The Perse School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Perse School
Image:ThePerseSchoolCrest.gif
Motto Qui facit per alium facit per se
Established 1615
Type Independent school
Headmaster Dr. Nigel Richardson[1][2], Mr. Edward Elliot from 2008
Founder Dr Stephen Perse, of Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge
Students 675 approx
Location Hills Road,
Cambridge, England
Colours Purple and Black
Mascot Pelican
Newspaper The Pelican
Website Official Website
This article or section is written like an advertisement.
Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view.
Mark blatant advertising which would require a fundamental rewrite in order to become encyclopedic for speedy deletion, using {{db-spam}}. (May 2008)

The Perse School is a fee-paying secondary day school for boys 11–18 and girls at 16+ situated in Cambridge, England. The school was founded in 1615 by Dr Stephen Perse[3], a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and has existed on several different sites in the city before its present home on Hills Road. Currently, the headmaster is Dr. Nigel Richardson and the school holds approximately 670 pupils. Dr. Richardson[1][2] has recently announced his retirement (effective from the summer of 2008) and his successor is to be Edward Elliott, one of the current deputy heads.[4]

There are also preparatory and pre-preparatory schools related to The Perse School. Boys and girls aged 3 to 7 attend 'The Pelican' pre-preparatory school, located on Glebe Road, Cambridge. The Perse Preparatory School is located on Trumpington Road, Cambridge, and is for boys aged 7 - 11.

Contents

[edit] Motto

The school motto is Qui facit per alium facit per se, usually taken to mean "He who does things for others does them for himself". This is an example of a rebus motto, the Latin sentence ending in a word play on the founder's name "per se" and his benefaction. A blue plaque dedicated to the school's founder, Dr Stephen Perse, can be found in Free School Lane, Cambridge.[5]

[edit] Sport

The school has a long-running competitive relationship with The Leys School, another independent school in Cambridge. In 2005, the Perse under-14 hockey team became National Champions, beating Millfield. In 2006 the Perse under-16 indoor hockey team reached the National Indoor Finals, and the following year the same age group won the competition. The Perse school U16s then won the National Indoor hockey competition again the year after that, making the U16s back to back National Indoor Champions. The rifle shooting team, backed by the school's association with the Combined Cadet Force, has also traditionally been strong. In the Michaelmas Term 2005 the rugby First XV became the most successful team in 14 years after their win against The Leys School. In the Summer Term 2006, the cricket First XI became statistically the most successful team in the country (P 15, W 14, L 1).

[edit] Music

The Perse has a senior orchestra, string orchestra, full choir, chorale group, 2 wind bands, swing band and jazz band. There are also about 35 smaller groups meeting weekly for rehearsal. In 2006, the String Orchestra toured to Paris and the Senior Wind Band toured to Iceland. Each year concerts take place at the West Road Concert Hall and OLEM Church.

[edit] Structure

The school is divided into three sections: the lower school, middle school and Sixth Form. The lower school contains the First and Second Forms (11-13). The middle school consists of the Third through to Fifth Forms (14-16) and is thus focussed mainly on GCSEs. Most GCSE courses are begun officially in Fourth Form, although some longer courses, such as Chemistry, are begun in Third Form. Pupils in the top streams have the option to take French and Mathematics GCSEs at the end of Fourth Form, and then use Fifth Form to take an intermediate qualification that may ease the transition to A-level. The Perse continues to use the older system so Year 7 is First Form, Year 8 is Second Form and so on.

For many years the school offered boarding facilities, although these were closed in the early 1990s. Traditionally an all-boys' school, the Sixth Form recently opened its doors to pupils of both sexes and despite fears that it might, the school's academic record certainly does not appear to have suffered. Currently, ties with the Perse School for Girls exist officially but there is little day-to-day interaction between the pupils. The possibility of the two schools sharing a site in future and essentially unifying was discussed, but not pursued any further. There are, however, plans for the school to go fully co-educational from September 2010 and expand to around 900 pupils over the next ten years.

The classrooms at the Perse are named numerically, e.g. 1, 2, 3 etc, but strangely there is no room 10; its name was changed to E2, as a classroom dedicated to English teaching. Additionally, specialist classrooms, such as science labs and music rooms are denoted by a prefix to their number, for example; P1 for physics or A2 for art.

[edit] Developments

From September 2007, The Perse Preparatory School is accepting girls aged 7+, and from September 2008, girls aged 9+. It aims to become fully co-educational by 2010. The Perse School is accepting girls at 11+ and 13+ in 2010. The Pelican Pre-Preparatory School is already fully co-educational.

Recent site developments planned:[6]

  • Construction of science laboratories extension completed September 2007.
  • Construction of a new classroom block and Art & Technology Centre at the Perse Preparatory school started July 2007 and due to be complete by September 2008.
  • Construction of a new hall at The Pelican started July 2007 and due to be complete by September 2008.

[edit] Alumni

See also: category:Old Perseans

Notable early alumni, amongst many others include:

More recent alumni include: Nobel Prize Winners:

The school boasts two George Cross winners:

The school also boasts six Military Cross winners: World War I

  • Lt. Oswald George Frank Justus Breul
  • Captain Donald William Edwards
  • Lt. Gilbert Clare Fitzherbert
  • Captain Peyton Sheldon Hadley
  • Second Lt. Owen Llewelyn Johns
  • Lt. Bernard John Pullin

Two of the editors of the Loeb Classical Library were Perseans:

Other Old Perseans include:

Science and Industry

Politics and Law

Intellectuals

  • Jeremy Palmer, linguist.
  • Edward Henry Palmer, orientalist.
  • David Loades, university Professor, author and former Scout Chief Commissioner for Wales

Arts

Probably the most famous alumnus is David Gilmour, lead singer of Pink Floyd. He has been quoted as saying: "It was a very disciplined school which I didn't enjoy". There is a suggestion that the song Another Brick in the Wall, which includes the famous lyrics "We don't need no education", was aimed at the Perse, but as the song was written by Roger Waters who attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys (now Hills Road Sixth Form College) and not Gilmour, it seems more likely that Waters was recalling his schooling there[citation needed].

[edit] Staff

[edit] Headmasters

Nigel Richardson is to retire in July 2008 and the governors have appointed Edward Elliott (currently Deputy Head) to succeed him.[4]

[edit] Notable Staff

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Private School News
  2. ^ a b Find a School
  3. ^ The Perse School - History
  4. ^ a b The Perse School - New headmaster
  5. ^ Cambridge Blue Plaques
  6. ^ Perse Developments
  7. ^ DVD is a memorial to Sir Arthur. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  8. ^ Olympic boost for Kirkman. Cambridge Evening News (2008-02-11). Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
v • d • e
Schools in Cambridgeshire
Comprehensive
Sixth Form Colleges
Independent (preparatory)
Independent (senior)