Shrewsbury School

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Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School Crest
Motto Intus Si Recte Ne Labora (Latin: "If Right Within, Trouble Not")
Established 1552
School type Independent
Headmaster Jeremy W.R. Goulding MA (Oxon)
Second Master Michael J. Tonks BA
Senior Master Peter A. Fanning MA (Cantab)
Location Kingsland, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK
Chairman Sir David Lees FCA
Affiliations Church of England
Chaplain Rev. Gary Dobbie
Enrollment circa. 690 students
Faculty circa. 100 (full-time)
Badges Mating Lions
Fleur-de-lis
Founder King Edward VI
Colours Blue and Gold
School song Floreat Salopia
Homepage http://www.shrewsbury.org.uk

King Edward VI Grammar School, Shrewsbury, normally known as Shrewsbury School, is an independent school, located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It is one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868 and is now a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Shrewsbury School was originally a boarding school for boys aged between 13 and 18. Day pupils are now accepted. The enrollment is around 690 boys; the first girls will arrive in the Sixth Form in September 2008.

Shrewsbury School has some noteable alumni, including naturalist Charles Darwin, poet Sir Philip Sidney, Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees, Monty Python contributor Michael Palin, creator of Private Eye magazine Richard Ingrams and the DJ John Peel.

The school has a newspaper known as the "Public Nose" (a deliberate variation of the 'Private Eye' magazine) which is published twice a month by a committee of pupils.

The school also has a magazine with a satirical outlook on current affairs known as 'The Fallopian' edited by Michael Webb.

Contents

[edit] History

Shrewsbury School was founded in 1552 by King Edward VI, and in 1571 was augmented by Queen Elizabeth I. In 1868 the school was named one of the nine ‘great’ schools of England (along with Charterhouse, Eton, Harrow, Merchant Taylors' Rugby, St Paul's, Westminster and Winchester) in the Public Schools Act passed by the British Parliament. Headmasters include Sir Thomas Ashton, Samuel Butler, Benjamin Hall Kennedy, Cyril Argentin Alington, Lord Wolfenden and Sir Eric Anderson. 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.

Charles Darwin wrote, of his time at the school::

Nothing could have been worse for the development of my mind than Dr. Butler's school, as it was strictly classical, nothing else being taught, except a little ancient geography and history. The school as a means of education to me was simply a blank. (The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, 1887)

In 1882, Headmaster Henry Whitehead Moss moved the school from its original town centre location to a new site across the River Severn, in the affluent Kingsland suburb. The original buildings are now used as the Shrewsbury Town Library.

The school accepts only boys. However, in November 2005, the governors of the school decided to allow girls to enter the sixth form; initially aiming to admit 60 girls, then increasing to 100. This will bring Shrewsbury's 455-year-long tradition of being an all-boys school to an end. In March 2006, the Headmaster announced in a letter to parents that the girls arrival would be delayed for a year, to September 2008, due to delays in the construction of the girl's boarding house.

In 2003 Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok was opened in Bangkok, Thailand, in a location on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. The headmaster of this school is Stephen Holroyd, who taught English at Shrewsbury School and was formerly the housemaster of Severn Hill (see 'Houses') and then the Second Master of the school, following Stuart Morris who is the Headmaster for the first two years

Since the millennium, the school's site has seen investment. An award-winning music school 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; a new swimming pool is under construction; and several of the school's buildings will undergo redevelopment in anticipation of the school's first female pupils.

[edit] Fees and Scholarships

Boarders pay fees in excess of £23,000 per annum and day boys pay fees of approximately £18,000 per annum. Scholarships are available, limited to a maximum value of 50% of fees. The maximum fee that can be paid by scholarships is 50%, regardless of the number of scholarships a pupil is given. Bursaries are available for families who are unable to pay the full fees.

The following categories of scholarship are on offer to new entrants to the first year:

  • 4 Butler Academic Scholarships (up to 50% of fees).
  • 6 Kennedy and Moss Academic Scholarships (up to 25% of fees).
  • 7 Alington Scholarships (at least £2000 per year).
  • 4 Music Scholarships (2 up to 50% of fees, 2 up to 20%)
  • 2 Art Scholarships (up to 20% of fees)
  • 2 Sports Scholarships (Up to 20% of fees)
  • 10 House Foundation Awards (up to 50% of fees)
  • 2 All-Rounder Scholarships (up to 20% of fees)

The following scholarships are on offer for Sixth Form entrants:

  • 6 Academic Scholarships (2 up to 50% of fees, 4 up to 20%)
  • 2 Music Scholarships (1 up to 50% of fees, 1 up to 20%)
  • 1 Cassidy Sports Scholarship (up to 100% of fees)

[edit] Houses, Housemasters & Housemistresses

There are nine boarding houses and two for dayboys, each with its own housemaster or housemistress, 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:

  • Port Hill (formerly merged with Radbrook as 'Dayboys Hall') Gold & Red - Mrs. S.L. Hankin
  • Radbrook (formerly merged with Port Hill as 'Dayboys Hall') Pale Violet & White - The Kirk
  • Severn Hill Maroon & French Grey - Mr. P.R. Vicars
  • Oldhams Hall Chocolate & White - Col. R.N.R. Jenkins
  • The Grove Cornflower Blue & White - Mr. M. Lascelles
  • School House Jet Black, Magenta & Pure White - Mr. G.A. Bell
  • Riggs Hall Chocolate & false Gold - Mr. M.A.J. Mostyn
  • Ingrams Hall Apple Green & White - Mr. S.H. Cowper
  • Churchills Hall Dark Blue & Light Blue - Mr. S. Hellier
  • Mosers Hall Deep Red & Black - Mr. S.A.A. Fox
  • Ridgemount Royal Blue & Very Old Gold - Mr. M.A.C. Humphreys

[edit] Departments & Faculty Heads

[edit] Societies and their Presidents

[edit] Slang and Colloqiualisms

Over the years, certain words used exclusively amongst the school community have been denoted as college slang. Proponents of this archaic dialect have felt that continued use of these words is important in order to continue school traditions; however opponents have criticised the use of the dialect as being elitist and anachronistic. Some expressions include:

  • 'beef chop' - used by younger students to convey the fact that a matter is of negligible importance.
  • 'The Alibin' - a rarely used affectionate reference to the 'Alington Hall' on the school site.
  • 'guaad' - a contortion of the word 'good' used sarcastically to refer to something that is in actual fact, not very good.
  • 'waay' - an adjective used by younger students to idolise a member of the school community who is renowned for his/her drunkenness or lager loutishness.
  • 'unwaay' - an adjective used by more informed students to ridicule those who believe 'smoking and intoxication are the be all and end all'. In a recent manifesto published by a committee of students devoted to drink and smoke awareness, members of the school community were informed about the links between smoking and alchol intoxication, and conditions such as lung cancer, liver disease, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
  • 'qwaat' - a variation of the word 'quite' used to denote sarcasm.
  • 'foonwazz' - adaptation of the word 'funny' which is pronounced in a thick Languedoc accent; used by some pupils to denote that something is in actual fact, not funny.
  • 'naace' - a variation of the word 'nice' used to refer to something that is not appealing to the eye.
  • 'haircwat' - a variation of the word 'haircut' used to refer to a haircut that is not immediately appealing to Salopian eyes.
  • 'haircoot'- a variation of the above.
  • 'mooch' - a term frequently used by frustrated Salopians to express their disgust when the meat that they desire is lacking in voluptuous substance.
  • 'shwaaz'- a variation of the word 'shoes' used to by extremely conservative Salopians to refer to what they perceive as unattractive footwear.
  • 'jackwat' - a variation of the word 'jacket' used to refer to a jacket that is not considered aesthetically pleasing (to Salopian eyes).
  • 'de bank' - a term used to describe the terrain with a very steep gradient which descends from Oldham's Hall down to the river. This area of barren land has become notorious for being a den where students smoke tobacco. Recent research has indicated that they tend to justify their endeavours by claiming that "it was to get away from the 'Tory toffness' of it all".
  • 'P.R.' - a term that when uttered by a teacher, prompts numerous students to believe they have been 'blessed by the Lord'.
  • 'benjy' - a taxing jog of approximately 1.5 miles length around the school site.
  • 'The Tucks' - a riveting three mile run annually undertaken by over 700 members of the school community on the last Monday in September. The course winds its way discreetly through Meole Brace and Nobold.
  • 'Field Day' - a day where pupils go on an expedition or on an excursion, where (almost) all students devote themselves exclusively to extra-curricular activities. The term is believed to derive from the fact that in the early eighteenth century, the entire school community, both students and teachers alike, would lose their inhibitions by tearing around wildly in a neighbouring field, close to the then school site.
  • 'T.C.' - an abbreviation of 'Tudor Court', which is a fledgling 'nightclub' on the school site that attracts many clubbers from within the loop of the Severn.
  • 'slip' - used by some teaching staff to refer to a test; possibly derived from the fact that former students joked about how they 'slipped it in' during tests.
  • 'poppoudipolis' - a pejorative term used by some students to refer to classicists amongst the school community.
  • 'proleylib' - a derogatory term used by a minority of Salopians to refer to anybody who sympathises with political parties left of the Conservative Party.
  • 'Tardy Brook' - used to describe a punishment in which a student who is persistently late is required to write his signature in a book in the Lyle Building on the school site at 7.15 a.m. Particularly draconian members of staff have in the past insisted that such a punishment is to be extended for the duration of a week. Such a form of disciplining has also been criticised because some poor innocent member of the school community is actually required by school protocol to supervise the student's signature every morning.
  • 'eccy leccy' - an affectionate abbreviation of 'Extra Lesson' - in which some unfortunate and exploited student is sentenced to either one or two hours of compulsory extra work starting at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday. Although there have recently been complaints from local human rights groups citing the punishment as a gross deprivation of liberty, and a serious infrigement on individual freedoms; the establishment has refused to renege on the 'Extra Lesson', insisting that it is "essential to maintain public order and discipline".
  • 'house dance' - an annual rendezvous organised by all houses (with the exeception of those Dayboys) where a virile contingent of Salopians experiment with their sometimes unpolished seduction skills.
  • 'schwinging' - term used by Salopians to denote the behaviour of an adolescent male infatuated by a female at least four years younger than him.
  • 'schweffing' - term used to denote the specific Salopian method of seduction.
  • 'yik' - now obsolete term that is used by just a minority of introverted Salopians to refer to members of the outside world whom they feel threatened by.
  • 'laafe' - an abstract concept that a recent committee has sadly found many Salopians are direly lacking in. Recently, a board of students was set up to supervise the reinvigoration of hippy spirit in pupils who declared their ultimate ambition to be to 'meet a beaver at T.C.'
  • 'fooht' - rarely used term used by Salopians to refer to promiscuous women whom they believe stalk their school site.
  • 'beeeever' - softly abusive term used by certain members of the Shrewsbury Sixth Form College to refer to the qualities of women with which the majority of Shrewsbury School students go on restrained sorties with.
  • 'Yow' an event, action or object that is considered brilliant or near impossible in the eyes of the beholder.

[edit] Alumni

See also: List of Old Salopians

Ex-pupils are named 'Old Salopians.

[edit] External links

Official site

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