Royal Hospital School
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The Royal Hospital School is a co-educational independent boarding school which takes pupils from age 11 to 18 (years 7 to 13).
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[edit] Location
Located in the village of Holbrook, near Ipswich, Suffolk, England, where it has been since 1933. The land on which the school is now situated was bequeathed to the school by Gifford Sherman-Reade, along with the sum of £1 million. Originally the school was part of Greenwich_Hospital_(London) and was based in what is now the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London where it was founded by royal charter in 1693.The school was designed by the Birmingham based Arts & Crafts architect Herbert Tudor Buckland.
[edit] Royal charter
The aim of the royal charter was to provide assistance and education to the orphans of seafarers in the Royal and Merchant Navies. Thus, until relatively recently, entry to the school was limited to the children or grandchildren of seafarers. Now, although it is not exclusively seafarers' children or grandchildren, there is still a subsidy to the school fees of these students. Until the 1950s, boys of the school were also required to join the Royal or Merchant navies and as such the education was very much maritime focused. However, this requirement has not been in force for some time, but the school has retained certain naval traditions such as number 1 dress, divisions and an element of marching.
[edit] Holbrook Coastguard
The Holbrook Coastguard, founded in 1996, has a fully operational watch station and CRV. The area the team covers stretches from the Dry Dock in Ipswich to Shotley and then from Shotley to the White Bridge at Manningtree, but often operate in the Wrabness area with the neighbouring team.
Holbrook Coastguard is unique since, in term-time, it is run entirely by students. While there is a student-operated coastguard in Scotland and Wales, it is the only one of its kind in England. There is a student in charge elected every year but there are adult team members who are in control during the school holidays. The student team has members up to 18 years old and some members as young as 14.
[edit] Pupils
The school currently houses approximately 680 pupils. The school removed all female pupils at one stage in its early history due to their "demonic influence". However, they were allowed back into the school in the 1990s.
The school has a marching and concert band, a choir, an orchestra, a ceremonial guard and a Community Action Team, composed almost entirely of pupils.
[edit] Houses
Girls now occupy 4 of the 10 junior houses. The boarding houses are named after famous admirals: Anson, Blake, Collingwood, Cornwallis, Drake, Hawke, Hood, Howe, Raleigh and St. Vincent (girls' houses in italics). The eleventh house, Nelson, is for those in upper sixth year and is a mixed house.
The Bannerman Trophy is awarded to the house that shows the best overall smartness throughout the year; both around the school and on divisions.
[edit] Raleigh House
Raleigh House is one of the boys houses. It has around 50 boys aged 11-17 (years 7-12). As at 2006-07 Raleigh House was holding the Bannerman Trophy
[edit] Drake House
Drake house has won the Bannerman Trophy in five of the last seven years.
[edit] Notable connections
Former pupil Admiral Arthur Phillip was the founder of Sydney, Australia and the governor of the first European colony on the continent, New South Wales.
