a few years later on 21 May 1554, Queen Mary I by a Royal Charter, and in return for a payment of £260 13s 4d, granted the Corporation of Derby several properties and endowments which had belonged to Darley Abbey, the College of All Saints, St Michael's Church, and some other suppressed chantries and gilds, for the foundation of "a Free Grammar School, for the instruction and education of boys and youths in the said town of Derby for ever to be maintained by the Bailiffs and Burgesses of the same town.

Due to the generosity of Edward Strutt, then the owner who had his property up for sale the school was allowed to move into St Helen's House in King Street, Derby in 1861 for a period of two years rent free.

While the astronomer John Flamsteed was at the Free Grammar School in the 1660s, parents were expected to provide boys with books, quill-pens, and wax candles to use when daylight failed.

The boys only grammar school duly moved in for the beginning of the 1861-1862 academic year and the house was purchased outright in 1863, using £1,300 raised by public subscription and a £2,000 mortgage taken out by Derby Corporation, which was repaid by 1873.

On the front of the extension, a stone bears the inscription "Quod faustum fortunatumque sit regiae scholae Derbiensi hunc lapidem initium operis felicissimis auspicus Alberti Eduardi Wal princip inlustrisque coniucis nuper suscepti sua ipse manu locavit Gulielmus Dux Devoniensis A. D. IV kal sext A. S. MDCCCLXXIV Praef Gualtero Clark A.M. Collegii S. Mar.

[16] The date stone on the boundary wall adjoining King Street outside 'B'-Block reads: "In usum huius scholae A.D. MCMI sepositum P.K.

In June 1882 a new little iron chapel, often referred to as a "tin tabernacle" was erected adjoining King Street for the cost of £290, which included a sum of £150 being contributed in thank-offerings of £5 each by gentlemen educated at Derby School who had gained scholarships, exhibitions or similar honourable distinctions.

In the 1930s this organisation began to set up wooden buildings on sites in the countryside so that urban children could experience Britain’s national surroundings.

After the war Derby Corporation Education Committee used Amber Valley Camp for monthly visits by the town’s secondary school children.

In September 1945 it started once again after the masters and boys returned from five years of evacuation to Overton Hall and Amber Valley Camp.

During the coldest weather for centuries the river Derwent in January 1963 froze over and all equipment, including boats, seats, timber, tools and other paraphernalia, was carried over to the other side across the thick ice.

St Helen's House was notable for its Fives Court, since demolished, this was in the grounds in front of the Pearson Building also known as 'B'-block and adjacent to the pavement in King Street.

As the many years passed of the school's occupation of St. Helen's House and the Pearson Building many scholars achieved high honours as they progressed with their education.

[citation needed] When Derby School was closed in 1989, the memorial was again moved back to St. Helen's House, where it now stands some 15 metres north of its original site.

Then World War II changed things once again as whilst a good half of the school was evacuated on 2 September 1939 to Overton Hall, many pupils were left behind in Derby due to shortage of room - two houses were created at Overton Hall called Greens and Atkinsons whilst those left back in Derby were called Hastings and Mellings.

Then in June 1940 when Amber Valley Camp was finally completed the whole school was reunited, including those from Derby, when they returned to their pre-war houses Gatelys (A to E of alphabet), Tanners (F to K), Fullers (L to R) and Grimes (S to Z).

The praeposters (props) and monitors were responsible for the behaviour of younger boys outside lessons in the halls and grounds of the school and were permitted to punish minor breaches of discipline.

One example was to require the boy to put a number of dots - usually four - in each square of an area of a sheet of graph paper - not as violent as the punishments handed out in the Rugby School of Tom Brown's Schooldays.

[22] On arrival at the new school site in 1966, its playing fields were found to be still full of stones, so in the beginning the boys were bussed across town to Parker’s Piece, off City Road at Chester Green, for sports.

It was covered in situ with tiles and by October 2015 the gold paint used in the mosaic work was showing serious deterioration and starting to affect the floor detrimentally.

An entry in Derb School Fasci 1867 and 1868 (which was the forerunner of The Derbeian) contains the following: A very desirable change has been made in the uniform of the Corps; for the Garabaldi Jackets and white flannel Trowsers, scarlet Tunics and blue serge Trowsers have been substituted.In September 2015 Andrew Polkey (a former pupil from 1961-1966) published a first edition of the book entitled A History of Derby School Cadet Corps - 1862 to 1973.

The JTC was popular with senior boys (Lower and Upper Fifth plus Sixth forms) with many going for the two weeks summer camp under canvas to places such as Aldershot and Catterick Army depots.

On returning to the St. Helen's House site in September 1945 the JTC continued operations including parades immediately using the main playground in front of 'B' Block, the one behind the School Chapel and the pre-war armory in the cloisters (near to the Chemistry Laboratory) to store their weapons.

A parade was held on Friday afternoons: members of the JTC and then the CCF would come to school in their corps uniforms, wearing berets and boots.

This resulted at the November 2014 Remembrance Sunday Service with the presentation of the completed Study from the Chairman of the OD Society to the President at that time, Mr A. Russell Thomas M.P.S.

This was popular and within 18 months meant a second and enlarged edition was published in 2016 containing previously unseen B&W photographs and additional information and facts within the text.

The Old Derbeian Society (ODS) was formed in 1911 allowing all pupils of Derby School, who had left their full-time secondary education, to enroll as members for life.

Then after the two-minute silence, the same pupil plays the "Reveille", this is followed by a short service which includes the reading out of every Old Derbeian who died and whose name is engraved on the War Memorial.