Wells Cathedral School

Wells Cathedral School

Motto	Esto Quod Es ("Be what you are")
Established	c. AD 909
Type	Independent day and boarding Cathedral foundation school
Religion	Church of England
Head	Elizabeth Cairncross
Chairman of the Governors	John Clarke
Location	The Liberty Wells Somerset England Coordinates: 51°12′49″N 2°38′37″W / 51.2135°N 2.6436°W / 51.2135; -2.6436
DfE number	933/6029
Students	700
Gender	Co-educational
Ages	3–18
Houses	Two lower, seven upper
Colours	Navy, Gold
Publication	The Wellensian
Patron	Prince Charles
Website	www.wells-cathedral-school.com

Wells Cathedral School is a co-educational independent school located in Wells, Somerset, England. The school is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in the United Kingdom, along with Chetham's School of Music, the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Purcell School and St. Mary's Music School, Edinburgh. The head, Elizabeth Cairncross, is a member of the Headmasters' Conference.

History

With links to a school founded in AD 909,^[1] Wells is one of the oldest extant schools in the world. The school admitted girls in 1969 and has over 700 pupils aged between 3 and 18. The school has a musical emphasis and specialises in combining high-level musical tuition with a general academic education, as well as sports.

Situated within the city of Wells, the school's boarding houses line the northern parts of the city and the music school retains close links with Wells Cathedral. The Vicar's Chapel and Library in Vicars' Close was built c1424-1430. The lower floor was a chapel, with a spiral stair leading up to the library.^[2] It is now used by the School.^[3]

De Salis House and De Salis Cottage were built in the late 14th century.^[4] The Rib was built in the 15th century and is a Grade II* listed building.^[5] Cedars House was built in 1758 for Charles Tudway, the Member of Parliament for Wells and now forms part of the school.^[6] Claver Morris House was built as a canonical house in 1669 by Dr Claver Morris,^[7] while Plumptre dates from 1737 and was built for Dr Francis White.^[8] No.11 The Liberty was built as a Canonical house in the mid 18th century and it now forms part of Wells Cathedral Junior School.^[9] No 23 The Liberty was built in 1819 for the Chapter Clerk, William Parfitt,^[10] and the 15th century Polydor House formerly belonged to the organists.^[11]

Cedars House

The red brick Cedars Cottage, which was built as a coachman's cottage the former stables and coach house were built in the mid to late 18th century,^[12] around the same time as Mullins.^[13] Ritchie House was built a little later around the end of the 18th century or the beginning of the 19th.^[14] Ritchie Hall became part of the school on its rebuilding in 1884 but incorporates part of a 12th-century Canon's Barn,^[15] while St andrew's Lodge was built in 1713 as part of a charity school.^[16]

Wells Cathedral School is supposed to be the fifth oldest independent school in the country. It cannot be proven, however, that the school has existed continually since the date of its supposed foundation in the tenth century, and there was certainly a hiatus during the 1880s, after which it was refounded.

The current headmistress is Elizabeth Cairncross^[17] with Dr Andy Kemp as deputy head, and Mark Stringer is director of music.

The Royal Family holds links with the school, many of the buildings being opened by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother on 6 July 1979.^[18] Queen Elizabeth II visited the school during her Silver Jubilee tour in 1977. The Countess of Wessex visited Wells on 18 October 2007 and has done so several times subsequently.^[19]

In 1969 it was among the first independent schools in the country to become coeducational when the junior school admitted girls. The following year, girls were admitted to the senior school and it became fully coeducational.

In 2005, the school was one of fifty independent schools to be found guilty of operating a price-fixing cartel, discovered by The Times, under which schools had made fee increases or decreases concurrently, thus minimising competition.^[20] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling £3 million into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. The discovery by The Times was made shortly after new Office of Fair Trading directives prohibiting such sharing of information a directive not clearly communicated according to the schools concerned, a fact omitted by many tabloids.^[21]

Music

The Music School

Distinguished musicians visit the school to give masterclasses. The music school has several main practice areas and caters for specialist, special provision and general musicians. The school comprises pre-prep, junior school, lower school, and upper school, including a sixth form.

The Music School was formerly the house of the Archdeacon of Wells. It was rebuilt by Archdeacon Andrew Holes between 1450 and 1470, possibly retaining some 13th century work and further restoration was undertaken by Edmund Buckle in 1886. It is a Grade II* listed building.^[22]

The school's connection with the cathedral offers a range of opportunities. There is a school service every Sunday evening and Monday morning in the cathedral, as well as music concerts. Chapel, chamber and cathedral choir rehearsals and performances are performed in both the cathedral and the Music School. Government funding of £3.5 million was obtained in 2008 to build a new concert hall and classrooms at Cedars Hall.^[23]

School houses

Boys' houses

• De Salis (lower school boarders) (navy tie with thin diagonal blue, yellow and white stripes)
• Mills (lower school day) (navy tie with thin diagonal white stripes) - house no longer used, however the tie remains for lower school boys
• Cedars (upper school) (navy tie with green emblems)
• Ritchie (upper school) (navy tie with red emblems)
• Shrewsbury (upper school) (navy tie with blue emblems)

Girls' houses

• Claver-Morris (lower school boarders)
• Mary Mitchell (lower school day) - house no longer in use
• Edwards (upper school)
• Haversham (upper school)
• Plumptre (upper school)
• Canon Grange (upper school)

Competitive houses (lower school)

• Carter
• Lewis

Competitive houses (Junior School)

• Drake
• Livingstone
• Nelson
• Scott

The nave and strainer arches of Wells Cathedral, c.1890

Notable alumni

• George Bull, Bishop of St David's
• Philip Dukes, Violist^[24]
• Michael Eavis, founder of the Glastonbury Festival.^[25]
• Frederick Keel, composer, singer and academic
• Victoria Lyon, member of Escala^[26]
• Kris Marshall, actor^[27]
• Malcolm Nash, cricketer^[28]
• Danny Nightingale, Olympic gold-medallist
• Bruce Parry, BBC presenter^[29]
• David Poore, musician & composer^[30]
• James Turle, musician^[31]
• Richard Jacques, composer^[32]

See also

• List of Cathedral Schools
• List of the oldest schools in the world

References

External links

• Wells Cathedral School website
• Wells Cathedral School Foundation website
• Profile on the ISC website

Music schools in the United Kingdom Music school Secondary Berkshire Maestros Chetham's School of Music City of Edinburgh Music School Kimichi School North East of Scotland Music School Purcell School St Mary's Music School Wells Cathedral School Yehudi Menuhin School Tertiary Academy of Contemporary Music Birmingham Conservatoire British & Irish Modern Music Institute Cardiff University School of Music Guildhall School of Music and Drama Iain Tomlin School of Music The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance Leeds College of Music Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts London Centre of Contemporary Music London College of Music London School of Musical Theatre National Opera Studio Point Blank Music College Royal Academy of Music Royal College of Music Royal College of Organists Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Royal Northern College of Music Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama School of Sound Recording Tech Music School Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Wales International Academy of Voice Military Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming Royal Military School of Music Associated organisations Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Conservatoires UK European Association of Conservatoires Category