Westminster School
| The Royal College of St. Peter | |
|---|---|
|
|
| type of school | Anglican Public School |
| founding | 1179 (re-established in 1560) |
| address |
Little Smith St, London SW1P 3PF |
| place | London , UK |
| London Borough | City of Westminster |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51 ° 29 '54 " N , 0 ° 7' 42" W |
| student | about 747 |
| Teachers | about 105 |
| management | Stephen Spurr |
| Website | www.westminster.org.uk |
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, also known as Westminster School , is one of the most important British private boarding and day schools in London in the borough of Westminster. Its history goes back to the 12th century. It has spawned many well-known British personalities over time, such as: B. Ben Jonson , Robert Hooke , Christopher Wren , John Locke , Jeremy Bentham, and Alan Alexander Milne . It is one of the original nine English public schools within the meaning of the Public Schools Act of 1868 .
history
In 1179 Pope Alexander III obliged the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey to establish a school for the poor . When Henry VIII ordered the abolition of the monasteries in England in the 16th century , he ensured the survival of the school through royal financial support in 1540. During the brief reign of Maria I , the Benedictine monastery was restored for a time. The school was re-founded by Elisabeth I as early as 1560 and today she is regarded as the founder of the school with the founding date 1560. The school was only separated from the abbey with the Public Schools Act 1868. But in the following 25 years a public and parliamentary dispute over the transfer and regulation of the property of the abbey to the school was waged.
In 1943 Westminster Under School was established as a preparatory school for day students ages 8 to 13. Today it accepts students from the age of 7. However, only the separation of the Under School as an independent school is new, as boys from the age of 11 have been admitted since the 18th century. In 1967 the first female student entered high school. From 1973 girls were then regularly integrated into the school, after which Purcell was founded as an all-girls house in 1981. In 1997 the school was expanded with the creation of a new house for day pupils.
In 2005, the Times announced that the school, along with fifty other leading private schools, operated an illegal price cartel for school fees.
Location and noteworthy buildings
The school is located on the site of the former medieval convent of Westminster Abbey. Its main buildings are located around the private Little Dean's Yard (also known as the "Yard") and Dean's Yard, where the Church House, the headquarters of the Church of England , is located.
The school has several notable unique buildings that stand out for their age and history. For example the College Hall, which was the abbot's dining room in the 14th century, and the "College" building, which is now divided into the three houses College, Dryden and Wren. It dates from 1729 and was developed by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington , based on earlier designs by Christopher Wren . The "School" was originally built in 1090 as the monks' dormitory and is now the main hall of the school. Ashburnham House, which now houses the IT department library and the mathematics department, was built in the 17th century as the London seat for the family of Earl Ashburnham.
Student body
There are around 750 students in each school year. A quarter of them are boarding school students. 37 boarding school students and 96 day school students are girls who are admitted to school after their GCSE exams with the sixth form (at the age of 16, upper level). Most boys start school by the age of 13. You qualify for school attendance either through a joint entrance examination, which is currently offered every year in June, or through the Westminster scholarship examination called “The Challenge”, which always takes place in May. There is also the possibility for boys to attend school at the age of 7 to 8 by qualifying through a selection process that takes place in January every year. Further students come to the school at the age of 11, who usually come from state elementary schools. There are a total of 250 students between the ages of 7 and 13 who attend the school. Every pupil, regardless of whether he is a boarding school or day pupil, belongs to one of the eleven houses where he has a place for learning and leisure. Six of the houses are for boarding school students. Purcell, an all girls house, is the only house that has no day students. Overall, all houses accept girls starting with the sixth form (upper school).
| House | founded | Named after | Boarding school students | Day students |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant's | 1750 | Is the old school house and named after Mrs. Grant. This once owned the building and they took boys in to school before the actual boarding house was built. | Boys | Boys and girls |
| Rigaud's | 1896 | Stephen Jordan Rigaud | Boys | Boys and girls |
| Busby's | 1925 | Richard Busby | Boys and girls | Boys and girls |
| Liddell's | 1956 | Henry George Liddell | Boys and girls | Boys and girls |
| Purcell's | 1981 | Henry Purcell | girl | girl |
| Ashburnham | 1881 | Earls of Ashburnham | No | Boys and girls |
| Dryden's | 1976 | John Dryden | No | Boys and girls |
| Hakluyt's | 1987 | Richard Hakluyt | No | Boys and girls |
| Milne's | 1991 | Alan Alexander Milne | No | Boys and girls |
| Wren's | 1948 | Christopher Wren | No | Boys and girls |
| college | 1560 | Boys | girl |
Other notable facts
- Westminster Abbey is the school's chapel. All students attend church services there on Mondays and Fridays.
- In addition to teaching, all students are offered a wide and varied number of activities. In addition to sports, the main activities are in the fields of art, theater and music.
- The school has an unusual system of naming the school years
- Year 9: Vth form
- Year 10: Lower Shell
- Year 11: Upper Shell (GCSE)
- Year 12: VIth Form (AS)
- Year 13: Remove (A2)
- The school has different customs, including the greaze, which has been taking place on Ash Wednesday since 1753. The chef throws a pancake reinforced with horse hair , which some students then fight for a minute.
- The John Locke Society holds weekly lectures for upper school students. The guest speakers include politicians, journalists, authors and athletes.
Well-known former students
Selection:
- Ben Jonson (1573–1637), poet and playwright
- George Herbert (1593–1633), poet and public speaker, Cambridge 1619–27
- John Dryden (1631–1700), poet and playwright. Poem Laureate
- John Locke (1632–1704), philosopher
- Christopher Wren (1632–1723), original member of the Royal Society. Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College Oxford and Architect
- Robert Hooke (1635–1703), inventor, mechanic, architect, astronomer. Author Micrographia
- Henry Purcell (1659–1695), composer
- Charles Wesley (1707–1788), Methodist preacher and author of over 6,000 songs
- Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), philosopher
- Robert Southey (1774–1843), poem Laureate 1813
- Alan Alexander Milne (1882–1956), author and journalist
- John Gielgud (1904–2000), actor and director
- Angus Wilson (1913-1991), writer
- Andrew Fielding Huxley (1917–2012), biophysicist and physiologist
- Peter Ustinov (1921–2004), actor, writer and director
- David Scott-Barrett (1922-2004), British officer and city commander
- Tony Benn (1925-2014), politician
- Peter Brook (1925–), theater director
- Nigel Lawson (1932–), politician
- Anthony Howard (1934-2010), journalist and author
- Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948–), composer and producer
- Stephen Poliakoff (1952–), playwright
- Shane MacGowan (1957–), English-Irish musician
- Edward St Aubyn (1960–), journalist and writer
- Gavin Rossdale (1965–), British musician
- Helena Bonham Carter (1966–), actress
- Jason Mariano Kouchak (1967–), composer and musician
- Dido (1971–), pop singer
- Alice Eve (1982–), actress
literature
- Westminster. In: Reginald Airy: Handbooks to the great Public Schools. George Bell & Sons, London 1902.
- John Dudley Carleton: Westminster School: A History. R. Hart-Davis, London 1965.
- John Rae: Delusions of Grandeur: A Headmaster's Life. 1966-1986. HarperCollins, London 1994, ISBN 0-00-638129-4 .
- John Field: The King's Nurseries: The Story of Westminster School. James & James, London 1988, ISBN 0-907383-01-7 .
- John Sargeaunt: Annals of Westminster School. Methuen, London 1898.
- Lawrence Edward Tanner: Westminster School: A History. Country Life, London 1934.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Our History. (No longer available online.) Westminster School, archived from the original on July 9, 2014 ; accessed on June 4, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ From the Head Master ( Memento from December 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Brief History ( Memento of May 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Westminster Under School. Westminster School, accessed June 4, 2014 .
- ^ Brief History ( Memento of May 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ www.timesonline.co.uk
- ↑ Dean's welcome ( Memento from September 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ www.churchhouse.org.uk
- ↑ www.westminster.org.uk
- ^ The School ( Memento from May 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Houses. (No longer available online.) Westminster School, archived from the original on February 28, 2014 ; accessed on June 4, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Abbey. (No longer available online.) Westminster School, archived from the original on February 28, 2014 ; accessed on June 4, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Studying at Westminster ( Memento of May 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ wilsonsalmanac.com ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Events ( Memento of December 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Famous OWW. (No longer available online.) Westminster School, archived from the original on January 13, 2015 ; accessed on June 4, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
