History

Thomas Adams School has a rich and fascinating history. The Free School of Wem was founded by Sir Thomas Adams, Bt. in 1650. The school was rebuilt in 1776 and a plaque installed at the time to commemorate this is still visible in the earliest photos we have on record.

By the early 1930s the number of pupils had grown considerably and the original structure was incorporated into a much larger premises. The changes were very interesting indeed as the building seemed to 'grow' from beneath! These buildings and others nearby formed the Wem Grammar School which then became the Adams Sixth Form Centre when the 'secondary modern' was established in 1976 on a 30 acre campus opposite at Lowe Hill. 

'Adams School' was a co-educational comprehensive school catering for all pupils in Wem and the surrounding communities. The school has grown considerably since 1976 and changed its name in the 1990s from Adams School to The Thomas Adams School. Meanwhile, additional accommodation was added to the sixth form campus before it became Adams College.

The School has always had boarders and, Adams House, its boarding house today accommodates over 60 boarders from around the world.  Indeed, we belong to that select band of schools nationally which are able to call themselves state boarding schools.  Certainly we are unique in Shropshire in offering state boarding school provision.

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