Liverpool Blue Coat School

Liverpool Blue Coat School

Motto	Non Sibi Sed Omnibus (Not for Oneself but for All)
Established	1708
Type	Grammar school
Headmaster	Mr. M.A. Pennington
Chaplain	Revd. Canon Janet Eastwood
Deputy Headmasters	S.R. Cox N. Roberts
Chair of Governors Provost	J.M. Shaw S.W. Elliott
Founders	Bryan Blundell and Rev. Robert Styth
Location	Church Road Wavertree Liverpool L15 9EE England Coordinates: 53°23′35″N 2°54′58″W / 53.393°N 2.916°W / 53.393; -2.916
DfE number	341/5404
DfE URN	137916 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Students	963
Gender	Coeducational (since 2002)
Ages	11–18
Colours
Publication	The Squirrel
Houses	Bingham      Blundell      Graham      Shirley      Stythe
Former pupils	Old Blues
School Song	Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Website	Liverpool Blue Coat School

The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a grammar school located in Wavertree, Liverpool, England. It is the only grammar school in the city and was founded in 1708 by Bryan Blundell and the Reverend Robert Stythe as 'The Liverpool Bluecoat Hospital'. The school was for many years a boys' boarding school but as of September 2002 it reverted to its original coeducational remit.

The Blue Coat School holds a long-standing academic tradition; examination results consistently place the school top of the local, and national GCSE and A-level league tables. In 2016 Blue Coat was ranked as the best school in the country based on GCSEresults.^[1] Blue Coat was also named as The Sunday Times State School of the year in 2015.^[2]

In 2004 the school received a government grant of almost £8 million, together with more than £1 million from the school's foundation governors, facilitating a major expansion and redevelopment of the school site.^[3]

History

Foundation

An engraving of the original school in the city centre

The school was founded in 1708 by Bryan Blundell and the Rev Robert Styth, a theology graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford^[4] as "a school for teaching poor children to read, write and cast accounts".^[5] The original charity school expanded rapidly and a new building, the present Bluecoat Arts Centre, opened in 1718. By the time of Blundell’s death in 1756 there were 70 boys and 30 girls at the school, many apprenticed to local trades, especially maritime ones connected to the port. Some Old Blues became mates or masters of their ships, many emigrating to the colonies. After Blundell’s death his sons further expanded the building to accommodate 200 pupils, with a new workroom, sick room, chapel and refectory. A reminder of the building’s school days is some graffiti dating from the 18th century, carved into cornerstones in a secluded part of the front courtyard.^[6]

Relocation to Wavertree

At the start of the 20th century it was decided that the school needed to move from the polluted town centre to somewhere quieter, and the village of Wavertree was the site chosen.^[5] The architects chosen for the design of the new building were Briggs, Wolstenholme & Thornely,^[7] most notable for the design of the Port of Liverpool Building.^[8] In 1906 the school took possession of the building^[5] and was later designated a Grade II* listed building.^[9] Later additions include a clock tower and the Fenwick Memorial Chapel: used for assemblies by the school.^[5]

Redevelopment

In 2004, work commenced on a substantial redevelopment of the Wavertree site. The original buildings remained intact, but the southern wing of the school was converted into private accommodation and sold to part-fund the development. The school chapel, clock tower, board room, and former music room, together with administrative rooms and the formal entrance to the original building, were transferred to a new school foundation and made available to hire for weddings and other private functions.

A number of buildings that had been added to the northern side of the site during the second half of the 20th century - including the swimming pool, sixth form centre, sports hall and squash courts - were demolished to make way for new facilities. The North Wing of the original school was renovated, and a new building extended the wing into the area previously known as the North Yard. New facilities within this redevelopment included modern laboratories, a new school entrance and administration block, music rooms, a recording studio and dance studio, plus dining and sports halls. The remainder of the former North Yard was upgraded to provide improved outdoor sports facilities.

The old dining hall, beneath Shirley Hall in the centre of the original building, was converted into a new library, with a mezzanine ICT suite. The previous library space, itself a former dormitory, was refurbished as a sixth form facility.

Uniform

The school uniform consists of:^[10]

• navy blue blazer with school badge
• V-neck grey school pullover or cardigan with school crest
• white shirt/blouse
• school tie
• knee-length grey skirt for girls
• grey trousers for boys
• grey socks/tights and black shoes

Ties

The school is also known for its wide variety of school ties, the most common of which is the royal blue tie with an embroidered school coat of arms (fig. 1). Sixth Form Prefects may wear a navy blue tie with alternating blue and gold stripes (fig. 2), and those who are in the first XI may wear the school sports tie, a navy blue tie with gold school coats of arms criss-crossing it (fig. 3). The Old Blues tie, a navy blue tie with alternating squirrels (the school's crest) and blue stripes, is worn by those pupils whose father was once a student at the school (and therefore members of the Old Blues Society)(Fig. 4). Other ties occasionally seen include a navy blue with two gold stripes (Fig. 5), and a navy blue tie with stripes in the four school form colours (awarded for being in the first XI for 3 separate sports teams)(Fig. 6).

Fig.1- Royal Blue Tie

Fig. 2- Sixth Form Prefect Tie

Fig. 3- First XI Tie

Fig. 4- Old Blues Tie

Fig. 5- Navy Blue Tie with Two Gold Stripes

Fig 6. Tie for Members of the First XI in Three Sports

House system

The school currently has four houses, soon to be expanded to five in September 2015. Upon entrance in Year 7, pupils are allocated a form which they will be a member of throughout their time at The Blue Coat School. As well as the students, teachers at the school are often members of a house. There are approximately thirty students in a form and approximately 250 students per house. The houses are governed by a House Council which are composed of Heads of House, House Deputies, Form Captains and a member of staff. There are regular inter-house competitions, ranging from the inter-house hockey competition to inter-house debating competitions, in which the houses can gain house points which are then added to a running total and published in league tables, culminating in the annual inter-house league table. The newest house is Stythe which was founded in September 2015 to accommodate the 30 new additional first year students, and named after one of the founders Reverend Robert Stythe, and there will be another house created at the start of the 2016-2017 academic year. There are also a number of boarding houses that were discontinued when the school ceased to be a boarding school in the late 20th century.^[11]

School Houses

•      Bingham
•      Blundell
•      Graham
•      Shirley
•      Stythe

Boarding Houses

•      Earle
•      MacAuley
•      Stythe
•      Tinne

Brotherly Society

The school's alumni association is the Brotherly Society, founded in 1838. Alumni are known as "Old Blues".^[12] The society was set up to provide help, advice and in some cases financial assistance to students for at least two years after leaving the school.^[13] Since the Second World War there has been less need for such assistance so the Society has turned its efforts towards objects that would benefit the School in general.

The generosity of the Society can be found throughout the Blue Coat School’s history. In 1938, to celebrate the Society’s centenary, the Society provided the oak pews in the chapel. In 1963 the Society provided the stained glass south window of the Chapel to celebrate its 125th anniversary, and in 1952 the Old Blues’ Memorial Library was presented in remembrance of the Old Blues who gave their lives in the two World Wars.^[13]

Headmasters and Headmistress

Provosts

Notable former pupils

• Richard Ansdell, noted oil painter and engraver
• Mitch Benn, musician and comedian
• Stephen Broadbent, sculptor
• Daniel Brown, Designer of the Year 2004
• Philip Clarke, CEO of Tesco between 2011-2014
• Craig Curran, Footballer currently playing for Ross County F.C.
• Stuart Ford founder and CEO of IM Global
• Professor Tom Greggs, professor of systematic theology and the youngest recipient of a professorship in the UK
• Jonathan Harvey, playwright
• The Rt. Hon. Evan Harris, former Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon between 1997-2010
• Brian R. Knowles, acclaimed choral composer
• Alfred Lennon, father of Beatle John Lennon, musician
• Alan McGuinness, Choirmaster at St Asaph Cathedral and chair of the Royal School of Church Music in Wales
• Kevin Nolan, footballer (Bolton, Newcastle, West Ham)
• Stephen Parry, Olympic swimmer
• Baron Christopher Rennard, former Liberal Democrat chief executive
• Thomas Ripley, founder of Ripley Hospital School, itself modelled on Blue Coat
• Paul Roderick, head coach of the Long Island Rough Riders professional soccer team
• Neil Sang (Licensed Football Agent, Radio pundit and former professional footballer)
• James Serafinowicz, writer and director- starred in Look Around You wearing the uniform of the Blue Coat School
• Andrew Norton, Chairman of the US Pirate Party
• Colin Vearncombe, musician (aka Black)

Notable people associated with the school

• David Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, ex-Member of Parliament, was a trustee of the school, and has a quad named in his honour.
• the Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell family, descendants of Bryan Blundell, the founder, many have been trustees at the school. The family have gone on to produce notable military men and members of the Austrian royal family.
• David Houlder, former sub-organist at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and former organist at York Minster. Houlder was the school's Director of Music between 1981 and 1999.
• W. H. Jude, composer and organist. Jude was the school's organist in the late 19th century.
• The Rt. Hon. Norman Pannell finance manager, politician and conservative MP. Pannell was a governor of the school.

References

External links

• Official school website
• BBC Education League Tables listing
• Ofsted inspection report (June 2004)
• Extract from Discovering Historic Wavertree
• Blue Coat Arts Centre
• South Wing Apartments Development
• Leavers Ball 2006 Pictures
• Historic England. "School (213906)". Images of England. 
• Historic England. "Chapel (213907)". Images of England.