Christ Church Cathedral School
Encyclopedia
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, 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...
. Steeped in music and history, the School was founded by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
in 1546 to provide choristers for Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also, uniquely, the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford.-History:...
and College
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. Now a Church of England School, it was originally housed within the College itself. Today its premises are located across from Christ Church at 3 Brewer Street
Brewer Street, Oxford
Brewer Street is a historic narrow street in central Oxford, England, south of Carfax.The street runs east-west, connecting with St Aldate's to the east and St Ebbe's Street to the west....
and Cardinal Wolsey's house is still used for teaching.
In the 19th century, the Dean of Christ Church, Henry Liddell
Henry Liddell
Henry George Liddell was Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, dean of Christ Church, Oxford, headmaster of Westminster School , author of A History of Rome , and co-author of the monumental work A Greek-English Lexicon, which is still used by students of Greek...
(father of Alice
Alice Liddell
Alice Pleasance Liddell , known for most of her adult life by her married name, Alice Hargreaves, inspired the children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose protagonist Alice is said to be named after her.-Biography:...
, who was immortalised in the books of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
) arranged for the building of a new choir school on its present site. More recent developments include the opening of a Pre-Prep department and nursery, and the William Walton Centre which comprises several new classrooms and teaching facilities.
All pupils are boys except a few girls who attend the nursery. The 22 boarders are choristers or probationary choristers for the Cathedral. The dormitories in which they sleep are named after distinguished former organists including Ley, Taverner, Armstrong and Harwood. All other pupils are day boys, among them eighteen non-boarding choristers who sing in Worcester College Chapel. The school used to provide choristers for Exeter College
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
but this ended when Exeter established a mixed choir. In addition to the focus on Music, there is also a distinguished tradition of Art, and the school contributes an annual exhibition to Oxford's Artweeks festival.
Leavers typically move on to local schools such as Magdalen College School, Oxford
Magdalen College School, Oxford
Magdalen College School is an independent school for boys aged 7 to 18 and girls in the sixth form, located on The Plain in Oxford, England. It was founded as part of Magdalen College, Oxford by William Waynflete in 1480....
, Abingdon School
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a British day and boarding independent school for boys situated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire , previously known as Roysse's School. In 1998 a formal merger took place between Abingdon School and Josca's, a preparatory school four miles to the west at Frilford...
, St Edward's School, Oxford and Bloxham School
Bloxham School
Bloxham School is an independent co-educational day and boarding school located in the village of Bloxham, three miles from the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. It was founded in 1860 by the Reverend Philip Reginald Egerton and has since become a member of the Woodard Corporation...
. There is also a tradition of choristers winning Music Scholarships to destinations further afield, which in recent years have included 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...
, Uppingham School
Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a co-educational independent school of the English public school tradition, situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England...
, 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"....
, Sherborne School
Sherborne School
Sherborne School is a British independent school for boys, located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset, England. It is one of the original member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
and Wellington College, Berkshire
Wellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
.
The current headmaster is Martin Bruce, and the deputy headmaster is Paul Wavell.
The choir
The Choir, which is unique as both a CathedralCathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
and College
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
Choir, comprises twelve men and sixteen boys together with two organists. Six of the men are professionals (the lay clerks), and six are undergraduates (the academical clerks). The boys' ages range from eight to thirteen. Nearly all Cathedral choristers gain musical scholarships to public schools
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
.
Throughout its history, the 500-year-old choir has attracted many distinguished composers and organists — from its first director, John Taverner
John Taverner
John Taverner was an English composer and organist, regarded as the most important English composer of his era.- Career :...
, appointed by Cardinal Wolsey in 1526, to William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
.
Famous alumni
- Joscelyn GodwinJoscelyn GodwinJoscelyn Godwin is a composer, musicologist and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult....
— musicologist - Allan MottramAllan MottramAllan Mottram, MA is an expert in choral music, born in Edinburgh, Scotland to James A H Mottram and Barbara P Howie ....
— headmaster - Ivor Spencer-ThomasIvor Spencer-ThomasIvor Spencer-Thomas was an inveterate inventor and improviser, in the forefront of developing agriculture and market gardening as a commercial enterprise...
— inventor and farmer - Owen Spencer-ThomasOwen Spencer-ThomasOwen Robert Spencer-Thomas MBE is perhaps best known as a television and radio news journalist over three decades, but he has also undertaken a wide range of philanthropric work as volunteer charity fundraiser, pioneer and campaigner for people with autism and other disabilities...
, MBEMBEMBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
— radio and TV journalist, charity fundraiser and Anglican priest - Sir William Walton, OMOrder of MeritThe Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
— composer - Eric WhelptonEric WhelptonEric Whelpton was the son of the Revd George Whelpton, minister of Trinity Methodist church, Abingdon. From Abingdon School and the Leys School, Cambridge, Eric entered Hertford College, Oxford, then taught at Christ Church Cathedral School.At Oxford, Whelpton became a close friend of Dorothy...
— writer and lecturer - Dorothy L Sayers — novelist, was born at the school during her father's time as Headmaster