Taunton School

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Taunton School is an independent school in Taunton, Somerset, England. It is co-educational and serves boarding and day-school pupils from ages 13-18. The current headmaster is John H. Newton MA FCollP DipMS(Ed)

The school campus also includes Taunton International Study centre, for pupils from overseas; Taunton Preparatory School, serving boarding and day-school pupils aged 7-13; Taunton Pre-Prep School, serving day-school pupils aged 4-7, and Taunton First Steps, serving pupils aged 2-4.

Contents 1 Beginnings 2 Developments 3 Merger 4 Notable Alumni 4.1 Special Notes 5 Radio Station 6 A level results 2006 7 External links 8 Schools in Somerset

[edit] Beginnings

Taunton School was founded in 1847 as a boy's only school for dissenters - those not members of the Church of England. Right from its founding, it was in direct competition with the other private schools in Taunton, King's College (Church of England) and Queen's College (Methodist). Its first site was at the southern end of the town.

In the 1870s, the school's governors purchased a site at the northern end of Taunton, on Staplegrove Road. They had built an impressive gothic-influenced building, in the prevailing style of the period. The school is constructed in a C-plan, with a 50 foot high tower. Grey stone came from Somerset's Mendip Hills. This large building still dominates the school's 90 acre campus today.

[edit] Developments

A chapel was built in 1907 in contrasting style to the rest of the school. Its sponsor was the wealthy Sir Henry Wills, later Lord Winterstoke. Wills was a director of Bristol-based family firm, Wills Tobacco. This company later joined with several others to become Imperial Tobacco. Two features in the chapel are especially of note: the organ and the mosaics.

[edit] Merger

In 1973 Taunton School merged with the senior section of Weirfield School for Girls, Taunton, a similar independent, single-sex, boarding and day-school, which was also situated on Staplegrove Road. This became one of the earliest fully co-educational independent schools in England. Additional buildings were erected on the original Taunton School campus and Weirfield continued as a girl's only junior school.

In 1990, in order to create closer links between the two junior schools and Taunton School, Taunton Junior School (Thone) and Weirfield were renamed Taunton Junior Boys and Taunton Junior Girls Schools, respectively. As both Junior Schools needed modernisation, building began in 1993 in the Boys' site (Thone) to create a new joint Boys and Girls School, this was financed by the sale of the Weirfield site. In 1994 both schools were located at the Thone site and they were renamed Taunton Preparatory School. A classroom block in the Preparatory School is called Weirfield as is the main Girls' Boarding house.

[edit] Notable Alumni

• John Cameron (cricketer), cricketer
• Aftab Habib, cricketer
• John Jameson (cricketer), cricketer
• Jack White (cricketer), cricketer
• Alan Gibson, cricket writer and broadcaster
• J. M. Roberts, author and historian
• Bryon Butler, football broadcaster
• Nicholas Prettejohn, Chairman, Lloyds of London
• Mark Getty, founder of Getty Images
• Ian McNeice, actor
• Gerald Chapman, founder of the New York Young Playwright's Festival

[edit] Special Notes

John Rae (Headmaster, 1966-1970) was a prominent educator and novelist who went on to become headmaster of Westminster School.

[edit] Radio Station

Taunton School Radio is now transmitting live across Taunton. The stations website is www.tauntonschoolam.com.

[edit] A level results 2006

70.2% A/B rate giving it the second highest results in Taunton after Queen's College, Taunton with 78.5%.

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Old Weirfieldians

[edit] Schools in Somerset