cornerstone of its pastoral and sporting activity (even as late as the 1960s), but the number of Foundationers was declining. In the 1950s the annual subscription to the Foundation Scheme was raised from one guinea to two guineas, but with the creation of the Welfare State joining the scheme became increasingly less popular. In 1955 there were 82 Foundationers and 44 paying Boarders. Seven years later, these figures had reversed. War years During World War I, the school hospital was used by the Red Cross for treating over 1,400 injured soldiers. During World War II, students from Manchester High School for Girls and Fairfield High School For Girls Droylsden were evacuated to the school. 60 Old Waconians lost their lives in World War I, and 46 in World War II. An increasing number of day pupils were taken during the Second World War to help with the war effort as new schools in the areas could not be built. Independent status and growth By the 1950s and 1960s Cheadle Hulme School had become a renowned direct grant grammar school, deciding to become, again, independent in 1976 when the Labour government abolished the Direct Grant Scheme. During the 1970s and 1980s the School continued to thrive. With the expansion of the Junior School, the School roll topped 1,000 pupils for the first time and an anonymous donation allowed for a refurbishment of the Boarding House, although the number of children choosing to board was steadily declining. By the beginning of the 1990s the number of boarders had dropped to only 77 so the difficult decision to close the Boarding House was made by the new Head Mr Donald Wilkinson. The old dorms have since been converted into classrooms. The rest of the School was growing, however, as a new Infants Department opened in 1998 taking children from the age of 4. New buildings sprang up in the 80s and 90s including specialist buildings such as for the ICT and MFL departments. 21st century The new millennium saw the appointment of a new Head, Mr Paul Dixon (Head from 2001 to 2010) and the celebration of the School's 150th anniversary when over 1,400 former pupils returned to the School for reunions. The anniversary also saw the launch of a new Bursary scheme, honouring the traditions of the founding fathers of the School, and a book, "Heads and Tales", was specially produced for