William Ellis School
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William Ellis School Language College is a United Kingdom secondary comprehensive school for boys in Highgate, London.
William Ellis was a public-spirited businessman who, in the mid-nineteenth century, founded a number of schools, and inspired many teachers to promote his educational ideas. He wanted children to be taught "useful" subjects like science (including 'Social Science'), and to develop the faculty of reason; this in contrast to the rote learning of religious tracts, ancient languages and history which characterised what was offered by so many schools at the time. William Ellis School, the only one of these schools remaining, was established in 1862 at Gospel Oak, and re-organised in 1889 as a boys' secondary school. Its motto is 'Rather of use than fame'.
In 1937 the School moved to its present site in Highgate, backing on to Parliament Hill Fields. This was to lead to its most celebrated period, in the 1960s and early 1970s; a combination of its catchment area (drawing upon an intellectual North London demographic) and its status as a voluntary aided grammar school and member of the Headmasters' Conference led to a period of enormous educational liberality and achievement, especially under headmaster Sidney Baxter. Alumni of this period include the filmmaker Julien Temple, and the guitarist Richard Thompson.
Much ingenuity had gone into extending and converting the building to provide the additional classrooms and specialist accommodation required by the post-war grammar school's large sixth form. However, the school's relatively small size meant that it was not capable of becoming either an independent, or a full comprehensive school, at the point when the state withdrew funding from direct grant grammar schools.
With the provision of better facilities for the National Curriculum and for Information Technology the School became fully comprehensive in the years after 1978. From 1990 the School gained greater autonomy under the Local Management of Schools scheme, and spends a devolved budget of over 13 million per year for its 1000 pupils. In 1997 the school earned Language College status under the Specialist School Scheme.[1]
In January 2008, it was revealed that the school was in financial crisis, following a budgetary error which left it £500,000 in debt.[2] Following Richard Tanton's subsequent resignation as Headmaster in February 2008[3], the current acting Headmaster is Malcolm Rose, who began his career at the school during its Seventies' heyday.
William Ellis School has a joint Sixth Form with the adjacent Parliament Hill Girls School, and all classes are coeducational. Together with La Sainte Union Catholic Secondary School and Acland Burghley School they make up the "La Swap" consortium for 16–19 education, educating around 1000 students altogether.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Richard Thompson — Singer/songwriter & guitarist
- Julien Temple —Film maker
- Sean Yazbeck — The Apprentice (US Season 5), winner
- Toby Young — Author & journalist
- Hugh Cornwell - Member of 'The Stranglers' group
- Neil Turok - Professor of Mathematical Physics, Cambridge University
- David Aaronovitch - Journalist, broadcaster and author
- Sean French, journalist and half of the pseudonymous thriller writing partnership Nicci French
- Henry Siu - Professor of Mathematical Physics, Oxford University
- Beau Blaise - Famous pornstar, Author of How To Look Good Naked
[edit] References
- ^ Specialist Schools Home. DfES (July 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-02.
- ^ Camden Journal (28 January 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
- ^ Statement from Board of Governors (8 February 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
