Duke of York's Royal Military School

The Duke of York's Royal Military School
Mottoes "Looking Forward with Confidence, Looking Back with Pride"
Former: "Sons of the Brave"
Established 1803
Type Selective academy
Day and boarding school
President HRH Prince Edward Duke of Kent
Headteacher Mr Chris Russell
Location Dover
Kent
CT15 5EQ
England
DfE URN 136177 Tables
Ofsted Reports Pre-academy reports
Students 436
Ages 11–18
Houses 9
Colours Navy, Maroon & White               
Former pupils Dukies
Website www.doyrms.com

The Duke of York’s Royal Military School, more commonly called the Duke of York’s, is a co-educational Academy with military traditions in Dover, Kent, open to pupils whose parents are serving or have served in any branch of the United Kingdom armed forces for a minimum of 4 years. The school was until September 2010 a military boarding secondary school and an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

With the transition to Academy status, entry was extended to civilian families and oversight transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Department for Education. The Ministry of Defence remains the sponsor of the school.

The Duke of York’s has many traditions and a rich history, which includes ceremonial parades and uniforms, a monitorial style of education modelled on the English public school system. This rich history includes a long line of notable alumni, known as Dukies, including senior generals (such as Sir Archibald Nye and Gary Coward), famous musicians (such as Henry Lazarus), sportsmen (like Maurice Colclough), many leading academic scientists (including Professors Paul Shaw, Timothy Foster and Mark Gardiner) and clergymen (James Jones and Bill Ind) and a long list of decorated armed forces personnel.

History

Founded in 1803 by act of Royal Warrant dating from 1801, the school was until 1892 called the Royal Military Asylum. The school’s primary purpose was to educate the orphans of British servicemen killed in the Napoleonic Wars of 1793-1815.

Between 1803 and 1909 the Royal Military Asylum was located at what is now known as the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, London. For the duration of World War I (1914–1918), the Duke of York's School was evacuated to Hutton, near Brentwood, Essex. The reason for the evacuation was to provide the military authorities with a transit point for troops moved to and from the Western Front.[1] The school was co-educational; making the Duke of York's the very first co-educational boarding school in the United Kingdom. Today the Chelsea site is home to the Saatchi Gallery and the Duke of York’s Royal Military School Old Boys' Association.[2]

Between 1816 and 1840, the Asylum had a branch in Southampton which provided schooling for up to 400 military orphans and children of serving soldiers of both sexes until 1823, when the boys were transferred to Chelsea, with Southampton taking more girls. A decline in the school numbers resulted in its closure in 1840. From 1841, the buildings were taken over by the Ordnance Survey.[3]

In 1892 the Royal Military Asylum was renamed The Duke of York's Royal Military School and in the process became an all-boys school. In 1909 the school relocated to new premises constructed on the cliffs above Dover in Kent.

In 1994 the school re-admitted girls and returned to co-education.

Academic standards

Between 2007 and 2009 more than 90% of pupils gained 1 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C (including English and Mathematics). More than 13% of grades were A*/A during the same period.

During this period (2007–2009) 19% of grades gained were A/B at AS level and 12% of grades were A/B at A2 level. A total of 32% of grades gained were passes at A2 level.[4]

Most recent results can be found on the School website www.doyrms.com

Sports facilities

Pupils have access to extensive sporting facilities; indeed sports take place every day, with main sports like rugby and hockey being played twice per week. Pupils can also engage in sports and athletic training in their own time each day. The school has a strong sporting culture. The 150 acres (607,000 m²) of land on the school site includes a full size athletics track, two sports halls, swimming pool, indoor squash courts, gymnasium and a dozen full size grass pitches for rugby union, cricket and tennis.

Exchanges with NATO member military schools

The Duke of York's runs exchange programmes with military schools within NATO. Of these the most notable is the programme run with the school's French equivalent, the Lycée Militaire in Aix-en-Provence. There are also placements for recent school leavers from respective military schools to assume teaching assistant posts at corresponding schools. The Duke of York's also maintains considerable connections with Valley Forge Military Academy and College, as the two are sister schools.

Parading, military instruction, adventurous training

Ceremonial Parades take place each Sunday morning; the grandest of these being Remembrance Sunday and the Grand Day at the end of summer. On Parade, as well as for all military activities, pupils are instead called cadets and are organised into ceremonial Guards or else play an instrument in the Band. Cadets wear the standard dark blue ceremonial uniform of the British Army. The Duke of York’s Royal Military School Ceremonial Band is the largest within the Ministry of Defence, being larger still than the Massed Bands of the Brigade of Foot Guards. The considerable number of notable musicians educated at the school over the last 207 years demonstrates the very high standards in music tuition. In recent years the band has performed at:

The school employs a regimental sergeant major to co-ordinate ceremonial drill and military instruction.

All pupils are cadets, with ranks ranging from cadet to senior under officer, and entrance to the armed forces at all ranks - as either a ranking soldier or commissioned officer entrant – occurs regularly. There is regular cross-training with soldiers from the British Army as well as the school’s own military officers.

Adventurous Training is run by the school and is available to senior school pupils. Each training camp is completed on Dartmoor at Oakhampton Training Camp and lasts one week, comprising mostly fieldcraft and endurance skills; but always including an extended exercise. Two versions are offered: the first comprises 60 miles over 2 days with adult supervision; the second comprises 90 miles over 3 days without supervision.

High Table

High Table is where the headmaster, the deputy headmasters, the head boy and girl, and a combination of students (primarily sixth formers) and guests take lunch. The table is waited on. Guests are invited from the Officers' Messes of nearby Army battalions, Royal Navy ships and Royal Air Force squadrons. Members of the school's board of governors, who are themselves among the most senior military officers and leaders in business and commerce, are also invited regularly.

Boarding houses

The school is currently divided into ten Houses, nine of which are named after famous British generals: Haig, Kitchener, Roberts, Wolseley, Wellington, Clive, Wolfe, Marlborough and Alanbrooke. A tenth house exclusively for Year 13's called Centenary House opened in September 2010.In 2014 a £25m refurbishment of School premises has been completed including a new sports hall, upgrading of the main hall into a performing arts centre, two new teaching wings and four new residential houses along with the upgrading of the existing ones.School pupil numbers capacity has been increased by over 50%.

Music

Music plays an important role in the life of the school, as such it is classed as 'an underlying theme' in terms of academy specialisms. The school has several music ensembles of varying size, predominantly featuring military band instruments. The school's marching band has performed at public events such as the Chatham Dockyard Remembrance Day Parade and has been a regular pre-match feature at the Army vs Navy rugby match at Twickenham for many years.

In addition to the many concerts and military band engagements that are held throughout the year, the school choir recently featured in local television and radio broadcasts with their special version of "Wherever You Are", a song by the composer Paul Mealor which was performed by the Military Wives Choir at the 2011 Festival of Remembrance. The Duke of York's School version featured a pupil of the school reading a letter to her father who served in Afghanistan over Christmas 2011 and was broadcast on the Chris Evans BBC Radio 2 breakfast show on Wednesday 14 December and repeated several times in full on BBC Radio Kent throughout the Christmas period. The YouTube video of the Duke of York's School averaged 1000 hits a day during the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Marching Beats

Military Colours

Along with Eton College and Cheltenham College, the Duke of York's Royal Military School is one of only three English schools to have military colours. While Eton and Cheltenham parade their colours on rare occasions, the Duke of York's Royal Military School parades its colours briefly each Sunday as the Parade enters Chapel, and on a number of ceremonial parades in the course of the year.

Chapel and War Memorials

Despite pupils having multi-faith backgrounds the school adheres to the practices of the Church of England as required of English boarding schools under law. Chapel is taken each week day morning by pupils with a full church service on Sunday following Parade. Consequently cadets go to church services in Chapel wearing their ceremonial uniforms. On days of special religious significance the Chapel follows the traditions of High Church.

The walls of the chapel are laid up with the battle honours belonging to former Cadets' regiments and corps; but of more note are the historic carved marble tablet lists of the hundreds of Dukies who have sacrificed their lives in Great Britain's various wars and conflicts since 1803. The school has a memorial to the Great War and the Second World War placed just inside of the main entrance to the school. The Parade and Band pays its respects here on the Armistice Commemoration. A great number of former pupils, many of them in the Armed Forces, also attend, along with Dukies who are now Chelsea Pensioners.

Guards' Competition and Grand Day

At the end of each summer term the school parades for Grand Day. This is a special parade of much greater complexity and length than its weekly counterpart performed each Sunday, and is similar in style and length to the Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards. The purpose of Grand Day is to display the school at its finest to a visiting dignitary, who is either a member of the Royal Family or a member of the British armed forces General Staff. Grand Day has its origins in the school parading before its founder, the then HRH Prince Frederick Duke of York and Albany when the school was founded in 1803.

In the build-up toward Grand Day the Guards (each corresponding to boarding houses) undergo the Guards' Competition. The purpose is to test skill at ceremonial drill and standards regarding kit turnout. The outcome of the Guards' Competition ranks the Guards' Order of Precedence for Grand Day. The winning and therefore senior Guard is referred to as Number One Guard, with the others in declining order.

Bi-centenary and new Colours

The School celebrated its bi-centenary in 2001–02. It held a commemorative service at Christmas in 2001 as well as a special Parade at the end of 2002, when it received new colours from HRH Prince Andrew Duke of York.

The school celebrated the centenary of its move to Dover in 2009 and amongst many special events hosted a reception at the House of Lords, as well as parades and drama productions.

A change in traditions

Until 1999 the School's headmasters were all serving military officers of the rank of at least Lieutenant Colonel. Since then there have been two civilian headmasters. The school also has a regimental sergeant major among its staff whose primary role is to co-ordinate military standards and discipline.

The school's first civilian students were accepted in 2011 after the school was granted academy status.[5] Prior to this, the school had taken only students whose parents were veterans or currently serving in the United Kingdom's military forces.

Notable alumni

Alumni are known as "Dukies".

Notable Masters

See also

References

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=158527323590

External links

Coordinates: 51°08′38″N 1°19′30″E / 51.1438°N 1.3250°E