| Motto | Non sibi sed omnibus (English: Not for oneself but for all) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1779 |
| Head | Kathryn Bell |
| Location | Ackworth Pontefract West Yorkshire WF7 7LT England |
| Students | 587 |
| Ages | 2–18 |
| Website | ackworthschool.com |
Ackworth School is an independent school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of eight Quaker Schools in England. The school (or more accurately its Head) is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and SHMIS ([1]). The Head is Kathryn Bell, who succeeded Peter Simpson in 2009. The Bursar is John Lebeter. The Deputy Heads are William Yates and Jeffrey Swales.
The school has a nursery that takes children aged 2 1/2 to 4, a Junior Department that takes children age 5 to 11, and the Senior School for students aged 11 to 18. The boarding facilities cater for Senior School pupils only.
Originally a boarding school for Quaker children, today most of the school's pupils are day pupils. About half of the boarding pupils are from overseas, and are predominantly Oriental although there are increasing numbers of boarders from other countries, particularly Eastern Europe.
Most of today's pupils are not Quakers, but the school retains a strong Quaker ethos and is able to offer means-tested Bursary awards to children from Quaker and non-Quaker families. There is a very short Quaker-style silence at assembly and before meals.
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The school was founded by John Fothergill and others in 1779 as a boarding school for Quaker boys and girls. Prior to the school's foundation, the buildings housed a foundling hospital created by Thomas Coram.[1]
On 15 December 1959, the school was granted a coat of arms by the Kings of Arms. Its coat of arms is made of the white rose of Yorkshire ("barbed and seeded"), acorns ("slipped" — which means "with a bit of stalk"), and the lamb, which is a device shown on the arms of the Foundling Hospital. It also features the school motto — Non sibi sed omnibus ("Not for oneself but for all").
The school has four houses: Woolman, Gurney, Penn and Fothergill. Penn, Gurney and Woolman were all famous Quakers, and John Fothergill, also a Quaker, was the founder of the school. Every pupil is assigned to one of the four houses at the start of their time at the school for inter-house events, which include sport, music, drama, poetry and art.
Students are also divided for meals according to their houses.
The school uniform consists of grey trousers, grey socks, light blue shirt, navy school tie, and navy-blue jumper for boys, and navy skirt, blue-and-white-striped blouse, and navy jumper for girls.
The sixth form boys wear a white shirt and grey trousers with a burgundy jumper or black jacket, while sixth-form girls wear a white blouse and Navy skirt with a burgundy jumper.
The school has a strong musical tradition, with every first-year student being given free tuition on three instruments. In 1995, a purpose-built music facility was built on the site of one of the old boarding houses, comprising a recital hall with seating for 180, 14 practice rooms, 2 classrooms, a music library and a recording studio.[2] Summer schools are sometimes held there during school holidays.
Boarders live in separate boys' and girls' boarding houses. Until 1997, the school timetable included Saturday morning lessons, leaving Wednesday afternoons free, providing a more-balanced week for boarders. The changing demographic of the school has led to this being phased out.
When students reach the sixth form, they are all allocated a shared or single study in designated areas. There are two study blocks for Lower Sixth (known as the West Wing Studies and the Old Art Block), and two for Upper Sixth (known as the Fothergill Studies and the Old Library). Sixth formers have free periods during which they are encouraged to study. Students must stay within school premises during these free periods.
Each year in the week before October half term is Ackworth's Charity Week. Two charities, one national and one international, are chosen for which the school then raises money through a series of events. Included within these events are cake stalls, auctions, concerts and the sale of doughnuts and hot dogs. One event involves putting sixth formers in stocks and allowing younger students to throw water at them.
One of the most-popular events of Charity Week is the staff/sixth-form entertainment. The sixth form and certain members of staff are encouraged to prepare a series of sketches to entertain younger students. In the middle of the event, a fund-raising activity occurs, where the sixth form raise money from the other students.
On the Thursday of Charity Week the school celebrates Founder's Day, the day on which in 1779 the school was founded. The whole school gathers in the Meeting House and sings the Founder's Day Hymn before each year group departs on a day trip, usually a walk.
In 2007, the National Quaker Choral Festival was held at the school, where pupils from Quakers schools all over England came to sing in a large choir to Karl Jenkins' "The Armed Man".
On 28 March 2009, the Bridge Film Festival — which had been held at Brooklyn Friends School, located in Brooklyn, New York, for the last nine years — was held at the school. It is a Quaker film festival in which students make a film which is judged and prizes are awarded. The school entered the 2008 festival, sending several students to Brooklyn Friends School to witness the festival. For the 2009 festival, student Simon Waldock prepared a film about the history of the school; the film involved an interview with a former scholar from the 1950s.[3]. The film did not win but was commended by judges.
The school's former pupils are called Ackworth Old Scholars. There is an active Old Scholars Association,[4] with an annual Easter gathering in the school. Notable Old Scholars include: