Shrewsbury School
Encyclopedia
Shrewsbury School 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...

 for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...

  in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...

, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, 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...

. It is one of the original nine Clarendon Schools (including Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, Harrow
Harrow
Harrow may refer to:*Harrow , an agricultural implement consisting of many spikes, tines or discs dragged across the soil-Places:* London Borough of Harrow** Harrow, London** Harrow on the Hill** North Harrow** West Harrow** Harrow Weald...

 and Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...

) that were defined by the Public Schools Act 1868
Public Schools Act 1868
The Public Schools Act 1868 was enacted by the British Parliament to reform and regulate nine of the leading English boys' schools. They were described as "public schools" as admission was open to boys from anywhere and was not limited to those living in a particular locality...

 Originally a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

 for boys, girls have been admitted into the Sixth Form since 2008 and its mixed gender roll of around 720 includes approximately 130 day pupils. Pupils are admitted at the age of 13 by selective examination. For approximately ten per cent of the pupils, English is a second or additional language. The school's old boys – or "Old Salopians" – include naturalist Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...

, poet Sir Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...

, his biographer, Fulke Greville, Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....

 Martin Rees
Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow
Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He has been Astronomer Royal since 1995 and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge since 2004...

, authors Samuel Butler and Nevil Shute, and broadcasters such as John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

 and Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....

.

History

Following a petition in 1542 to Henry VIII from the townspeople of Shrewsbury for a free school, Shrewsbury School was founded by charter in 1552 under King Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...

 by Adam Jones in three rented wooden buildings, which included Riggs Hall, built in 1450, and now the only remaining part of the original foundation. Originally, the curriculum was based on Continental Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

, under scholarly headmaster, Thomas Ashton and boys were taught the catechism of Calvin
Calvin
Calvin may refer to:People with the surname Calvin:* John Calvin, theologian, founder of Calvinism* Idelette Calvin, wife of John Calvin, founder of Calvinism* Melvin Calvin, American chemist* Samuel Calvin, U.S. geologist...

. The school attracted large numbers of pupils from Protestant families in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and North Wales. It had few facilities so early pupils lodged with local families. Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...

, who attended Shrewsbury between the ages of nine and thirteen, lodged with the family of George Leigh, Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury. Having achieved a reputation for excellence under Ashton, in 1571 the school was augmented by Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

. The stone buildings, including a chapel, dormitories, library and classrooms were completed by 1630 and the school continued in these, until it was relocated in 1882. After period of decline and following extensive restoration work, the buildings were re-opened as Shrewsbury Public Library, on Castle Hill in 1983.

In 1868 the school was named one of the nine ‘great’ schools of England (along with Charterhouse
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...

, Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...

, Merchant Taylors'
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....

, Rugby
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...

, St Paul's, Westminster
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

 and Winchester
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...

) in the Public Schools Act
Public Schools Act 1868
The Public Schools Act 1868 was enacted by the British Parliament to reform and regulate nine of the leading English boys' schools. They were described as "public schools" as admission was open to boys from anywhere and was not limited to those living in a particular locality...

. Headmasters include Sir Thomas Ashton, Samuel Butler, Benjamin Hall Kennedy
Benjamin Hall Kennedy
Benjamin Hall Kennedy was an English scholar and schoolmaster, known for his work in the teaching of the Latin language.-Biography:...

, Cyril Argentin Alington
Cyril Alington
Cyril Argentine Alington was an English educationalist, scholar, cleric, and prolific author. He was the headmaster of both Shrewsbury School and Eton College. He also served as chaplain to King George V and as Dean of Durham....

, H. H. Hardy, Lord Wolfenden
John Wolfenden, Baron Wolfenden
John Frederick Wolfenden, Baron Wolfenden, CBE was a British educationalist probably best remembered for chairing the Wolfenden report recommending the decriminalisation of homosexuality, which was published in 1957...

 and Sir Eric Anderson
William Eric Kinloch Anderson
Sir William "Eric" Kinloch Anderson, , was Provost of Eton College from September 2000 – 30 January 2009.Anderson was educated at George Watson's College, Edinburgh and gained a MA degree in English at the University of St. Andrews...

. Sir Thomas Ashton, the first headmaster, gave the school a classical and humanistic tone that has been retained, though sciences and other studies are now also in the curriculum.

In 1882, Headmaster Henry Whitehead Moss
Henry Whitehead Moss
Henry Whitehead Moss was an English scholar.He was educated at Shrewsbury and St. John's College, Cambridge, where he held a scholarship. In 1862, two years after his arrival, he was elected the Craven University scholar, and in 1864 he gained his BA as Senior Classic and was appointed a Fellow...

 moved the school from its original town centre location to a new site over the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...

, in Kingsland (a site which had, amongst other things, housed the Shrewsbury workhouse and a foundling hospital).

In 1912 Neville Cardus
Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE was an English writer and critic, best known for his writing on music and cricket. For many years, he wrote for The Manchester Guardian. He was untrained in music, and his style of criticism was subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast with his critical...

, subsequently to become famous as a music and cricket journalist, was appointed the school's assistant cricket professional. In 1914 he became secretary to the then headmaster, Cyril Alington.

Since the turn of the millennium, the school's site has seen investment. A new music school, The Maidment Building, was opened by Prince Charles in 2001. The Main School Building saw an internal renovation over several years, modernising all classrooms. A new boarding house has been completed, as has a new world-class indoor cricket centre and a new swimming pool.
In 2003 Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok
Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok
Shrewsbury International School was established in 2003. It sits on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. Although it is an independent school, it is closely affiliated to Shrewsbury School in the UK...

 was opened in Bangkok, Thailand, in a location on the banks of the Chao Phraya River
Chao Phraya River
The Chao Phraya is a major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It runs through Bangkok, the capital city, and then empties into the Gulf of Thailand.-Etymology:...

.

In 2005 Shrewsbury School was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel 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. However, Mrs Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and that they were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed."

In November 2005, a decision was taken by the governors to admit girls to the sixth form; initially aiming to admit 60 girls, then increasing to 100.

Houses

There are nine boarding houses and two for dayboys, each with its own housemaster or housemistress (in brackets), tutor team and matron. Each house also has its own colours. The many inter-house competitions play an important role in school life. In football each house competes in four different leagues (two senior, two junior) and three knock-out competitions (two senior, one junior). A single house will hold around 60 boys, although School House and each of the dayboy houses hold slightly more. The houses, and their colours are:
  • Churchill's Hall Dark Blue & Light Blue (Richard Hudson)
  • The Grove Cornflower Blue and White (Dan Nicholas)
  • Ingram's Hall Green & White (Mike Wright)
  • Moser's Hall Deep Red & Black (Paul Pattenden)
  • Oldham's Hall Chocolate Brown & White (Marcus Johnson)
  • Port Hill (formerly merged with Radbrook as 'Dayboys Hall') Gold & Red (Andy Barnard)
  • Radbrook (formerly merged with Port Hill as 'Dayboys Hall') Violet & White (Des Hann)
  • Ridgemount Royal Blue & Old Gold (Will Hughes)
  • Rigg's Hall Chocolate & Gold (Peter Middleton)
  • School House (formerly split as 'Doctors' and 'Headroom') Black, Magenta & White (Giles Bell)
  • Severn Hill (formerly known as 'Chances') Maroon & French Grey (Paul Vicars)
  • Mary Sidney Hall (opened in September 2008) Dark Blue & Pink (Sarah Hankin)
  • Emma Darwin Hall (soon to be opened in September 2011) (Kate Weston)

School Arms

The Arms of the school are those of King Edward VI being The Arms of England (three lions passant) quartered with those of France (fleur-de-lys).

Publications

Sabrinae corolla in hortulis Regiae scholae salopiensis contextuerunt tres viri floribus legendis was a collection of Latin verse by members of the school which first appeared in 1850 (the publisher was George Bell, London). It was edited by Benjamin H. Kennedy, James Riddell and George W. Clark; there was also a revised edition (1890) with revisions by Henry Holden and R. D. Archer-Hind.

The school publishes the Public Nose newspaper - a deliberate variation of the Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...

 magazine. Despite this the Public Nose is not a satirical magazine, but a current events one more akin to a student newspaper
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....

. However, the pupils do run and publish The Falopian, which is entirely student controlled and satirises current events within the school much like the Private Eye does in wider society. The Salopian is a newsletter published by the school (mainly by the staff but with some direct contributions from pupils) and sent to parents to update them on current events within the school.

Former headmasters

Old Salopians

Former pupils are referred to as Old Salopians. Contemporary (i.e. living) Old Salopians include:
  • Christopher Booker
    Christopher Booker
    Christopher John Penrice Booker is an English journalist and author. In 1961, he was one of the founders of the magazine Private Eye, and has contributed to it for over four decades. He has been a columnist for the Sunday Telegraph since 1990...

     (born 1937), journalist, founder of Private Eye
    Private Eye
    Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...

  • Tim Booth
    Tim Booth
    Timothy John Booth is an English singer, dancer, and actor best known as the lead singer from the band James.-1980s:Booth was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and attended Shrewsbury School...

     (born 1960) musician
  • Nick Hancock (born 1962), actor and TV presenter
  • Jonty Heaversedge
    Jonty Heaversedge
    Jonty Heaversedge is a British media doctor. After attending Shrewsbury School, he studied medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine School of Medicine and he is now a partner in a GP practice in South East London....

    , physician
  • The Right Honourable The Lord Heseltine CH PC
    Michael Heseltine
    Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...

     (born 1933), politician
  • Richard Ingrams
    Richard Ingrams
    Richard Ingrams is an English journalist, a co-founder and second editor of the British satirical magazine Private Eye, and now editor of The Oldie magazine.-Career:...

     (born 1937), journalist, founder of Private Eye
    Private Eye
    Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...

  • Sir Mark Moody-Stuart (born 1940), ex-chairman of Royal Dutch Shell
    Royal Dutch Shell
    Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...

     and Chairman of the UN Global Compact committee
  • Lord Hutton (born 1931), Law Lord, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Chairman of Hutton Inquiry
  • Sir Colin Hugh Verel McColl
    Colin McColl
    Sir Colin Hugh Verel McColl, KCMG was Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1989 to 1994.-Career:Educated at Shrewsbury School and at Queen's College, Oxford, McColl joined the diplomatic service in 1950...

     (born 1932), Ex-Director of SIS
  • Nick Owen
    Nick Owen
    Nicholas "Nick" Corbishley Owen is an English television presenter and newsreader, best known for presenting the breakfast television programme TV-am and the BBC's local news show Midlands Today since 1997...

     (born 1947), TV presenter
  • Michael Palin CBE
    Michael Palin
    Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....

     (born 1943), actor and TV presenter
  • Nicholas Rankin
    Nicholas Rankin
    Nicholas Rankin is a British writer and broadcaster.Rankin was born in Yorkshire, England but grew up in Kenya. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and Christ Church, Oxford. He has lived and worked in Bolivia and Catalonia, Spain....

     (born 1950), writer and broadcaster.
  • Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow
    Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow
    Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He has been Astronomer Royal since 1995 and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge since 2004...

     (born 1942), Astronomer Royal, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
    Trinity College, Cambridge
    Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

    , President of Royal Society
  • Simon Shackleton
    Simon Shackleton
    Simon Shackleton is a musician, operating primarily under the name Elite Force, but also under aliases such as sHack, Killer Elite, Futurecore, Double Black, pHrack R and Zodiac Cartel. While a student at Exeter University he started his first band, Headless Chickens with future Radiohead frontman...

     (born 1968), DJ, musician
  • Sir John Stuttard
    John Stuttard
    Sir John Boothman Stuttard is an English chartered accountant and was the Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2006/2007.-Early life:...

     (born 1945), Alderman and Lord Mayor of the City of London 2006-07
  • James Taylor
    James Taylor
    James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....

     (born 1990) Leicestershire and England Lions cricketer.

Victoria Cross holders

Two Old Salopians are known to have received 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....

, both in the First World War, 1914-18.
  • Thomas Tannatt Pryce
    Thomas Tannatt Pryce
    Thomas Tannatt Pryce VC MC & Bar was a Welsh 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....

  • Harold Ackroyd
    Harold Ackroyd
    Harold Ackroyd VC, MC 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....


External links

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