St Paul's School
Encyclopedia
St Paul's School is a boys' independent school, founded in 1509 by John Colet
, located on a 45 acres (182,108.7 m²) site in the London
suburb
of Barnes. It was one of the original nine English public school
s as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868
, which included Eton College
, Harrow School
and Charterhouse School
. Since 1881 St Paul's has had its own preparatory school
, Colet Court
, and from 1887, under the direction of a new High Master, it expanded rapidly.
There are currently plans to rebuild and expand the school, scheduled to be completed in phases over the next thirty years, as the current buildings have reached the end of their life span
. It is considered one of the leading academic schools in the country, as measured by its position in the national league tables of GCSE and A level performance, as well as being amongst the top schools with respect to the arts and sport.
in London. A cathedral school had existed since around 1103. By the sixteenth century however, it had declined, and in 1509, a new school was founded by John Colet
, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, on a plot of land to the north of the Cathedral.
The eldest son of Sir Henry Colet, a member of the Mercers' Company and twice Lord Mayor of the City of London, he inherited a substantial fortune and used a great part of it for the endowment of his school, having no family of his own; his 21 siblings all died in childhood and he was a celibate priest. He described himself in the statutes of the school as "desyring nothing more thanne Educacion and bringing upp chyldren in good Maners and litterature."
Originally, the school provided education for 153 children of "all nacions and countries indifferently", primarily in literature and etiquette. The number 153
has long been associated with the miraculous draught of fishes recorded in St John's Gospel
, and for several generations Foundation Scholars have been given the option of wearing an emblem of a silver fish. St Paul's was the largest school in England at its foundation, and its High Master had a salary of 13 shillings and sixpence weekly, which was double that of the contemporary Head Master of Eton College
. The scholars were not required to make any payment, although they were required to be literate and had to pay for their own wax candles, which at that time were an expensive commodity.
Colet was an outspoken critic of the powerful and worldly Church of his day, a friend of Erasmus and Sir Thomas More
. Erasmus wrote textbooks for the school and St Paul's was the first English school to teach Greek, reflecting the humanist interests of the founder. Colet distrusted the Church as a managing body for his school, declaring that he "found the least corruption" in married laymen. For this reason, Colet assigned the management of the School and its revenues to the Mercers' Company, the premier livery company in the City of London, with which his father had been associated. In 1876 the company were legally established as trustees of the Colet estate and the management of the school was assigned to a Board of Governors consisting of the Master, Wardens and nine members of the company, together with three representatives each of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London. The Mercers' Company still forms the major part of the School's governing body, and it continues to administer Colet's trust.
One of St Paul's early headmasters was Richard Mulcaster
, famous for writing two influential treatises on education (Positions, in 1581, and Elementarie in 1582). His description in Positions of "footeball" as a refereed team sport is the earliest reference to organised modern football. For this description and his enthusiasm for the sport he is considered the father of modern football.
Between 1861 and 1864, the Clarendon Commission
(a Royal Commission
) investigated the public school system in England and its report formed the basis of the Public Schools Act 1868
. St Paul's was one of only nine schools considered by the Clarendon Commission, and one of only two schools which was not predominantly attended by boarders (the other day school was Merchant Taylors'
).
According to Charles Dickens, Jr
, writing in 1879
Between 1886 and 1895, St Paul's boys won 173 entrance awards at Oxford and Cambridge
, which was 26 more than any other school. Over many years its record of Open Awards at Oxford and Cambridge in all subjects has been equal, or superior, to that of any other school of comparable size.
. His arms were Sable on a chevron Argent between three Hinds trippant Argent three Annulets Sable, and they were originally used by his great-grandfather, Richard Colet. As Dean of St Paul's, he was entitled to impale them with the arms of the Deanery, and the school has often used them in this form also. In 2002, the school obtained its own grant of arms from the College of Arms
consisting of the arms of Dean Colet surrounded by a gold bordure, upon which the crossed swords of the Dean of St Paul's are repeated.
Consequences of apposition have led to the dismissal of previous High Masters including Thomas Freeman, for lack of learning (although more probably for holding the incorrect religious views) in 1559. In 1748, High Master Charles was removed as he had allegedly threatened to "pull the Surmaster by the nose and kick him about the school."
Since it was re-introduced in 1969, the ceremony today takes place in May and is purely ceremonial, incorporating prize giving for boys in the final two years of the school. In 2007, Junior Prize Giving was introduced in addition, which sees prizes being given to younger boys in the school.
in 1666. The school was twice rebuilt, first in 1670, and again in Cheapside in 1822; but towards the end of the 19th century, as London expanded and residents moved away from the City of London and its environs, it was decided that the school should move to larger premises.
In 1884 a new building designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse
rose to dominate the countryside of Hammersmith
. The terracotta for the Hammersmith school was made by the famous Gibbs and Canning Limited of Tamworth
. At this time the street numbering was changed locally and so the school address, whether by accident or design, became 153 Hammersmith Road. The preparatory school, Colet Court
, was soon afterwards housed in new premises in a similar style on the opposite side of the road.
In September 1939 the school was evacuated to Easthampstead Park, near Crowthorne in Berkshire, where, under the then High Master, W. F. Oakeshott, it became solely a boarding school for the period of the war. Playing fields and some other facilities were borrowed from nearby Wellington College
, but the boys and the teachers from the two schools remained entirely separate.
In the meantime, the London buildings became the headquarters of XXI Army Group under the command of General, later Field-Marshal, Bernard Montgomery, himself an Old Pauline. There the military side of the invasion of Europe was planned, including the D-Day
landings. The map that he used is still present in the modern day site of the school in the Montgomery Room. The school recovered its buildings in September 1945, and resumed life essentially as a day school, although it retains a small number of boarders to this day.
By 1961 it had become evident that the old school buildings were unsuited to modern educational needs. By good fortune, the opportunity then came to rebuild the School on a 45 acre (182,000 m²) riverside site at Barnes, adjacent to Hammersmith Bridge
. This land had previously been the site of reservoirs which were filled in, reputedly with earth excavated during the construction of the Victoria Line
. The sports pitches took a long time to settle, and competitive matches were not played regularly at the Barnes site until summer 1979.
The present and fifth School buildings were opened in September 1968, to designs by architects Philip Powell
and Hidalgo Moya
. The new site also includes St Paul's Preparatory School, or Colet Court, whose pupils account for roughly one half of the senior school's intake each year. The Waterhouse building on Hammersmith Road was demolished amid protests to allow building of flats, apart from the gates and the peripheral walls, the High Master's House, and a toolhut, though the Colet Court building also survives.
The 1968 buildings include a 25m, 6 lane swimming pool and dining hall shared with Colet Court. Extensive sports facilities notably included a fencing
salle, five fives
courts and three squash
courts. The location next to the River Thames
meant that a rowing boathouse was included in the plans, which itself included both an indoor training tank and housing to accommodate a boatman, whose primary job was to build and maintain the boats. A striking and deliberate omission from the new buildings was any provision for a school hall capable of holding all masters and boys simultaneously, and although the main sports hall is large enough to accommodate the entire school, the difficulty in setting up enough chairs means that the hall is used to house the entire school only twice per year. There were originally two boarding houses in the 1968 buildings (School House and High House) accommodating up to 120 boarders, but the number of boarders has steadily declined since then and is now only 20. One of the boarding houses has been demolished to make way for a new music building, which houses the Wathen Hall
. The only building which remained from the previous Water Board landowners became the music department for Colet Court.
The original buildings were built using a modular system of interlocking concrete slabs, known as the CLASP
system. This allowed for relatively quick and cheap construction, and allowed for the fact that much of the site was formed from reservoir land which was still settling. The whole complex is now in need of replacement; the only existing buildings likely to remain are the Music school, incorporating the Wathen Hall from 1999 and the Rackets Court.
The school day lasts from 8.35a.m. to 4.15p.m. and consists of 8 periods, including a one and three-quarter hour lunch break during which pupils are encouraged to participate in sporting or extracurricular activities such as music, debating or computing. Pupils of all ages are not allowed to leave the school premises without permission at any time during the day.
The school still maintains a boarding house. There are strong boarding house traditions including the annual bonfire and two hours of compulsory study known as "prep" every evening. Newer traditions include the sponsored all night five-a-side football tournament, a "charity sponging" event and the 4-2-1 football league tournament. However, the charity sponging did not take place in 2010 due to, as some boarders claim, complaints from a boarding student who had been "sponged" particularly often and the future of the traditional event is unclear.
A large number of music concerts, art exhibitions and plays take place each year, and pupils regularly receive national recognition for their achievements. The school also has a strong sports department; St Paul's was a founding member of the Rugby Football Union
in 1871 and was pre-eminent in public school boxing, its first team failing to win only two boxing matches against first team boxers from other schools over a period of 25 years; however, boxing was discontinued as a school sport in the 1960s. More recently, the school teams were runners-up in the rugby U15 Daily Mail Cup
in 2005 and in 2007. The Boat Club has won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
at Henley Royal Regatta
four times.
The majority of the current buildings date from the 1960s, and the CLASP
technology used in the construction of the buildings has a limited lifespan. Even though over the last few years various buildings (such as the Wathen Music School, Rackets Court and Milton Building) have been added on the campus wherever space was available, the dated buildings represent approximately three quarters of the school.
Local planning restrictions combined with a lack of available surplus land mean that St Paul's is faced with progressively replacing obsolete buildings with new ones located in the same general area. The plan should eventually result in a large building footprint area increase as well as increasing the amount of staff housing. The number of car parking spaces will be reduced, but there will be much more available room for bicycles.
In 2007, Nicholas Hare Architects were appointed to produce detailed designs for the first set of new buildings. Late in 2009, Richmond Council
granted St Paul's detailed planning permission, and building is expected to start in 2011.
, which was also the highest proportion achieved by any boys' school in the country.
In 2010, the 2005 record was matched again, with 74 leavers receiving offers from Oxford and Cambridge, representing 42% of the year group. At A level, 93.5% of the grades were A* or A, and, out of a year group of 163 A level candidates, 116 achieved straight A's in between 3 and 6 A level subjects. Also in 2010, at GCSE level, 85.2% of grades were A*, and 98.0% were A* or A. No grade in any GCSE subject was lower than B. Out of a GCSE year group of 177, 45 achieved A* grades in all their GCSE subjects and a further 29 achieved A* grades in all but one subject.
In 2008, for the first time, its students sat the IGCSE
exam instead of GCSE in Science, following sitting IGCSE in Mathematics the previous year. The school does not currently offer the International Baccalaureate as an alternative to A level, and has suffered on many league tables as a result. Dr Martin Stephen, Former High Master of St Paul's, has stated he believes that "league tables put massive pressure on headmasters to do bad things" and has announced that St Paul's will be joining other private schools in London in withdrawing from the ISC's
2008 league tables.
The school had its first student attain a place on the Prime Minister's Global Fellowship programme in 2009.
was opened in Brook Green
, Hammersmith
, just around the corner from the then site of the boys' school in Hammersmith Road. Unlike the boys', the girls' school remains in its original position, although it has expanded and constructed new buildings and facilities alongside the old. During the past 100 years the School has earned a reputation which today places it foremost among girls' schools in the country. In 1881, a boys' preparatory school was founded which later became Colet Court
. Colet Court is now on the same site as the main school and most of its pupils are expected to pass into St Paul's School when they reach the age of 13. It thus serves as a junior school for the main establishment.
and owns a number of sports pitches there, as well as the Colets' Health and Fitness Club.
John Colet
John Colet was an English churchman and educational pioneer.Colet was an English scholar, Renaissance humanist, theologian, and Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. Colet wanted people to see the scripture as their guide through life. Furthermore, he wanted to restore theology and rejuvenate...
, located on a 45 acres (182,108.7 m²) site in the 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...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Barnes. It was one of the original nine English public school
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...
s 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 included 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"....
, 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...
and Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
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 situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
. Since 1881 St Paul's has had its own preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
, Colet Court
Colet Court
Colet Court is a preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Colet Court pupils go at the age of 13.-History:...
, and from 1887, under the direction of a new High Master, it expanded rapidly.
There are currently plans to rebuild and expand the school, scheduled to be completed in phases over the next thirty years, as the current buildings have reached the end of their life span
Longevity
The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
. It is considered one of the leading academic schools in the country, as measured by its position in the national league tables of GCSE and A level performance, as well as being amongst the top schools with respect to the arts and sport.
History
St Paul's School originally takes its name from St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
in London. A cathedral school had existed since around 1103. By the sixteenth century however, it had declined, and in 1509, a new school was founded by John Colet
John Colet
John Colet was an English churchman and educational pioneer.Colet was an English scholar, Renaissance humanist, theologian, and Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. Colet wanted people to see the scripture as their guide through life. Furthermore, he wanted to restore theology and rejuvenate...
, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, on a plot of land to the north of the Cathedral.
The eldest son of Sir Henry Colet, a member of the Mercers' Company and twice Lord Mayor of the City of London, he inherited a substantial fortune and used a great part of it for the endowment of his school, having no family of his own; his 21 siblings all died in childhood and he was a celibate priest. He described himself in the statutes of the school as "desyring nothing more thanne Educacion and bringing upp chyldren in good Maners and litterature."
Originally, the school provided education for 153 children of "all nacions and countries indifferently", primarily in literature and etiquette. The number 153
153 (number)
One hundred fifty-three is the natural number following one hundred fifty-two and preceding one hundred fifty-four.-Mathematical properties:...
has long been associated with the miraculous draught of fishes recorded in St John's Gospel
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
, and for several generations Foundation Scholars have been given the option of wearing an emblem of a silver fish. St Paul's was the largest school in England at its foundation, and its High Master had a salary of 13 shillings and sixpence weekly, which was double that of the contemporary Head Master of 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"....
. The scholars were not required to make any payment, although they were required to be literate and had to pay for their own wax candles, which at that time were an expensive commodity.
Colet was an outspoken critic of the powerful and worldly Church of his day, a friend of Erasmus and Sir Thomas More
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
. Erasmus wrote textbooks for the school and St Paul's was the first English school to teach Greek, reflecting the humanist interests of the founder. Colet distrusted the Church as a managing body for his school, declaring that he "found the least corruption" in married laymen. For this reason, Colet assigned the management of the School and its revenues to the Mercers' Company, the premier livery company in the City of London, with which his father had been associated. In 1876 the company were legally established as trustees of the Colet estate and the management of the school was assigned to a Board of Governors consisting of the Master, Wardens and nine members of the company, together with three representatives each of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London. The Mercers' Company still forms the major part of the School's governing body, and it continues to administer Colet's trust.
One of St Paul's early headmasters was Richard Mulcaster
Richard Mulcaster
Richard Mulcaster , is known best for his headmasterships and pedagogic writings. He is often regarded as the founder of English language lexicography.-Educational achievements:...
, famous for writing two influential treatises on education (Positions, in 1581, and Elementarie in 1582). His description in Positions of "footeball" as a refereed team sport is the earliest reference to organised modern football. For this description and his enthusiasm for the sport he is considered the father of modern football.
Between 1861 and 1864, 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...
(a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
) investigated the public school system in England and its report formed the basis of 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...
. St Paul's was one of only nine schools considered by the Clarendon Commission, and one of only two schools which was not predominantly attended by boarders (the other day school was Merchant Taylors'
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
).
According to Charles Dickens, Jr
Charles Dickens, Jr
Charles Dickens, Jr, born Charles Culliford Boz Dickens , was the first child of the novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. A failed businessman, he became the editor of his father's magazine All the Year Round, and a successful writer of dictionaries...
, writing in 1879
Between 1886 and 1895, St Paul's boys won 173 entrance awards at Oxford and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, which was 26 more than any other school. Over many years its record of Open Awards at Oxford and Cambridge in all subjects has been equal, or superior, to that of any other school of comparable size.
School coat of arms
Like many ancient educational foundations, St Paul's School traditionally used the arms of its founder, John ColetJohn Colet
John Colet was an English churchman and educational pioneer.Colet was an English scholar, Renaissance humanist, theologian, and Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. Colet wanted people to see the scripture as their guide through life. Furthermore, he wanted to restore theology and rejuvenate...
. His arms were Sable on a chevron Argent between three Hinds trippant Argent three Annulets Sable, and they were originally used by his great-grandfather, Richard Colet. As Dean of St Paul's, he was entitled to impale them with the arms of the Deanery, and the school has often used them in this form also. In 2002, the school obtained its own grant of arms from the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
consisting of the arms of Dean Colet surrounded by a gold bordure, upon which the crossed swords of the Dean of St Paul's are repeated.
Apposition
Apposition is a traditional ceremony at St Paul's and was originally a way of allowing the Mercers Company to assess teaching staff and the High Master, with the option of dismissing or reappointing them. Today it is primarily a prize giving event, where prizes are awarded to senior boys who have excelled in particular subjects. The Apposition Dinner is held in the Mercer's Hall in London every year around May.Consequences of apposition have led to the dismissal of previous High Masters including Thomas Freeman, for lack of learning (although more probably for holding the incorrect religious views) in 1559. In 1748, High Master Charles was removed as he had allegedly threatened to "pull the Surmaster by the nose and kick him about the school."
Since it was re-introduced in 1969, the ceremony today takes place in May and is purely ceremonial, incorporating prize giving for boys in the final two years of the school. In 2007, Junior Prize Giving was introduced in addition, which sees prizes being given to younger boys in the school.
Buildings
The original school, which stood in St Paul's Churchyard, was destroyed with the Cathedral in the Great Fire of LondonGreat Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
in 1666. The school was twice rebuilt, first in 1670, and again in Cheapside in 1822; but towards the end of the 19th century, as London expanded and residents moved away from the City of London and its environs, it was decided that the school should move to larger premises.
In 1884 a new building designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...
rose to dominate the countryside of Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
. The terracotta for the Hammersmith school was made by the famous Gibbs and Canning Limited of Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
. At this time the street numbering was changed locally and so the school address, whether by accident or design, became 153 Hammersmith Road. The preparatory school, Colet Court
Colet Court
Colet Court is a preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Colet Court pupils go at the age of 13.-History:...
, was soon afterwards housed in new premises in a similar style on the opposite side of the road.
In September 1939 the school was evacuated to Easthampstead Park, near Crowthorne in Berkshire, where, under the then High Master, W. F. Oakeshott, it became solely a boarding school for the period of the war. Playing fields and some other facilities were borrowed from nearby Wellington College
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...
, but the boys and the teachers from the two schools remained entirely separate.
In the meantime, the London buildings became the headquarters of XXI Army Group under the command of General, later Field-Marshal, Bernard Montgomery, himself an Old Pauline. There the military side of the invasion of Europe was planned, including the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
landings. The map that he used is still present in the modern day site of the school in the Montgomery Room. The school recovered its buildings in September 1945, and resumed life essentially as a day school, although it retains a small number of boarders to this day.
By 1961 it had become evident that the old school buildings were unsuited to modern educational needs. By good fortune, the opportunity then came to rebuild the School on a 45 acre (182,000 m²) riverside site at Barnes, adjacent to Hammersmith Bridge
Hammersmith Bridge
Hammersmith Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in west London, just south of the Hammersmith town centre area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on the north side of the river. It allows road traffic and pedestrians to cross to Barnes on the south side of the river...
. This land had previously been the site of reservoirs which were filled in, reputedly with earth excavated during the construction of the Victoria Line
Victoria Line
The Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the south to the north-east of London. It is coloured light blue on the Tube map...
. The sports pitches took a long time to settle, and competitive matches were not played regularly at the Barnes site until summer 1979.
Philip Powell (architect)
Sir Arnold Joseph Philip Powell , usually known as Philip Powell, was a ground-breaking English post-war architect.He was educated at Epsom College and then the Architectural Association....
and Hidalgo Moya
Hidalgo Moya
John Hidalgo Moya , sometimes known as Jacko Moya, was a famous American-born architect who worked largely in England. Moya was a native of California where he was born to an English mother and Mexican father but lived in England since he was an infant. He formed the architectural practice Powell &...
. The new site also includes St Paul's Preparatory School, or Colet Court, whose pupils account for roughly one half of the senior school's intake each year. The Waterhouse building on Hammersmith Road was demolished amid protests to allow building of flats, apart from the gates and the peripheral walls, the High Master's House, and a toolhut, though the Colet Court building also survives.
The 1968 buildings include a 25m, 6 lane swimming pool and dining hall shared with Colet Court. Extensive sports facilities notably included a fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
salle, five 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:...
courts and three 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...
courts. The location next to the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
meant that a rowing boathouse was included in the plans, which itself included both an indoor training tank and housing to accommodate a boatman, whose primary job was to build and maintain the boats. A striking and deliberate omission from the new buildings was any provision for a school hall capable of holding all masters and boys simultaneously, and although the main sports hall is large enough to accommodate the entire school, the difficulty in setting up enough chairs means that the hall is used to house the entire school only twice per year. There were originally two boarding houses in the 1968 buildings (School House and High House) accommodating up to 120 boarders, but the number of boarders has steadily declined since then and is now only 20. One of the boarding houses has been demolished to make way for a new music building, which houses the Wathen Hall
Wathen Hall
The Wathen Hall at St Paul's School in London is considered one of the most successful smaller concert halls to be built in London over the past decade. Designed by BHM Architects and opened in 1999 it forms part of the St Paul's School Music department and is used for school concerts as well as...
. The only building which remained from the previous Water Board landowners became the music department for Colet Court.
The original buildings were built using a modular system of interlocking concrete slabs, known as the CLASP
Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme
The Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme , was formed in England in 1957 to combine the resources of Local Authorities with the purpose of developing a prefabricated school building programme...
system. This allowed for relatively quick and cheap construction, and allowed for the fact that much of the site was formed from reservoir land which was still settling. The whole complex is now in need of replacement; the only existing buildings likely to remain are the Music school, incorporating the Wathen Hall from 1999 and the Rackets Court.
Present day
The boys' school numbered 856 boys in 2009, the 500th year of its foundation. An ambitious total rebuilding of the school at its present site is planned, to be completed over a 25 year period. While former High Master, George Martin Stephen, announced an aspiration for the school to be needs-blind within 25 years – £250 million will need to be raised to accomplish this.The school day lasts from 8.35a.m. to 4.15p.m. and consists of 8 periods, including a one and three-quarter hour lunch break during which pupils are encouraged to participate in sporting or extracurricular activities such as music, debating or computing. Pupils of all ages are not allowed to leave the school premises without permission at any time during the day.
The school still maintains a boarding house. There are strong boarding house traditions including the annual bonfire and two hours of compulsory study known as "prep" every evening. Newer traditions include the sponsored all night five-a-side football tournament, a "charity sponging" event and the 4-2-1 football league tournament. However, the charity sponging did not take place in 2010 due to, as some boarders claim, complaints from a boarding student who had been "sponged" particularly often and the future of the traditional event is unclear.
A large number of music concerts, art exhibitions and plays take place each year, and pupils regularly receive national recognition for their achievements. The school also has a strong sports department; St Paul's was a founding member of the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
in 1871 and was pre-eminent in public school boxing, its first team failing to win only two boxing matches against first team boxers from other schools over a period of 25 years; however, boxing was discontinued as a school sport in the 1960s. More recently, the school teams were runners-up in the rugby U15 Daily Mail Cup
Daily Mail Cup
The Daily Mail RBS Cup is the annual English schools' rugby union cup competition. The semi-finals are now held at Broadstreet Rugby Club. The final is held at Twickenham Stadium. Competitions are held at the U18 and U15 age group levels...
in 2005 and in 2007. The Boat Club has won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup is a rowing event at Henley Royal Regatta open to school 1st VIIIs.-History:The event was instituted in 1946 for public schools in the United Kingdom...
at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
four times.
Sport Facilities
The school has numerous sports facilities, and sport plays a major part in the everyday lives of the boys. There is a large sports hall, gymnasium, dojo, fencing salle, 25m swimming pool, 6 fives courts, a rackets court, three squash courts, a fitness centre, a 100m sprint straight and ten tennis courts. There is also a large boathouse, and extensive playing fields which consist of 11 football or rugby pitches during the winter months, or seven cricket pitches during the summer months.Renewal campaign
The renewal campaign is the project to rebuild the entire school campus, frequently known as the Masterplan.The majority of the current buildings date from the 1960s, and the CLASP
Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme
The Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme , was formed in England in 1957 to combine the resources of Local Authorities with the purpose of developing a prefabricated school building programme...
technology used in the construction of the buildings has a limited lifespan. Even though over the last few years various buildings (such as the Wathen Music School, Rackets Court and Milton Building) have been added on the campus wherever space was available, the dated buildings represent approximately three quarters of the school.
Local planning restrictions combined with a lack of available surplus land mean that St Paul's is faced with progressively replacing obsolete buildings with new ones located in the same general area. The plan should eventually result in a large building footprint area increase as well as increasing the amount of staff housing. The number of car parking spaces will be reduced, but there will be much more available room for bicycles.
In 2007, Nicholas Hare Architects were appointed to produce detailed designs for the first set of new buildings. Late in 2009, Richmond Council
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...
granted St Paul's detailed planning permission, and building is expected to start in 2011.
Examination results
In 2005, St Paul's obtained (for the second year running) the best overall placing in the boys' school GCSE exam league tables published nationally, and was also the leading boys' school in the A level results tables. 60 of its leavers went to Oxford or CambridgeOxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
, which was also the highest proportion achieved by any boys' school in the country.
In 2010, the 2005 record was matched again, with 74 leavers receiving offers from Oxford and Cambridge, representing 42% of the year group. At A level, 93.5% of the grades were A* or A, and, out of a year group of 163 A level candidates, 116 achieved straight A's in between 3 and 6 A level subjects. Also in 2010, at GCSE level, 85.2% of grades were A*, and 98.0% were A* or A. No grade in any GCSE subject was lower than B. Out of a GCSE year group of 177, 45 achieved A* grades in all their GCSE subjects and a further 29 achieved A* grades in all but one subject.
In 2008, for the first time, its students sat the IGCSE
IGCSE
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education is an internationally recognised qualification for school students, typically in the 14–16 age group. It is similar to the GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Standard Grade in Scotland or Junior Certificate in the Republic of...
exam instead of GCSE in Science, following sitting IGCSE in Mathematics the previous year. The school does not currently offer the International Baccalaureate as an alternative to A level, and has suffered on many league tables as a result. Dr Martin Stephen, Former High Master of St Paul's, has stated he believes that "league tables put massive pressure on headmasters to do bad things" and has announced that St Paul's will be joining other private schools in London in withdrawing from the ISC's
Independent Schools Council
The Independent Schools Council is a non-profit organisation that represents 1,234 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector...
2008 league tables.
The school had its first student attain a place on the Prime Minister's Global Fellowship programme in 2009.
High Masters of St Paul's School
The Headmaster of St Paul's is known as the High Master and his deputy is known as the Surmaster, which is also the title given to him in the statutes. The following have been High Masters of St Paul's School:| Name | Years as High Master |
|---|---|
| William Lily | 1509-1522 |
| John Ritwise | 1522-1532 |
| Richard Jones | 1532-1549 |
| Thomas Freeman | 1549-1559 |
| John Cook | 1559-1573 |
| William Malym | 1573-1581 |
| John Harrison | 1581-1596 |
| Richard Mulcaster Richard Mulcaster Richard Mulcaster , is known best for his headmasterships and pedagogic writings. He is often regarded as the founder of English language lexicography.-Educational achievements:... |
1596-1608 |
| Alexander Gill Senior Alexander Gill the elder Alexander Gill the Elder , also spelled Gil, was an English scholar, spelling reformer, and high-master of St Paul's School, where his pupils included John Milton... |
1608-1635 |
| Alexander Gill Junior | 1635-1640 |
| John Langley | 1640-1657 |
| Samuel Cromleholme | 1657-1672 |
| Thomas Gale Thomas Gale Thomas Gale was an English classical scholar, antiquarian and cleric.-Life:He was born at Scruton, Yorkshire... |
1672-1697 |
| John Postlethwayt | 1697-1713 |
| Philip Ayscough | 1713-1721 |
| Benjamin Morland | 1721-1733 |
| Timothy Crumpe | 1733-1737 |
| George Charles | 1737-1748 |
| George Thicknesse | 1748-1769 |
| Richard Roberts | 1769-1814 |
| John Sleath | 1814-1837 |
| Herbert Kynaston Herbert Kynaston Herbert Kynaston was high-master of St Paul's School, London, for 38 years. He was also a priest in the Church of England and a prebendary in St... |
1838-1876 |
| Frederick William Walker | 1877-1905 |
| Albert Ernest Hillard | 1905-1927 |
| John Bell | 1927-1938 |
| Walter Fraser Oakeshott | 1938-1946 |
| Robert Leoline James Robert James (headmaster) Robert Leoline James C.B.E. was High Master of St Paul's School from 1946 to 1953 and headmaster of Harrow School from 1953 to 1971.-Biography:... |
1946-1953 |
| Antony Newcombe Gilkes | 1953-1962 |
| Thomas Edward Brodie Howarth | 1962-1973 |
| James Warwick Hele | 1973-1986 |
| Peter Pilkington Peter Pilkington, Baron Pilkington of Oxenford Peter Pilkington, Baron Pilkington of Oxenford was a British public school headmaster and a Conservative member of the House of Lords.... , later Lord Pilkington of Oxenford |
1986-1992 |
| Richard Stephen Baldock | 1992-2004 |
| George Martin Stephen | 2004-2010 |
| Mark Bailey | 2011- |
Associated schools
By the end of the nineteenth century the funds of the Dean Colet Foundation had increased to such an extent that the Trustees decided to build a school for girls, and in 1904, St Paul's Girls' SchoolSt Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
was opened in Brook Green
Brook Green
Brook Green is an affluent London neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is located approx west of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Kensington, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Holland Park and Brackenbury Village....
, Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, just around the corner from the then site of the boys' school in Hammersmith Road. Unlike the boys', the girls' school remains in its original position, although it has expanded and constructed new buildings and facilities alongside the old. During the past 100 years the School has earned a reputation which today places it foremost among girls' schools in the country. In 1881, a boys' preparatory school was founded which later became Colet Court
Colet Court
Colet Court is a preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Colet Court pupils go at the age of 13.-History:...
. Colet Court is now on the same site as the main school and most of its pupils are expected to pass into St Paul's School when they reach the age of 13. It thus serves as a junior school for the main establishment.
Former pupils
The majority of former pupils keep in touch with each other through the Old Pauline Club,. Various sporting clubs are affiliated to the Old Pauline Club, such as the Old Pauline Football Club (OPFC), the Old Pauline Association Football Club (OPAFC), the Old Pauline Cricket Club (OPCC), the Old Pauline Association Club (OPAC) and the Old Pauline Harvey Chess Society (OPHCS), who participate in many national tournaments with moderate success. The club is located on a 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) site in Thames DittonThames Ditton
Thames Ditton is a village in Surrey, England, bordering Greater London. It is situated 12.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross between the towns of Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton, Esher and East Molesey...
and owns a number of sports pitches there, as well as the Colets' Health and Fitness Club.
See also
- Colet CourtColet CourtColet Court is a preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Colet Court pupils go at the age of 13.-History:...
- List of Victoria Crosses by school
- St Paul's Girls' SchoolSt Paul's Girls' SchoolSt Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
External links
- St Paul's School official website
- A History of St Paul's School Sir Michael McDonnell's classic history of the school, scanned onto the internet (1909)
- Old Pauline Club