Charterhouse School
Encyclopedia
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse
, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school (also referred to as a public school) situated at Godalming
in Surrey
.
Founded by Thomas Sutton
in London
in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian
monastery in Charterhouse Square
, Smithfield
, it is one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868
which derived from the Clarendon Commission
of 1864. Today pupils at Charterhouse are still referred to as Carthusians, and ex-pupils as Old Carthusians or OCs.
(1532–1611) of Snaith
, Lincolnshire
. He acquired a fortune by the discovery of coal
on two estates which he had leased near Newcastle-on-Tyne, and afterwards, removing to London, he carried on a commercial career. In 1611, the year of his death, he endowed a hospital on the site of the Charterhouse, calling it the hospital of King James, and in his will he bequeathed moneys to maintain a chapel, hospital (almshouse
) and school. He died on 12 December and subsequently the will was hotly contested but upheld in court, and the foundation was finally constituted to afford a home for eighty male pensioners (gentlemen by descent and in poverty, soldiers that have borne arms by sea or land, merchants decayed by piracy or shipwreck, or servants in household to the King or Queens Majesty), and to educate forty boys.
Charterhouse established a reputation for excellence in hospital care and treatment, thanks in part to Henry Levett
, an Oxford graduate who joined the school as a physician in 1712. Levett was widely esteemed for his medical writings, including an early tract on the treatment of smallpox. Levett was buried in Charterhouse Chapel and his widow married Andrew Tooke, the master of Charterhouse.
The school was moved to its present site in 1872 by the then headmaster, the Reverend Haig Brown — a decision influenced by the findings of the Clarendon Commission
of 1864.
The school bought a 68 acre (270,000 m²) site atop a hill just outside Godalming. In addition to the main school buildings (designed by architect Philip Charles Hardwick
), they constructed three boarding houses, known as Saunderites (once the headmaster's house, pronounced "sarnderites" rather than "sornderites"), Verites and Gownboys (for scholars, who were entitled to wear gowns). The school was built by Lucas Brothers
. who also built the Royal Albert Hall and Covent Garden.
As pupil numbers grew, other houses were built alongside the approach road, now known as Charterhouse Hill. Each was titled with an adaptation of the name of their first housemaster, such as Weekites, Daviesites and Girdlestoneites. The last of these is still referred to as Duckites, reflecting the unusual gait of its original housemaster, even though he retired well over 100 years ago. There are now the original four 'old' houses plus seven 'new' houses, making eleven boarding houses in total. The eleven Houses
have preserved a unique identity (each with its own tie and colours) and pupils compete against each other in both sports and the arts.
The school continued to expand over the 20th century. Further land was bought to the north and west, increasing the grounds to over 200 acres (809,000 m²), and a new school chapel
was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
(perhaps best known for designing the red telephone box
) and consecrated in 1927 to commemorate almost 700 pupils who died in the First World War
, making it the largest war memorial in England. Around 350 names have been subsequently added to commemorate those who died in the Second World War
and other more recent conflicts. Most still attend a short chapel service there six times a week. The school also keeps a small archives library opposite the History block, where it is traditional for Fourths to do an archives project about a particular Old Carthusian killed in the First World War.
Charterhouse was all male until the 1970s when girls were first admitted in the sixth form (the final two years), and this continues to be the case today. Of over 300 sixth formers today, almost a third are girls.
The most significant addition to the campus was seven new Houses, built in the 1970s, replacing late Victorian boarding houses which were demolished in 1977. Other newer buildings include the Art Studio, the John Derry Technology Centre, the Ben Travers
Theatre, the Ralph Vaughan Williams
Music Centre, the Halford Hewitt Golf Course, the Queen’s Sports Centre, the Sir Greville Spratt athletics track and Chetwynd, a hall of residence for girls. In 2003, the School renovated its onsite Library. 2006 saw the opening of The Beveridge Centre for the Social Sciences. In 2007, a new state of the art £3m Modern Languages building was completed.
, cricket
, rowing, cross-country
, tennis
, rugby union
, fives
, fencing, racquets
, swimming
, squash
, water polo
, horse riding
, sub-aqua
, basketball
, shooting, badminton
, Golf and climbing
. The 2005 first XI football team performed well, having an unbeaten season, barring a solitary defeat in the ISFA Cup. Cricket also continues to be played and Charterhouse has one of the batting tracks in the South of England. The school produced one of England's finest batsmen and captains in history, Peter May.
The school first XI of the year 2006-7 reached the ISFA cup final, losing on penalties after a one-all draw with Hampton
. One year later, the school first XI again qualified for the ISFA cup final against Millfield. Because of poor weather conditions, it was decided that the match would be played on one of Charterhouse's pitches instead of the usual Walkers Stadium
or the replacement at Wokingham F.C. stadium. The team won this match on penalties.
The school has a top 60 placing in the A level league tables, and in 2011 over 80% of pupils are awarded an A* or A grade at GCSE. The school recently announced its decision to switch from A Levels to the International Baccalaureate and Cambridge Pre-U
.
Martin Bicknell
, the former Surrey
and England
seam bowler joined the school as head of cricket following his retirement from the sport in 2006.
In 2007, Roy Hattersley, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and minister, reported on a visit to Charterhouse in the Guardian newspaper.. While reporting on the school chapel he noted in the article that 'Its geometric spires and minarets proclaim complete confidence that Charterhouse educates men who are destined to rule the universe.' (Since Charterhouse educates women too, there is an obvious omission). Despite his apparent qualms about selective education, Hattersley also wrote in the article that 'Academically and pastorally, it is near to beyond criticism. And after only a brief glimpse of the school, I have no doubt that I would have been ecstatically happy there'. However, he went on to say that as Shadow Secretary of State for Education during the 1970s, he had said in a speech that his hope was 'initially to reduce and eventually to abolish fee-paying education in this country'. Concluding the article, he said 'my aspiration to end it all was totally justified'.
and seven new houses in White List (a directory of names) order. They are all distinguished by the colour of the pupils' ties, umbrellas and football team's stripes.
The four old houses are
The seven "new" houses (so-called because they are in more modern (1970s) buildings, which replaced older (1870s) buildings, which were mainly on the other side of the valley) are:
In addition, a new Day house, Fletcherites, named after Frank Fletcher, a former headmaster, was opened in autumn 2010. Fletcherites's Housemaster is I de Visme and the house colour is Light Blue (as compared to Hodgesonites' Dark Blue). The house moved into the old Great Comp building, now renovated.
Verites, Saunderites and Gownboys houses predate the move to Godalming in 1872 and are known as the "block" houses. However, Girdlestoneites is now treated as one of the "old houses" because it, along with Verites, Saunderites and Gownboys, are the only houses still in their 1870s buildings, while all the rest are in their 1970s replacements. Saunderites is named after its first Housemaster Dr. Saunders (Headmaster 1832-53) and it was the Headmaster's house, in that the headmaster would not only run the school but one of the houses. Unfortunately, the dramatic increase in the size of the school and the increasing difficulties in running such a school have meant that the Headmaster can no longer do this. Gownboys was named not after their original housemaster, but because it was the scholars' house, although scholars were distributed across all the houses after the transfer to Godalming. As was tradition, scholars wore gowns with their uniform and were treated as superior to other boys. There is no longer such a tradition and the scholars are now distributed throughout the various houses, on a random but numerically equal basis. There are still scholars in Gownboys, but in no greater proportion than any other house.
Verites is a contraction of Oliverites (Oliver Walford, School Usher 1838-55) and hence 'Verites' is pronounced as if the 'Ver' is from Oliver not as from 'very'. The records of the house run back to the start of the last century, but previously it was just called 'Boarders House No.2'. Girdlestonites' first housemaster was Frederick Girdlestone, who was said to walk like a duck. Girdlestonites has therefore been unofficially known as 'Duckites' ever since, but since this was 'insulting' slang it was never written down or used officially. This latter restriction has now largely fallen by the wayside and even the school magazine uses Duckites in print occasionally.
All new Houses apart from Bodeites are named after their founders (although Robinites was originally Robinsonites). Bodeites was originally Buissonites, named after the Head of Languages at the time. He ran off with the matron, and so the house was renamed Bodeites after the replacement, Mr Bode. This did lead to some confusion at the time of naming the houses because some housemasters moved to houses named after their colleagues.
Robinites was a 'passage house' when the school first moved to Godalming and boys stayed there for no more than two years until they could be transferred to one of the other houses. It now has normal status. There was also another passage house known as Laleham, but this has ceased to exist.
All pupils belong to one of the 11 houses, and boarding boys will sleep in their house. Charterhouse has traditionally had very few day boys. In the 1870s the statutes of the school limited them to 10 (excluding sons of masters) and even in the late 1980s the number was only around 25 (some of whom were the sons of masters). Boarding girls are assigned a House and are fully involved in House life but at night, they sleep in halls of residence (e.g. Chetwynd) which are not treated as houses. These halls of residence are more modern than the 'new' Houses.
Teachers belong to Brooke Hall (the teachers' common room building).
Uskites was a temporary house opened in 1872 by Mr Stewart, the writing and chemistry instructor from the old Charterhouse. It was closed in 1878 and the pupils redistributed. The building itself (on Peperharow Road) was bought by a schoolmaster, and later used by the School as a sanatorium. It is now masters' accommodation. Mr Stewart named the house because he likened the valley of the River Wey (where the house lies) with the valley of the River Usk.
Memorial Chapel, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
and consecrated in 1927, commemorates the Carthusians who died in action: 700 in World War I
and 350 in World War II
. The whole School meets here five days each week for a short service at 8:30 am, and on Sundays for Evensong, Matins, or a School Eucharist. On Sundays, when there is an Evening service, Catholic pupils may instead attend Mass in the Founder's Chapel. Parents are welcome at Sunday services, but tickets are required for Remembrance Sunday and the Carol Service.
Friday morning chapel is reserved for congregational singing practice, and Wednesday morning chapel is voluntary. Attendance at all other chapel services are compulsory, except where individual exemptions are granted on religious grounds.
Chapel provides a variety of worship experience: hymn-singing; Psalm chanting; the choir performs a repertoire of Church Music; Candle-lit Carols; Eucharists in Millennium Chapel; Remembrance Sunday
with the sounding of The Last Post and The Silence.
Each year there is a Confirmation Service in late January and pupils from any year group except the Fourths (who hadn't been at the school when it was open to sign up) can be prepared for this.
The school retains the old chapel used by the school prior to 1927. However, when the school first moved to Godalming even this was not built, and the pupils walked the 2 miles to Shackleford Church. Pupils ever since have benefited, because the time taken for the walk ruled out the continuance of Sunday school, which ran from 10am to 10:30 on Sundays, which has remained a non-teaching day ever since.
The Lower School consists of the first three years of attendance at Charterhouse, being the Fourth Form, the Removes and the Fifth Form (GCSE year). Pupils in Lower School wear a weekday uniform consisting of a white or blue shirt, house tie, grey trousers, blue jumper, tweed jacket and leather shoes. Sunday dress consists of a dark suit of pinstriped or plain design. A waistcoat is optional. Variations include various society and school honours' ties.
Transition from the Lower School to the Upper School occurs upon successful completion of the GCSE exams.
The Specialists (Lower and Upper Sixth Forms) constitute the last two years of attendance at Charterhouse, and form the Upper School. Having completed the GCSE exams successfully, 'First & Second Year Specialists' (as they are colloquially referred) spend two years studying for their 'A-Level' examinations, usually in three subjects, although some students will read for four or five.
Specialists have their own variations on School Dress. Instead of a tweed jacket, Specialists wear a navy blue blazer with gold or blue buttons on the sleeves. Sunday dress remains the same as in the Lowerer School. Historically, those in Gownboys were permitted to wear gowns as a mark of their scholarly status, but this is no longer permitted, as Gownboys is not the only house in which scholars reside. Specialists may also wear pink shirts and silver or nickel cuff-links.
Whether in Lower or Upper School, any pupil who has been awarded his House or School 'Colours' for sport or culture, may wear his 'Colours' tie in place of his house tie. School monitors may also wear their monitor tie instead of a house tie, if they so choose. For further on this, please see below, under "School Honours".
During Cricket Quarter, the school uniform can vary slightly from that of the two preceding terms. Boys may wear cravats in house colours instead of ties and are permitted to wear straw Boaters similar to the 'Harrow Hat' found at Harrow School
, but these are almost never worn by the majority of pupils. Boys in the Under School may also wear navy blazers similar to those worn by the Specialists. As well as these variations, boys may roll up their sleeves in hashes unless asked not to by a beak.
Members of the 1st XI Cricket Team have their own variation on summer dress which is described later in the article.
School Honours is the Colours system rewarding pupils in various fields with variations on school dress. They are as follows
House Colours - House colours are a variation on the house tie. Colours awarded for house sport prowess have thicker stripes in the House colour, whereas those awarded for cultural prowess have thin doubled striped.
School Colours - School colours are awarded for services to School sport, culture and other areas deemed worthy. They all have a similar design and are covered in Sutton's Crests (The crest of Thomas Sutton). However, they come in varying colours:
The Head of School: The Head of School (head boy) is permitted to wear a Pink tie ordained with Sutton Crests, sometimes reversed.
1st XI Major Sports: Members of the 1st Team in major school sports (Football, Hockey and Cricket) are permitted to wear Maroon ties.
Minor Sports: Holders of colours in Minor Sports are permitted to wear a silver tie covered in Sutton Hospital Crests.
Academic/Scholars: Holders of Academic or Scholars colours are permitted to wear a Cambridge Blue tie or bow tie with Sutton Crests.
Culture: Those deemed worthy enough in cultural fields are permitted to wear a purple tie.
Service: Brown ties are awarded for commendable service to the school community. Most frequently they are awarded by the CCF
.
2nd XI Cricket
Members of the 1st XI Cricket team are permitted to wear Pink Blazers with Sutton's Crest on the front pocket to Hashes on match days (usually Saturdays).
Greyhounds
Every year a few Carthusians are given Greyhound awards for outstanding service to the school. Those awarded the prize are permitted to wear a navy blue tie with rampant gold greyhounds.
. It is the tradition to sing Jerusalem on the last Chapel service of term. C.V. Stanford's setting of the Nunc Dimittis
in B flat is sung the most throughout the year.
.
in CQ and Sunday dress is worn. The day is intended for the Old Carthusians and the parents of Carthusians to visit the school. Speeches are made and Sports events played: including the annual Football, Cricket and Gold matches between Carthusians and Old Carthusians. It also gives parents the chance to see their sons' and daughters' work (such as the traditional Archives project done by Fourths on old Carthusians killed in World War I).
Founder's Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the founding of the school and to thank the founder and benefactor Thomas Sutton. It is considered one of the most important days of the year and is held on the last day of OQ. The day consists of 'clearing up' in houses before 'Founders Feast', a large feast for the whole school where Black Tie
is worn. The feast is followed by games and activities.
St. Andrew's Day is celebrated by an annual ball hosted by the historical 'Scottish Dancing society. On St. Andrews Day pupils are permitted to wear traditional Scottish dress including a Kilt
, Ghillies and a Sporran
.
'The 50 Mile Walk' is an annual event for the 1st Year specialists held at the end of CQ. It consists of walking a 50 miles (80.5 km) stretch from Brighton to the Brooke Hall arch and taking regular Hashes the next day. The March originates from the 1950s when the American Navy SEALs challenged the School, saying that only they could walk 50 miles (80.5 km) and go to work the next day. Those who complete the walk in less than 24 Hours are awarded a special '50' tie, which until 2006 consisted of a navy blue tie with the school crest that has a '50' written below it. The current tie is a thickly striped affair in Pink (for the school), Green (for the countryside) and Blue (for the night)
Leavers Day is the last day of CQ when the Second Year Specialists come to the end of their school careers. After the Leavers Chapel, the entire school does 2 lap around 'Green' while several men dressed in Scottish traditional Scottish dress play the bagpipes. The leaving Second Year Specialists do an extra lap signifying their loyalty to the school.
'Lack of Talent' is an annual show of Carthusian musical talent and sketches run entirely by pupils and held in the BTT during the start of LQ. It is usually hosted by a two second year Specialists and acts are selected by a panel of pupils in the Second Year Specialists. Such acts are predominantly music based, however comedy sketches have become increasingly popular (as they were a large part of the original Lack of Talent in 2000) with many of the staff looking forward to the Brooke Hall parody sketch that has become a regular feature. It is one of the few productions in the school's theatre that students and visitors have to pay a fee to see, originally with the concept this would go to global, less obvious charities and raise peoples awareness of their causes.
pupils' surroundings meant they were confined to playing their football in the cloisters, making the rough and tumble of the handling game that was developing at other schools such as Rugby
impossible, and necessitating a new code of rules. During the formulation of the rules of the Association Football in the 1860s representatives of Charterhouse and Westminster School pushed for a passing game, in particular rules that allowed forward passing ("passing on"). Other schools (in particular Eton College
, Shrewsbury School
and Harrow
) favoured a dribbling game with a tight off-side rule. It is claimed that Stoke Ramblers
was formed in 1863 when former pupils of Charterhouse School formed a football club while apprentices at the North Staffordshire Railway
works in Stoke-on-Trent
. By 1867 the Football Association
had chosen in favour of the Charterhouse and Westminster game and adopted a "loose" off-side rule that permitted forward passing. The modern forward-passing game was a direct consequence of Charterhouse and Westminster Football.
In the early years of the FA Cup
, teams formed of ex-pupils from these schools dominated the competition. The Old Carthusians F.C.
(the name for the team composed of Charterhouse alumni) won the cup in the 1880/81 season, beating the Old Etonians in the final, and were semi-finalists in the two years that followed. The public school system also provided many of the first England internationals. They included Charles Wreford-Brown, who is often credited for inventing the word "soccer". He was a pupil at Charterhouse in the early 1880s, and played football for the Old Carthusians and for the national side in the 1890s, including several appearances as captain.
During the past few years, Charterhouse has performed well in the Independent Schools Football Association
cup. In 2007, Charterhouse were runners-up but in 2008 they were able to beat Millfield and win the cup. They had another success in 2010 with a 2-0 victory in the final over Eton College.
ground came in 1859, when the school played Marlborough College
. From its inception, the school has used the ground to take on a number of prestigious colleges in England
. The cricket ground has held a single List-A match, which was played between Surrey
and Warwickshire
in the 1972 John Player League. Starting in 2006, the ground has held a number of Surrey Second XI fixtures in the Second XI Championship
and Second XI Trophy.
carries the Index Herbariorum designation GOD and is maintained as The Charterhouse School Herbarium in the University and Jepson Herbaria
, University of California, Berkeley
.
The scope of the collections are principally the British Isles, the principle collectors being James Edward Moxon, Rev. George Brown Moxon, Rev. Tullie Cornthwaite, Rev. Samuel Titmas (1st Curator - Charterhouse Museum), Frederick Yorke Brocas, William Gardiner and John Drew Salmon. The collections are currently being digitized and being released by the Botanical Society of the British Isles
, on the herbaria@home website.
, exposed by The Times
newspaper, although the schools made clear that they had not realised that the change to the law (which had happened only a few months earlier) about the sharing of information had subsequently made it an offence. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. However, Mrs Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and that they were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed."
In August 2010, former English footballer Gary Lineker
publicly accused Charterhouse of failing to get his son, George, into university
. Lineker claimed that the school had used him as a 'guinea pig' by ditching A-Levels for the new Cambridge Pre-U
. The school reacted by saying it was proud of its students' results. John Witheridge, the headmaster at Charterhouse, strongly defended the choice of the Pre-U as being more academically rigorous and educationally valid than the current A-Level standard, in an article in The Spectator
in August 2010.
:
The school was the filming location for the boarding school scenes in the 1992 film The Power of One
.
In St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, the school was site to 'The Old Boys School'. The pupils of the Old Boys School were not wearing Charterhouse school uniform, however, but uniform resembling that of Eton College. The boys' choir which appeared in the film was the Guildford Cathedral Choir
.
London Charterhouse
The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Smithfield, London dating back to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square. The Charterhouse began as a Carthusian priory, founded in 1371 and dissolved in 1537...
, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school (also referred to as a public school) situated at Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
Founded by Thomas Sutton
Thomas Sutton
Thomas Sutton was an English civil servant and businessman as well as being the founder of Charterhouse School. He was the son of an official of the city of Lincoln, and was educated at Eton College and probably at Cambridge...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery in Charterhouse Square
Charterhouse Square
Charterhouse Square is a historic square in Smithfield, between Charterhouse Street and Clerkenwell Road. It lies in the extreme south of the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London....
, Smithfield
Smithfield, London
Smithfield is an area of the City of London, in the ward of Farringdon Without. It is located in the north-west part of the City, and is mostly known for its centuries-old meat market, today the last surviving historical wholesale market in Central London...
, it is one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868
Public Schools Act 1868
The Public Schools Act 1868 was enacted by the British Parliament to reform and regulate nine of the leading English boys' schools. They were described as "public schools" as admission was open to boys from anywhere and was not limited to those living in a particular locality...
which derived from the Clarendon Commission
Clarendon Commission
Following complaints about the finances, buildings and management of Eton College the Clarendon Commission, a Royal Commission, was set up in 1861 to investigate the state of nine leading schools in England at the time. The Clarendon Report was published in 1864 with general recommendations on the...
of 1864. Today pupils at Charterhouse are still referred to as Carthusians, and ex-pupils as Old Carthusians or OCs.
History
In May 1611 the London Charterhouse came into the hands of Thomas SuttonThomas Sutton
Thomas Sutton was an English civil servant and businessman as well as being the founder of Charterhouse School. He was the son of an official of the city of Lincoln, and was educated at Eton College and probably at Cambridge...
(1532–1611) of Snaith
Snaith
Snaith is a town in the East Riding of Yorkshire local government area of England. It is situated approximately west of Goole on the A1041 road at its junction with the A645 road...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. He acquired a fortune by the discovery of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
on two estates which he had leased near Newcastle-on-Tyne, and afterwards, removing to London, he carried on a commercial career. In 1611, the year of his death, he endowed a hospital on the site of the Charterhouse, calling it the hospital of King James, and in his will he bequeathed moneys to maintain a chapel, hospital (almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
) and school. He died on 12 December and subsequently the will was hotly contested but upheld in court, and the foundation was finally constituted to afford a home for eighty male pensioners (gentlemen by descent and in poverty, soldiers that have borne arms by sea or land, merchants decayed by piracy or shipwreck, or servants in household to the King or Queens Majesty), and to educate forty boys.
Charterhouse established a reputation for excellence in hospital care and treatment, thanks in part to Henry Levett
Henry Levett
Dr. Henry Levett was an early English physician who wrote a pioneering tract on the treatment of smallpox and served as chief physician at London Charterhouse....
, an Oxford graduate who joined the school as a physician in 1712. Levett was widely esteemed for his medical writings, including an early tract on the treatment of smallpox. Levett was buried in Charterhouse Chapel and his widow married Andrew Tooke, the master of Charterhouse.
The school was moved to its present site in 1872 by the then headmaster, the Reverend Haig Brown — a decision influenced by the findings of the Clarendon Commission
Clarendon Commission
Following complaints about the finances, buildings and management of Eton College the Clarendon Commission, a Royal Commission, was set up in 1861 to investigate the state of nine leading schools in England at the time. The Clarendon Report was published in 1864 with general recommendations on the...
of 1864.
The school bought a 68 acre (270,000 m²) site atop a hill just outside Godalming. In addition to the main school buildings (designed by architect Philip Charles Hardwick
Philip Charles Hardwick
-Life:Philip Charles Hardwick was a notable English architect of the 19th century who was once described as "a careful and industrious student of mediaeval art"...
), they constructed three boarding houses, known as Saunderites (once the headmaster's house, pronounced "sarnderites" rather than "sornderites"), Verites and Gownboys (for scholars, who were entitled to wear gowns). The school was built by Lucas Brothers
Lucas Brothers, Builders
Lucas Brothers was a leading British building business based in London.-Early history:The business was founded by Charles Thomas Lucas and Thomas Lucas . They were the sons of James Lucas , a builder, of St Pancras, London...
. who also built the Royal Albert Hall and Covent Garden.
As pupil numbers grew, other houses were built alongside the approach road, now known as Charterhouse Hill. Each was titled with an adaptation of the name of their first housemaster, such as Weekites, Daviesites and Girdlestoneites. The last of these is still referred to as Duckites, reflecting the unusual gait of its original housemaster, even though he retired well over 100 years ago. There are now the original four 'old' houses plus seven 'new' houses, making eleven boarding houses in total. The eleven Houses
House system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
have preserved a unique identity (each with its own tie and colours) and pupils compete against each other in both sports and the arts.
The school continued to expand over the 20th century. Further land was bought to the north and west, increasing the grounds to over 200 acres (809,000 m²), and a new school chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
Giles Gilbert Scott
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
(perhaps best known for designing the red telephone box
Red telephone box
The red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar, and despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, red boxes can still be seen in many places and in current or former...
) and consecrated in 1927 to commemorate almost 700 pupils who died in the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, making it the largest war memorial in England. Around 350 names have been subsequently added to commemorate those who died in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and other more recent conflicts. Most still attend a short chapel service there six times a week. The school also keeps a small archives library opposite the History block, where it is traditional for Fourths to do an archives project about a particular Old Carthusian killed in the First World War.
Charterhouse was all male until the 1970s when girls were first admitted in the sixth form (the final two years), and this continues to be the case today. Of over 300 sixth formers today, almost a third are girls.
The most significant addition to the campus was seven new Houses, built in the 1970s, replacing late Victorian boarding houses which were demolished in 1977. Other newer buildings include the Art Studio, the John Derry Technology Centre, the Ben Travers
Ben Travers
Ben Travers AFC CBE in London) was a British playwright best remembered for his farces.Born in the London borough of Hendon, Travers was educated at Charterhouse, where today there is a theatre named for him...
Theatre, the Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
Music Centre, the Halford Hewitt Golf Course, the Queen’s Sports Centre, the Sir Greville Spratt athletics track and Chetwynd, a hall of residence for girls. In 2003, the School renovated its onsite Library. 2006 saw the opening of The Beveridge Centre for the Social Sciences. In 2007, a new state of the art £3m Modern Languages building was completed.
Today
Today, pupils can take part in a range of sporting activities, including, athletics football, hockeyField hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, rowing, cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, fives
Fives
Fives is a British sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a special court using gloved or bare hands as though they were a racquet.-Background:...
, fencing, racquets
Racquets (sport)
Rackets or Racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
, water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, horse riding
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, sub-aqua
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, shooting, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, Golf and climbing
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
. The 2005 first XI football team performed well, having an unbeaten season, barring a solitary defeat in the ISFA Cup. Cricket also continues to be played and Charterhouse has one of the batting tracks in the South of England. The school produced one of England's finest batsmen and captains in history, Peter May.
The school first XI of the year 2006-7 reached the ISFA cup final, losing on penalties after a one-all draw with Hampton
Hampton School
Hampton School is an independent boys' day school in Hampton, London, England.-History:In 1556, Robert Hammond, a wealthy brewer who had acquired property in Hampton, left in his will provision for the maintenance of a 'free scole' and to build a small schoolhouse 'with seates in yt' in the...
. One year later, the school first XI again qualified for the ISFA cup final against Millfield. Because of poor weather conditions, it was decided that the match would be played on one of Charterhouse's pitches instead of the usual Walkers Stadium
Walkers Stadium
The King Power Stadium is a football stadium which hosts home matches of English football club Leicester City. The all-seater stadium, inaugurated in July 2002, holds 32,500 and has the 19th largest stadium capacity in England. The stadium is named after King Power, a company owned by club owner...
or the replacement at Wokingham F.C. stadium. The team won this match on penalties.
The school has a top 60 placing in the A level league tables, and in 2011 over 80% of pupils are awarded an A* or A grade at GCSE. The school recently announced its decision to switch from A Levels to the International Baccalaureate and Cambridge Pre-U
Cambridge Pre-U
Cambridge Pre-U is a new UK qualification from University of Cambridge International Examinations that is an alternative to the current A Level qualification, which is considered by some to have become devalued...
.
Martin Bicknell
Martin Bicknell
Martin Paul Bicknell is a former English cricketer. He played only four Test matches, but the last two, against South Africa in 2003, came ten years after the first two in the 1993 Ashes series. England had played 114 matches between his appearances, a record...
, the former Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
seam bowler joined the school as head of cricket following his retirement from the sport in 2006.
In 2007, Roy Hattersley, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and minister, reported on a visit to Charterhouse in the Guardian newspaper.. While reporting on the school chapel he noted in the article that 'Its geometric spires and minarets proclaim complete confidence that Charterhouse educates men who are destined to rule the universe.' (Since Charterhouse educates women too, there is an obvious omission). Despite his apparent qualms about selective education, Hattersley also wrote in the article that 'Academically and pastorally, it is near to beyond criticism. And after only a brief glimpse of the school, I have no doubt that I would have been ecstatically happy there'. However, he went on to say that as Shadow Secretary of State for Education during the 1970s, he had said in a speech that his hope was 'initially to reduce and eventually to abolish fee-paying education in this country'. Concluding the article, he said 'my aspiration to end it all was totally justified'.
School terms
There are three academic terms (known as Quarters) in the year,- The Oration Quarter (OQ), from early September to mid December.
- The Long Quarter (LQ), from mid January to late March. Therefore, it traditionally had the distinction of being the shortest third of the school year, despite its name.
- The Cricket Quarter (CQ), from late April to late June or early July.
Houses
There are four old housesHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
and seven new houses in White List (a directory of names) order. They are all distinguished by the colour of the pupils' ties, umbrellas and football team's stripes.
The four old houses are
- Saunderites - Orange (S), Housemaster: SPM Allen. Head of Spanish
- Verites - Light Blue (the tie also has broad grey/silver stripes that make it look grey/silver overall - these were supposedly added to distinguish it from a tie at another school)(V), Housemaster: N Hadfield. Teaches French, German, Chinese and Russian.
- Gownboys - Dark Red (G), Housemaster: MLJ Blatchly. Director of Choral Music.
- Girdlestonites - Silver (g (not G, see Gownboys)), Housemaster: BP Thurston. Head of Modern Languages, teaches German and French.
The seven "new" houses (so-called because they are in more modern (1970s) buildings, which replaced older (1870s) buildings, which were mainly on the other side of the valley) are:
- Lockites - Light Green (L), Housemaster: A Johnston. Teaches History.
- Weekites - Light Red (W), Housemaster: KD Brown. Assistant Director of Sport and Outdoor Education Co-ordinator. Teaches Geography.
- Hodgesonites - Dark Blue (H), Housemaster: DG Wright. Head of Brass.
- Daviesites - Dark Green (D), Housemaster: JFA Tully. Teaches physics
- Bodeites - Old Gold (B), Housemaster: JS Hazeldine. Head of Business Studies.
- Pageites - Lilac (As distinguished from the pink in the official school colours)(P), Housemaster: NS Pelling. Teaches History.
- Robinites - Purple Bell End (R), Housemaster: ST Hearn. Teaches physics.
In addition, a new Day house, Fletcherites, named after Frank Fletcher, a former headmaster, was opened in autumn 2010. Fletcherites's Housemaster is I de Visme and the house colour is Light Blue (as compared to Hodgesonites' Dark Blue). The house moved into the old Great Comp building, now renovated.
Verites, Saunderites and Gownboys houses predate the move to Godalming in 1872 and are known as the "block" houses. However, Girdlestoneites is now treated as one of the "old houses" because it, along with Verites, Saunderites and Gownboys, are the only houses still in their 1870s buildings, while all the rest are in their 1970s replacements. Saunderites is named after its first Housemaster Dr. Saunders (Headmaster 1832-53) and it was the Headmaster's house, in that the headmaster would not only run the school but one of the houses. Unfortunately, the dramatic increase in the size of the school and the increasing difficulties in running such a school have meant that the Headmaster can no longer do this. Gownboys was named not after their original housemaster, but because it was the scholars' house, although scholars were distributed across all the houses after the transfer to Godalming. As was tradition, scholars wore gowns with their uniform and were treated as superior to other boys. There is no longer such a tradition and the scholars are now distributed throughout the various houses, on a random but numerically equal basis. There are still scholars in Gownboys, but in no greater proportion than any other house.
Verites is a contraction of Oliverites (Oliver Walford, School Usher 1838-55) and hence 'Verites' is pronounced as if the 'Ver' is from Oliver not as from 'very'. The records of the house run back to the start of the last century, but previously it was just called 'Boarders House No.2'. Girdlestonites' first housemaster was Frederick Girdlestone, who was said to walk like a duck. Girdlestonites has therefore been unofficially known as 'Duckites' ever since, but since this was 'insulting' slang it was never written down or used officially. This latter restriction has now largely fallen by the wayside and even the school magazine uses Duckites in print occasionally.
All new Houses apart from Bodeites are named after their founders (although Robinites was originally Robinsonites). Bodeites was originally Buissonites, named after the Head of Languages at the time. He ran off with the matron, and so the house was renamed Bodeites after the replacement, Mr Bode. This did lead to some confusion at the time of naming the houses because some housemasters moved to houses named after their colleagues.
Robinites was a 'passage house' when the school first moved to Godalming and boys stayed there for no more than two years until they could be transferred to one of the other houses. It now has normal status. There was also another passage house known as Laleham, but this has ceased to exist.
All pupils belong to one of the 11 houses, and boarding boys will sleep in their house. Charterhouse has traditionally had very few day boys. In the 1870s the statutes of the school limited them to 10 (excluding sons of masters) and even in the late 1980s the number was only around 25 (some of whom were the sons of masters). Boarding girls are assigned a House and are fully involved in House life but at night, they sleep in halls of residence (e.g. Chetwynd) which are not treated as houses. These halls of residence are more modern than the 'new' Houses.
Teachers belong to Brooke Hall (the teachers' common room building).
Uskites was a temporary house opened in 1872 by Mr Stewart, the writing and chemistry instructor from the old Charterhouse. It was closed in 1878 and the pupils redistributed. The building itself (on Peperharow Road) was bought by a schoolmaster, and later used by the School as a sanatorium. It is now masters' accommodation. Mr Stewart named the house because he likened the valley of the River Wey (where the house lies) with the valley of the River Usk.
Memorial Chapel
[File:Charterhouse School Chapel - geograph.org.uk - 166782.jpg|thumb|275px|The Memorial Chapel]]Memorial Chapel, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
Giles Gilbert Scott
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
and consecrated in 1927, commemorates the Carthusians who died in action: 700 in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and 350 in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The whole School meets here five days each week for a short service at 8:30 am, and on Sundays for Evensong, Matins, or a School Eucharist. On Sundays, when there is an Evening service, Catholic pupils may instead attend Mass in the Founder's Chapel. Parents are welcome at Sunday services, but tickets are required for Remembrance Sunday and the Carol Service.
Friday morning chapel is reserved for congregational singing practice, and Wednesday morning chapel is voluntary. Attendance at all other chapel services are compulsory, except where individual exemptions are granted on religious grounds.
Chapel provides a variety of worship experience: hymn-singing; Psalm chanting; the choir performs a repertoire of Church Music; Candle-lit Carols; Eucharists in Millennium Chapel; Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday
In the United Kingdom, 'Remembrance Sunday' is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day. It is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m...
with the sounding of The Last Post and The Silence.
Each year there is a Confirmation Service in late January and pupils from any year group except the Fourths (who hadn't been at the school when it was open to sign up) can be prepared for this.
The school retains the old chapel used by the school prior to 1927. However, when the school first moved to Godalming even this was not built, and the pupils walked the 2 miles to Shackleford Church. Pupils ever since have benefited, because the time taken for the walk ruled out the continuance of Sunday school, which ran from 10am to 10:30 on Sundays, which has remained a non-teaching day ever since.
Uniform
- Under School
The Lower School consists of the first three years of attendance at Charterhouse, being the Fourth Form, the Removes and the Fifth Form (GCSE year). Pupils in Lower School wear a weekday uniform consisting of a white or blue shirt, house tie, grey trousers, blue jumper, tweed jacket and leather shoes. Sunday dress consists of a dark suit of pinstriped or plain design. A waistcoat is optional. Variations include various society and school honours' ties.
Transition from the Lower School to the Upper School occurs upon successful completion of the GCSE exams.
- Specialists ('The Upper School')
The Specialists (Lower and Upper Sixth Forms) constitute the last two years of attendance at Charterhouse, and form the Upper School. Having completed the GCSE exams successfully, 'First & Second Year Specialists' (as they are colloquially referred) spend two years studying for their 'A-Level' examinations, usually in three subjects, although some students will read for four or five.
Specialists have their own variations on School Dress. Instead of a tweed jacket, Specialists wear a navy blue blazer with gold or blue buttons on the sleeves. Sunday dress remains the same as in the Lowerer School. Historically, those in Gownboys were permitted to wear gowns as a mark of their scholarly status, but this is no longer permitted, as Gownboys is not the only house in which scholars reside. Specialists may also wear pink shirts and silver or nickel cuff-links.
Whether in Lower or Upper School, any pupil who has been awarded his House or School 'Colours' for sport or culture, may wear his 'Colours' tie in place of his house tie. School monitors may also wear their monitor tie instead of a house tie, if they so choose. For further on this, please see below, under "School Honours".
- Summer Dresses
During Cricket Quarter, the school uniform can vary slightly from that of the two preceding terms. Boys may wear cravats in house colours instead of ties and are permitted to wear straw Boaters similar to the 'Harrow Hat' found at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, but these are almost never worn by the majority of pupils. Boys in the Under School may also wear navy blazers similar to those worn by the Specialists. As well as these variations, boys may roll up their sleeves in hashes unless asked not to by a beak.
Members of the 1st XI Cricket Team have their own variation on summer dress which is described later in the article.
- School Honours
School Honours is the Colours system rewarding pupils in various fields with variations on school dress. They are as follows
House Colours - House colours are a variation on the house tie. Colours awarded for house sport prowess have thicker stripes in the House colour, whereas those awarded for cultural prowess have thin doubled striped.
School Colours - School colours are awarded for services to School sport, culture and other areas deemed worthy. They all have a similar design and are covered in Sutton's Crests (The crest of Thomas Sutton). However, they come in varying colours:
The Head of School: The Head of School (head boy) is permitted to wear a Pink tie ordained with Sutton Crests, sometimes reversed.
1st XI Major Sports: Members of the 1st Team in major school sports (Football, Hockey and Cricket) are permitted to wear Maroon ties.
Minor Sports: Holders of colours in Minor Sports are permitted to wear a silver tie covered in Sutton Hospital Crests.
Academic/Scholars: Holders of Academic or Scholars colours are permitted to wear a Cambridge Blue tie or bow tie with Sutton Crests.
Culture: Those deemed worthy enough in cultural fields are permitted to wear a purple tie.
Service: Brown ties are awarded for commendable service to the school community. Most frequently they are awarded by the CCF
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
.
2nd XI Cricket
Members of the 1st XI Cricket team are permitted to wear Pink Blazers with Sutton's Crest on the front pocket to Hashes on match days (usually Saturdays).
Greyhounds
Every year a few Carthusians are given Greyhound awards for outstanding service to the school. Those awarded the prize are permitted to wear a navy blue tie with rampant gold greyhounds.
Songs
One of the traditions in Charterhouse is the singing of school songs. Many were written by teachers such as William Haig Brown and Old Carthusians such as Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
. It is the tradition to sing Jerusalem on the last Chapel service of term. C.V. Stanford's setting of the Nunc Dimittis
Nunc dimittis
The Nunc dimittis is a canticle from a text in the second chapter of Luke named after its first words in Latin, meaning 'Now dismiss...'....
in B flat is sung the most throughout the year.
Events
Carthusian Day is the main social event of the school calendar. It is held on day preceding the ExeatExeat
The Latin word exeat is most commonly used to describe a period of absence from a centre of learning. Exeat is used in Britain to describe weekend leave from a boarding school...
in CQ and Sunday dress is worn. The day is intended for the Old Carthusians and the parents of Carthusians to visit the school. Speeches are made and Sports events played: including the annual Football, Cricket and Gold matches between Carthusians and Old Carthusians. It also gives parents the chance to see their sons' and daughters' work (such as the traditional Archives project done by Fourths on old Carthusians killed in World War I).
Founder's Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the founding of the school and to thank the founder and benefactor Thomas Sutton. It is considered one of the most important days of the year and is held on the last day of OQ. The day consists of 'clearing up' in houses before 'Founders Feast', a large feast for the whole school where Black Tie
Black tie
Black tie is a dress code for evening events and social functions. For a man, the main component is a usually black jacket, known as a dinner jacket or tuxedo...
is worn. The feast is followed by games and activities.
St. Andrew's Day is celebrated by an annual ball hosted by the historical 'Scottish Dancing society. On St. Andrews Day pupils are permitted to wear traditional Scottish dress including a Kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
, Ghillies and a Sporran
Sporran
The Sporran is a traditional part of male Scottish Highland dress. It is a pouch that performs the same function as pockets on the pocketless Scottish kilt....
.
'The 50 Mile Walk' is an annual event for the 1st Year specialists held at the end of CQ. It consists of walking a 50 miles (80.5 km) stretch from Brighton to the Brooke Hall arch and taking regular Hashes the next day. The March originates from the 1950s when the American Navy SEALs challenged the School, saying that only they could walk 50 miles (80.5 km) and go to work the next day. Those who complete the walk in less than 24 Hours are awarded a special '50' tie, which until 2006 consisted of a navy blue tie with the school crest that has a '50' written below it. The current tie is a thickly striped affair in Pink (for the school), Green (for the countryside) and Blue (for the night)
Leavers Day is the last day of CQ when the Second Year Specialists come to the end of their school careers. After the Leavers Chapel, the entire school does 2 lap around 'Green' while several men dressed in Scottish traditional Scottish dress play the bagpipes. The leaving Second Year Specialists do an extra lap signifying their loyalty to the school.
'Lack of Talent' is an annual show of Carthusian musical talent and sketches run entirely by pupils and held in the BTT during the start of LQ. It is usually hosted by a two second year Specialists and acts are selected by a panel of pupils in the Second Year Specialists. Such acts are predominantly music based, however comedy sketches have become increasingly popular (as they were a large part of the original Lack of Talent in 2000) with many of the staff looking forward to the Brooke Hall parody sketch that has become a regular feature. It is one of the few productions in the school's theatre that students and visitors have to pay a fee to see, originally with the concept this would go to global, less obvious charities and raise peoples awareness of their causes.
Monitors
Monitors are chosen pupils who are deemed to have the best qualities in leadership and achievement. Each house has at least one monitor, who is appointed Head of House (the most senior pupil in house). On a school-wide level one monitor is appointed the Head of School, and a deputy is appointed to assist. Monitors may wear Navy blue ties and Navy scarves with an embroidered crest. Monitors are also permitted to ride bikes to and from hashes as well as out of Hash time.House Apostles
The Headmaster's Essay Society, also known as the 'House Apostles' is a historical society of twelve elite Carthusians deemed to be the most intellectual in the school. They are invited by the Headmaster to present papers on chosen subjects on Monday evenings and meetings are held in the Headmaster's House. All members wear Cambridge Blue Academic ties or scarves.Calling Over
In the traditional ceremony of Calling Over, the form master presents his class to the Master of the Under School, who praises those who have shown good effort, and discourages the less hard-working.The most respected and feared being Matthew Armstrong. Specialists are also awarded regular grades for attainment and effort, which are scrutinised by the Master of the Specialists. Parents receive detailed reports at the end of each Quarter, and have a formal opportunity to meet their son's or daughter's teachers every year to discuss progress. The Higher Education and Careers Department provides guidance and training throughout the process of selecting and applying to university.Origins of football
Charterhouse has an historic joint claim to having founded Association Football, which remains the main Winter sport at the school. During the 1840s at both Charterhouse and Westminster SchoolWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
pupils' surroundings meant they were confined to playing their football in the cloisters, making the rough and tumble of the handling game that was developing at other schools such as Rugby
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
impossible, and necessitating a new code of rules. During the formulation of the rules of the Association Football in the 1860s representatives of Charterhouse and Westminster School pushed for a passing game, in particular rules that allowed forward passing ("passing on"). Other schools (in particular Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
and Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
) favoured a dribbling game with a tight off-side rule. It is claimed that Stoke Ramblers
History of Stoke City F.C.
It is claimed that the history of Stoke City F.C., an English association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, began when Stoke Ramblers were formed in 1863. However, as the Official Site states, "In 1863 the story goes that former pupils of the Charterhouse School formed a football club while...
was formed in 1863 when former pupils of Charterhouse School formed a football club while apprentices at the North Staffordshire Railway
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
works in Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
. By 1867 the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
had chosen in favour of the Charterhouse and Westminster game and adopted a "loose" off-side rule that permitted forward passing. The modern forward-passing game was a direct consequence of Charterhouse and Westminster Football.
In the early years of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
, teams formed of ex-pupils from these schools dominated the competition. The Old Carthusians F.C.
Old Carthusians F.C.
Old Carthusians Football Club is an association football club whose players are former pupils of Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, England...
(the name for the team composed of Charterhouse alumni) won the cup in the 1880/81 season, beating the Old Etonians in the final, and were semi-finalists in the two years that followed. The public school system also provided many of the first England internationals. They included Charles Wreford-Brown, who is often credited for inventing the word "soccer". He was a pupil at Charterhouse in the early 1880s, and played football for the Old Carthusians and for the national side in the 1890s, including several appearances as captain.
During the past few years, Charterhouse has performed well in the Independent Schools Football Association
Independent Schools Football Association
Independent Schools Football Association oversees boys' football among independent schools in the United Kingdom. The ISFA is affiliated to the Football Association.Its chairman is David Elleray, and its CEO is Mark Dickson.-History:...
cup. In 2007, Charterhouse were runners-up but in 2008 they were able to beat Millfield and win the cup. They had another success in 2010 with a 2-0 victory in the final over Eton College.
Cricket ground
The first recorded match on the school cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
ground came in 1859, when the school played Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
. From its inception, the school has used the ground to take on a number of prestigious colleges in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The cricket ground has held a single List-A match, which was played between Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
in the 1972 John Player League. Starting in 2006, the ground has held a number of Surrey Second XI fixtures in the Second XI Championship
Second XI Championship
The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status...
and Second XI Trophy.
Herbarium
The School's HerbariumHerbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
carries the Index Herbariorum designation GOD and is maintained as The Charterhouse School Herbarium in the University and Jepson Herbaria
University and Jepson Herbaria
The University and Jepson Herbaria are two separate herbaria at the University of California, Berkeley. These botanical natural history museums are located on the ground floor of the Valley Life Sciences Building on the main campus of the university in Berkeley, California...
, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
The scope of the collections are principally the British Isles, the principle collectors being James Edward Moxon, Rev. George Brown Moxon, Rev. Tullie Cornthwaite, Rev. Samuel Titmas (1st Curator - Charterhouse Museum), Frederick Yorke Brocas, William Gardiner and John Drew Salmon. The collections are currently being digitized and being released by the Botanical Society of the British Isles
Botanical Society of the British Isles
The Botanical Society of the British Isles is a scientific society for the study of flora, plant distribution and taxonomy relating to Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The society was founded as the Botanical Society of London in 1836...
, on the herbaria@home website.
Fees
Day fees at Charterhouse are £25,242 per annum, whilst Boarding fees (including accommodation and food) are £30,534 per annum. There is some contention as to the most expensive public school in England, partly due to the fact that fees vary from year to year, and partly due to whether one is comparing day fees or boarding fees. A survey by Forbes described Charterhouse as the second most expensive boarding school in England after Eton, whilst a survey by the Telegraph found Charterhouse to have the second highest day fees in England.Criticism and controversy
In November 2005, the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartelCartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
, exposed by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper, although the schools made clear that they had not realised that the change to the law (which had happened only a few months earlier) about the sharing of information had subsequently made it an offence. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. However, Mrs Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and that they were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed."
In August 2010, former English footballer Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
publicly accused Charterhouse of failing to get his son, George, into university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
. Lineker claimed that the school had used him as a 'guinea pig' by ditching A-Levels for the new Cambridge Pre-U
Cambridge Pre-U
Cambridge Pre-U is a new UK qualification from University of Cambridge International Examinations that is an alternative to the current A Level qualification, which is considered by some to have become devalued...
. The school reacted by saying it was proud of its students' results. John Witheridge, the headmaster at Charterhouse, strongly defended the choice of the Pre-U as being more academically rigorous and educationally valid than the current A-Level standard, in an article in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
in August 2010.
Headmasters
Notable Old Carthusians
Former pupils are referred to as Old Carthusians, and current pupils as Carthusians.Victoria Cross holders
Three Old Carthusians have won the Victoria CrossVictoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
:
- Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
- Hunza-Nagar Expedition, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Guy Hudleston BoisragonGuy Hudleston BoisragonBrigadier Guy Hudleston Boisragon VC was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(At Charterhouse from Oration Quarter (OQ) (Autumn Term)1878 to OQ 1880). He later achieved the rank of BrigadierBrigadierBrigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
. (1864–1931)
- Lieutenant
- Mohmand CampaignMohmand CampaignThe First Mohmand Campaign was a British military campaign against the Mohmands from 1897 to 1898.-Background:The Mohmands are a Pashtun tribe who inhabit the hilly country to the north-west of Peshawar, in the North-West Frontier Province...
, Bilot, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
James Morris Colquhoun ColvinJames Morris Colquhoun ColvinJames Morris Colquhoun Colvin VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, (At Charterhouse from Cricket Quarter (CQ) (Summer Term) 1884 to CQ 1888). He later achieved the rank of ColonelColonel (UK)Colonel is a rank of the British forces, ranking below Brigadier, and above Lieutenant Colonel. British Colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond shaped pips below a crown...
. (1870–1945)
- Lieutenant
- First World War
- LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Eric Archibald McNairEric Archibald McNairEric Archibald McNair VC was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(At Charterhouse from CQ 1907 to CQ 1913 - was Head of the School). He later achieved the rank of CaptainCaptain (British Army and Royal Marines)Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
. (1894–1918)
- Lieutenant
- Hunza-Nagar Expedition, India
In popular culture
Members of the rock group Genesis went to Charterhouse.The school was the filming location for the boarding school scenes in the 1992 film The Power of One
The Power of One (film)
The Power of One is a 1992 dramatic film based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Bryce Courtenay. Set in South Africa during the '30s and '40s, the film centers on the life of Peter Philip 'P.K.' Kenneth-Keith , a young English boy raised during the apartheid era, and his relationship with a...
.
In St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, the school was site to 'The Old Boys School'. The pupils of the Old Boys School were not wearing Charterhouse school uniform, however, but uniform resembling that of Eton College. The boys' choir which appeared in the film was the Guildford Cathedral Choir
Guildford Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford is the Anglican cathedral at Guildford, Surrey, England.-Construction:Guildford was made a diocese in its own right in 1927, and work on its new cathedral, designed by Sir Edward Maufe, began nine years later, with the foundation stone being laid...
.
External links
- Charterhouse School website
- Independent schools council information on Charterhouse School
- Latest (2007) inspection report by the ISI
- Latest (2004) boarding inspection report by Ofsted
- Website in memory of the school's architect, P.C.Hardwick
- Profile at the Good Schools Guide
- A 19th-century history of the school