Lord Williams's School
Encyclopedia
Lord Williams's School is a co-educational secondary school in Thame
, Oxfordshire
, United Kingdom
. It is a comprehensive school
, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school has approximately 2,100 pupils.
In September 2001 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) designated the school as a specialist
Sports College
.
David Wybron has been head of the school since September 2004 after taking over from Michael Spencer.
Recently the school, together with Thame leisure centre, opened a new astro-turf pitch. The official opening featured a team decathlon by the students, after which the ribbon was cut by the women's England hockey captain. The mayor of Thame was also present on the day.
, after his death in 1559. It became a comprehensive school in 1971 when it merged with Wenman School. For many years there were boarders at the school.
65 fire fighters from across the county were able to control the blaze and stop it from destroying a neighbouring building with fire fighters from Thame, Wheatley
, Watlington
and Slade Park, as well as teams from Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue
coming from Aylesbury
, Brill
, Princes Risborough
and Waddesdon
attending the blaze.
The flames were said to be 60 to 70 feet (21.3 m) high.
However, in February 2008, a 23 year old man was found guilty of arson and sentenced to five years in prison.
Thame
Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school has approximately 2,100 pupils.
In September 2001 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) designated the school as a specialist
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
Sports College
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
.
David Wybron has been head of the school since September 2004 after taking over from Michael Spencer.
Recently the school, together with Thame leisure centre, opened a new astro-turf pitch. The official opening featured a team decathlon by the students, after which the ribbon was cut by the women's England hockey captain. The mayor of Thame was also present on the day.
History
The school opened in 1575, having been founded at the bequest of John Williams, 1st Baron Williams of ThameJohn Williams, 1st Baron Williams of Thame
John Williams, 1st Baron Williams of Thame was Treasurer of the King's Jewels, Lord Chamberlain of England and Lord President of the Council of the Welsh Marches...
, after his death in 1559. It became a comprehensive school in 1971 when it merged with Wenman School. For many years there were boarders at the school.
Boarding
Boys boarded at the school for over 400 years, firstly at the old school house in Thame then later moved around 1880 to Main House at the site of the current school. The boarders also used Greenacres and Highfield as houses for the older boys.Legends
It was said that George Plummer, a house master in the early 19th century murdered the Matron and disposed of her body in the vast Main House attic. It is said that once a year her ghost rings the old assembly bell which is on top of Main House which is no longer in daily use.Drama Studio Fire
On the 30th of June 2007 a fire broke out at the drama studio of the Lower School campus of Lord Williams School. The emergency services received a 999 call at 9.42pm although it is currently believed the fire had started at 8.30pm.65 fire fighters from across the county were able to control the blaze and stop it from destroying a neighbouring building with fire fighters from Thame, Wheatley
Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Wheatley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of Oxford.-Archaeology:There was a Roman villa on Castle Hill, about southeast of the parish church. It was excavated in 1845, when Roman coins dating from AD 260 to 378 and fragments of Roman pottery and Roman tiles were...
, Watlington
Watlington, Oxfordshire
Watlington is a market town and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common and Greenfield, both of which are in the Chiltern Hills. The M40 motorway is from Watlington.-History:...
and Slade Park, as well as teams from Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue
Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, is the Local Authority Fire Service serving the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire. It comprises the four districts of Buckinghamshire – Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe – and the unitary authority of Milton Keynes.Some 550 firefighters...
coming from Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, Brill
Brill
Brill is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, close to the boundary with Oxfordshire. It is about north-west of Long Crendon and south-east of Bicester...
, Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough is a small town in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. Bledlow lies to the west and Monks Risborough to the east. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns,...
and Waddesdon
Waddesdon
Waddesdon is a village within the Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, 6 miles from Aylesbury on the A41 road. The centre of a civil parish, including the hamlets of Eythrope, Wormstone and Woodham, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace making...
attending the blaze.
The flames were said to be 60 to 70 feet (21.3 m) high.
Causes
Originally it was believed that arson was the cause but an electrical fire was not ruled out.However, in February 2008, a 23 year old man was found guilty of arson and sentenced to five years in prison.
The Phoenix Project
In early 2008, a project began to raise up to £1m in order to replace the drama studio with a new, state-of-the-art, drama and dance studio, including a box office and permanent seating for the popular Thame Youth Theatre, based at the studio.Notable Old Tamensians
Former pupils of the school are called Old Tamensians.- John BalanceJohn BalanceJohn Balance , born in Mansfield, England, was the founder of the experimental music group Coil, along with his partner Peter Christopherson...
, musician - William BasseWilliam BasseWilliam Basse was an English poet. He was a follower of Edmund Spenser. He is now remembered mostly for a eulogy he wrote about Shakespeare.-Life:...
, poet - Simon Burnett, swimmer
- Johnny ClaesJohnny ClaesOctave John "Johnny" Claes was a racing driver from Belgium. Before his fame as a racing driver, Claes was also a jazz trumpeter and successful bandleader in Britain.-Early life and jazz career:...
, musician and racing driver - Rob DeeringRob DeeringRob Deering is an English stand-up comedian, guitarist and writer.Deering was the host and writer of three series of Out to Lunch on BBC Radio 2...
, comedian, guitarist and writer - Thomas EllwoodThomas EllwoodThomas Ellwood was an English religious writer.He was born in Oxfordshire, the son of a rural squire. Educated at Lord Williams's School, he later joined the Quakers and became a friend of William Penn and John Milton. However, he was persecuted for his faith and spent some time in prison. His...
, religious writer - George EtheregeGeorge EtheregeSir George Etherege was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub in 1664, She Would if She Could in 1668, and The Man of Mode or, Sir Fopling Flutter in 1676.-Early life:George Etherege was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, around 1635, to George Etherege and...
, dramatist - John FellJohn Fell (clergyman)John Fell was an English churchman and influential academic. He served as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later concomitantly as Bishop of Oxford.-Education:...
, clergyman - Simon GillettSimon GillettSimon James Gillett is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Doncaster Rovers.-Career:From August 2006, he spent three months on loan to Blackpool. It was with the Fylde Coast club that he scored his first league goal, on 12 September, in a 1–1 draw with Chesterfield at Bloomfield Road...
, footballer - Howard GoodallHoward Goodall210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
, musician and television presenter. Wrote the BlackadderBlackadderBlackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
theme tune - Arthur GoodwinArthur GoodwinArthur Goodwin was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1643...
, politician - John HampdenJohn HampdenJohn Hampden was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643) was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643)...
, politician - Richard IngoldsbyRichard IngoldsbyColonel Sir Richard Ingoldsby was an English officer in the New Model Army during the English Civil War and a politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1647 and 1685...
soldier and regicide - Henry KingHenry King (poet)-Life:The eldest son of John King, Bishop of London, and his wife Joan Freeman, he was baptised at Worminghall, Buckinghamshire, 16 January 1592. He was educated at Lord Williams's School, Westminster School and in 1608 became a student of Christ Church, Oxford...
, poet and Bishop of Chichester - William LenthallWilliam LenthallWilliam Lenthall was an English politician of the Civil War period. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons.-Early life:...
, politician - Shackerley MarmionShackerley MarmionShackerley Marmion , also Shakerley, Shakerly, Schackerley, Marmyon, Marmyun, or Mermion, was an early 17th-century dramatist, often classed among the Sons of Ben, the followers of Ben Jonson who continued his style of comedy...
, dramatist - Simon MayneSimon MayneSimon Mayne was a Member of Parliament and one of the regicides of King Charles I of England.Simon was born and lived at Dinton Hall in Buckinghamshire, the son of Simon Mayne Snr and his wife, Colubria the sister of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace. His father died when he was only five,...
, regicide - Edward PocockeEdward PocockeEdward Pococke was an English Orientalist and biblical scholar.-Early life:He was the son of clergyman from Chieveley in Berkshire, and was educated at Lord Williams's School of Thame in Oxfordshire and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford...
, Orientalist and biblical scholar - Paul VolleyPaul VolleyPaul William Volley is an English rugby union player. As an open-side flanker, he played for London Wasps for 16 years. He joined as a 16 year old from Chinnor. After winning both the Zurich Premiership and Heineken Cup with Wasps in 2004, he left to play for Castres Olympique in France...
, rugby player - Anthony WoodAnthony WoodAnthony Wood or Anthony à Wood was an English antiquary.-Early life:Anthony Wood was the fourth son of Thomas Wood , BCL of Oxford, where Anthony was born...
, antiquary