Royal Russell School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Royal Russell School is an independent co-educational boarding school in Coombe near Croydon, South London.

The school was established in 1866 as the Warehousemen, Drapers and Haberdashers school, and opened by Edward, Prince of Wales with John Russell, Lord Russell as its president. The demand for more places for children orphaned by the First World War saw the school need to expand to a new campus. In the 1920s, the estate of Charles Hermann Goschen, Lord Lieutenant of the City of London, was donated to the trustees of the school. The new school, built to the side of the mansion, was designed by Sir Aston Webb, architect of Imperial College.

The school offers facilities including three sports fields, sports hall and gym, indoor swimming pool and extensive library plus sixth form study area. Royal Russell has a wide range of extra-curricular activities which includes Model United Nations (MUN). The school holds an annual international MUN conference, and was the first school in Britain to host one. The school also has a Combined Cadet Force which includes Army and RAF sections. The school is open to both day pupils and borders. In 2003, the school held celebrations to mark its sesquicentennial year. This included Queen Elizabeth II's second visit to the school.

Alumni are referred to as Old Russellians and the moto of the school is "Non sibi sed omnibus" meaning "Not for self but for all". The School is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.