Bromsgrove School
Encyclopedia
Bromsgrove School, founded in 1553, is a co-educational independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

 in the Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

 town of Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The school has a long history and many notable former pupils.

History

The school was first recorded in 1476 as a chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...

 school and was re-established as a Tudor
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...

 grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...

 between 1548 and 1553. The financial endowment of Sir Thomas Cookes
Thomas Cookes
Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet , benefactor of Worcester College, Oxford, was the eldest son of Sir William Cookes, 1st Baronet, of Norgrove Court, Worcestershire, and his second wife, Mercy, née Dinely....

 in 1693 produced the first buildings on the present site and the historic link with Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...

 which shares the same coat of arms and motto, based on those of Thomas Cookes of Norgrove
Norgrove
Norgrove may refer to:*Norgrove Court, a stately home*David Norgrove, British businessman*Linda Norgrove, British aid worker killed in Afghanistan, see Death of Linda Norgrove...

. In 1869 Bromsgrove was one of the fourteen founding schools of the Headmasters' Conference. During the Second World War the school was moved to Llanwrtyd Wells
Llanwrtyd Wells
Llanwrtyd Wells is a small town in the parish of Llanwrtyd in Powys, mid Wales, lying on the River Irfon.With a population of 601 people , it claims to be the smallest town in Britain, although Fordwich in Kent has a smaller population...

 in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and its buildings were used by British government departments. In 2002 the school established Bromsgrove International School Thailand (BIST)
Bromsgrove International School Thailand (BIST)
BROMSGROVE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL THAILANDLocation: Bangkok, ThailandMotto: Deo, regi, vicino School type: Independent, British Curriculum School in Thailand, Day and BoardingEstablished: 2002...

 in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.

In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.

In 2007, the school was granted the Freedom
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...

 of Llanwrtyd Wells, and at the end of each summer term, a commemoration day takes place (known colloquially as Commem), in which a wreath is laid beneath Sir Thomas Cooke's portrait, followed by a service at St. John the Baptist church in Bromsgrove, with the day ending in pupils shaking hands with the headmaster and heads of school.

In 2010, a fourteen-million pound development was announced for the main campus of the senior school to be completed in the summer of 2012, beginning in July 2010 with the construction of a new entrance lodge and drive from Worcester Road. This will lead to the new buildings, including a sports teaching and hospitality suite with a function room, a bar, and kitchen, overlooking the sports pitches. A new indoor sports centre with an eight court netball and indoor hockey pitch, fit for both regional and national indoor hockey matches. Also included will be both basketball and cricket net facilities, as well as a 900 hundred seat spectators' viewing area. A new boarding house for Oakley, and the refurbishment of Mary Windsor House, as well as boarding houses for the preparatory school, for both boys and girls. A new dining hall is also being built to replace the present one on another part of the campus where the present dining hall is situated.

Students

Bromsgrove School has boarding and day students and consists of three schools, Pre-Prep Nursery School (ages 2–7), Preparatory School (ages 7–13) and the Senior School (13–18). The School has a total of 1,600 pupils, including 200 in the Pre-preparatory School, 500 in the Preparatory School and 900 in the Senior School, of whom 60% are male and 40% female, 60% boarding and 40% day. As well as British students, there are more than three hundred from 40 different countries, especially Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

.

The school is to some extent a selective school
Selective school
A selective school is a school that admits students on the basis of some sort of selection criteria, usually academic. The term may have different connotations in different systems....

 and high A-Level and GCSE grades are achieved, with an A-Level pass rate (grade A*-C) of 96%. Bromsgrove also started teaching the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) in 2009, with 6th form students having the choice between them and A-Levels. A Rugby match against King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...

, that has been played annually since 1875, is thought to be the oldest continuous Rugby fixture
Oldest football competitions
The world's oldest football competition is a title claimed by many.Many early football fixtures before the 1850s did not have set rules, clubs or trophies and are poorly documented.Some competitions were semi-organised fixtures, others offered trophies....

 between two schools in England.

Houses

The preparatory school houses of Boulton (Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...

), Darby (Abraham Darby
Abraham Darby
Abraham Darby may refer to:*Abraham Darby I *Abraham Darby II *Abraham Darby III *Abraham Darby IV , High Sheriff of BuckinghamshireAbraham Darby may also refer to:...

), Telford (Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...

), Watt (James Watt), are named after the famous British industrialists.

Hazeldene is a house for day girls, and Housman Hall for Sixth Form girls and boys was opened in 2005, after the school bought the Ramada
Ramada
Ramada is a hotel chain owned and operated by Wyndham Worldwide.- History :The lodging chain was founded in 1953 by longtime Chicago restaurateur Marion W...

 Perry Hall Hotel for 3 million pounds. The building was formerly the home of A.E. Housman, an old Bromsgrovian, and was expanded in 2009. Lupton, named after Lupton House, Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...

, and Lyttelton, named after the school's links with Baron Lyttelton
Baron Lyttelton
Lord Lyttelton, Baron of Frankley, in the County of Worcester, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, created in 1794. Since 1889 it is a subsidiary title of the viscountcy of Cobham....

, a local Lord (which is also where the Cobham links came from) are houses for day boys. Mary Windsor, named after the daughter of Thomas Windsor Windsor, 1st Earl of Plymouth and Anne Savile is for girl boarders. Thomas Cookes, named after the founder of the school in its current incarnation,is day girls house. Oakley House is for boarding girls. School House and Walters house are for day boys. School House leads the final call over during the end of year Commemoration Day ceremony as it is the Senior house of the school, and Wendron Gordon with over 100 pupils in 2009-2010 due to merging with School House, (Formerly the original Gordon House combined with the "out house", Wendron), is for boy boarders. The Senior School house Elmshurst, is also for boy boarders and was named after the original house that was located at 17 New Road. Elmshurst was sold in the mid-1970s and the students relocated within the school campus to the current building which was refurbished in 2009 at a cost of around £500,000.

Notable students

There have been many notable alumni, called Old Bromsgrovians, including five Victoria Cross recipients, and one George Cross holder. AE Housman is one of the early recognisable names, whose house is now the school's House; Housman Hall. In business and politics, David Arculus
David Arculus
Sir David Arculus is a British media figure, businessman and advisor to Government who has appeared several times in The Sunday Times Power 100, ranked at number 39 in 2005....

, Stewart Towe CBE and Digby Jones
Digby Jones
Digby Marritt Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham, Kt is a British businessman and politician, who has served as Director General of the CBI and Minister of State for Trade and Investment...

 were educated at Bromsgrove, as were actors Ian Carmichael
Ian Carmichael
Ian Gillett Carmichael, OBE was an English film, stage, television and radio actor.-Early life:Carmichael was born in Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The son of an optician, he was educated at Scarborough College and Bromsgrove School, before training as an actor at RADA...

, Trevor Eve
Trevor Eve
Trevor John Eve is a British film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead.-Early life:Eve was born in Sutton Coldfield,...

 (of Shoestring), and Nick Miles
Nick Miles
Nick Miles is an English actor well known for his part in ITV's Emmerdale as businessman Jimmy King. He also appeared in the music video of Embrace's 1998 hit "Come Back to What You Know" as a policeman....

 (of Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...

). The author Nicholas Evans
Nicholas Evans
Nicholas Evans is an English journalist, screenwriter television and film producer and novelist. Evans was born at in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, and educated at Bromsgrove School but before studying at Oxford University, he served in Africa with the charity Voluntary Service Overseas...

 who wrote The Horse Whisperer
The Horse Whisperer
The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Nicholas Evans...

, while in music, John Illsley
John Illsley
John Illsley is an English musician who rose to fame as the bass guitarist of the critically acclaimed rock band, Dire Straits...

 of the rock band Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...

 attended both the Prep and Senior Schools, and more recently Guillemots
Guillemots (band)
Guillemots are a BRIT Award nominated indie rock band formed in November 2004 by Fyfe Dangerfield. The band consists of 4 members: Fyfe Dangerfield, MC Lord Magrão, Aristazabal Hawkes & Greig Stewart. Although formed in Birmingham and now based in London, the band's members have been compiled from...

 member Fyfe Dangerfield
Fyfe Dangerfield
Fyfe Antony Dangerfield Hutchins is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the founding member of the indie rock band Guillemots.-Early life:...

 and jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch
Soweto Kinch
Soweto Kinch is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper.Born in London, England to a Barbadian father, who is a playwright, and British-Jamaican mother, who is an actress, Kinch began playing saxophone at the age of nine after learning clarinet at Allfarthing Primary School, Wandsworth, SW London...

 were pupils at the school. The school has also produced well known sportspeople including Matt Neal
Matt Neal
Matthew Neal is a British motor racing driver. He won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. He has also won a European Touring Car Championship race. He is 6' 6" tall, making him almost entirely unable to race single-seaters...

, a motor racing driver, who attended during the 1980s. Andy Goode
Andy Goode
Andrew James Goode is a rugby union footballer who plays fly-half for Worcester and England.-Career:...

, Ben Foden
Ben Foden
Benjamin Foden is a rugby union footballer who plays for Northampton Saints and England. He plays at fullback or scrum-half, but can also operate on the wing...

 and Matt Mullan
Matt Mullan
Matt Mullan is an English rugby union player for Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership, after being promoted from the RFU Championship.He plays as a loosehead prop but can also play hooker....

 were also pupils and have since played Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 for England.

Victoria Cross holders

Five Old Bromsgrovians have won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

:
  • Field Marshal
    Field Marshal
    Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

     Sir George White V.C.
    Victoria Cross
    The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

    , (1835–1912), Commander-in-Chief, India
    Commander-in-Chief, India
    During the period of the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India was the supreme commander of the Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his staff were based at General Headquarters, India, and liaised with the civilian Governor-General of India...

    , 1893–1899, Governor of Gibraltar
    Governor of Gibraltar
    The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Governor is appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the British Government...

    , 1900–1904,
  • Percy Thompson Dean
    Percy Thompson Dean
    Lieutenant-Commander Percy Thompson Dean VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.Dean was 40 years old and a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer...

     V.C.
    Victoria Cross
    The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

    , (1877–1939)
  • Eustace Jotham
    Eustace Jotham
    Eustace Jotham VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

     V.C.
    Victoria Cross
    The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

    , (c.1884–1915)
  • Frank Bernard Wearne
    Frank Bernard Wearne
    Frank Bernard Wearne VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...

     V.C.
    Victoria Cross
    The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

    , (c.1894–1917)
  • Nigel Gray Leakey
    Nigel Gray Leakey
    Nigel Gray Leakey VC was a Kenyan recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...

     V.C.
    Victoria Cross
    The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

    , (1913–1941)

George Cross Holders

One Old Bromsgrovian has won the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...

:
  • Group Captain Oliver Campbell Bryson
    Oliver Bryson
    Oliver Campbell Bryson MC, DFC with Bar, G.C. , was a career Royal Air Force officer who served in both World Wars. He was a flying ace credited with 12 aerial victories during World War I.-World War I service:...

     G.C.
    George Cross
    The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...

    , Royal Flying Corps
    Royal Flying Corps
    The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

    , (1896–1977)

See also


External links

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