The Perse School
Encyclopedia
The Perse Upper School is an independent secondary co-educational day school in Cambridge
, England. The school was founded in 1615 by Dr Stephen Perse
, a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
, and has existed on several different sites in the city before its present home on Hills Road.
There are also preparatory and pre-preparatory schools related to The Perse School. Boys and girls aged 3 to 7 attend 'The Pelican' pre-preparatory school, located on Glebe Road, Cambridge. The Perse Preparatory School
is located on Trumpington Road, Cambridge, and is for boys and girls aged 7 – 11.
motto, the Latin sentence ending in a word play on the founder's name "per se" and his benefaction. A blue plaque
dedicated to the school's founder, Dr Stephen Perse, can be found in Free School Lane
, Cambridge.
team became National Champions, beating Millfield
. In 2006 the Perse under-16 indoor hockey team reached the National Indoor Finals, and the following year the same age group won the competition.
The Perse school U16s then won the National Indoor hockey competition again the year after that, making the U16s back to back National Indoor Champions. Two members of that Hockey Team, Adam Miller and Michael Franklin, then went on to achieve national selection and subsequently represented England in several tournaments across Europe.
In the Michaelmas Term 2005 the rugby First XV became the most successful team in 14 years after their win against The Leys School
, again one member of this team achieved notable individual sporting success - Owen Giles now has a professional contract with Northampton Saints RUFC.
.
In years 12 and 13 pupils study for A Levels. There are plans to expand to around 900 pupils over the next ten years.
The classrooms at the Perse are named numerically, e.g. 1, 2, 3, with specialist classrooms such as science labs and music rooms being denoted by a prefix to their number; for example: P1 for Physics or A2 for Art.
Recent site developments planned:
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England. The school was founded in 1615 by Dr Stephen Perse
Stephen Perse
Stephen Perse was an English academic and philanthropist.He was probably educated at Norwich School, and took his B.A. degree at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge in 1569, where he was later elected to a fellowship...
, a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
, and has existed on several different sites in the city before its present home on Hills Road.
There are also preparatory and pre-preparatory schools related to The Perse School. Boys and girls aged 3 to 7 attend 'The Pelican' pre-preparatory school, located on Glebe Road, Cambridge. The Perse Preparatory School
The Perse Preparatory School
The Perse Preparatory School is a co-educational prep school located in Cambridge, England. It is the junior day school for The Perse School . It is situated in its own grounds around 1½ miles from the upper school and is totally self-contained. As of September 2007, the school accepted girls at 7+...
is located on Trumpington Road, Cambridge, and is for boys and girls aged 7 – 11.
Motto
The school motto is Qui facit per alium facit per se, usually taken to mean "He who does things for others does them for himself". This is an example of a rebusRebus
A rebus is an allusional device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. It was a favourite form of heraldic expression used in the Middle Ages to denote surnames, for example in its basic form 3 salmon fish to denote the name "Salmon"...
motto, the Latin sentence ending in a word play on the founder's name "per se" and his benefaction. A blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
dedicated to the school's founder, Dr Stephen Perse, can be found in Free School Lane
Free School Lane
Free School Lane is in the centre of the City of Cambridge, England. It is the location of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, the Department of History and Philosophy of Science the University's faculty of Social and Political Sciences, and is the original site of the Cavendish...
, Cambridge.
Sport
In 2005, the Perse under-14 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...
team became National Champions, beating Millfield
Millfield
Millfield is an independent school in Street in Somerset, in south-west England.The school currently has a roll of 1,260 pupils, of whom 910 are boarders...
. In 2006 the Perse under-16 indoor hockey team reached the National Indoor Finals, and the following year the same age group won the competition.
The Perse school U16s then won the National Indoor hockey competition again the year after that, making the U16s back to back National Indoor Champions. Two members of that Hockey Team, Adam Miller and Michael Franklin, then went on to achieve national selection and subsequently represented England in several tournaments across Europe.
In the Michaelmas Term 2005 the rugby First XV became the most successful team in 14 years after their win against The Leys School
The Leys School
The Leys School is a co-educational Independent school, located in Cambridge, England, and is a day and boarding school for about 550 pupils aged between 11 and 18 years...
, again one member of this team achieved notable individual sporting success - Owen Giles now has a professional contract with Northampton Saints RUFC.
Music
The Perse has a senior orchestra, string orchestra, full choir, chorale group, 2 wind bands, swing band and jazz band. There are also about 35 smaller groups meeting weekly for rehearsal. In 2006, the String Orchestra toured to Paris and the Senior Wind Band toured to Iceland. Each year concerts take place at the West Road Concert Hall and Our Lady and the English Martyrs ChurchOur Lady and the English Martyrs Church
Our Lady and the English Martyrs is a Catholic parish church located at the junction of Hills Road and Lensfield Road in south east Cambridge, England...
.
Structure
The school is divided into three sections: the Lower School, Middle School and Sixth Form. The Lower School contains the Year 7 and Year 8 pupils (ages 11–13), the Middle School consists of the Year 9 to Year 11 students (ages 14–16) and focuses principally on IGCSEs taken at the end of Year 11. Most IGCSE courses begin officially in Year 10, although some longer courses (such as Biology) are started in Year 9. Pupils in the top set for French and the top two sets for Mathematics, have the option to take the subject(s) IGCSE at the end of Year 10, and then use Year 11 to take an Additional Mathematics stand-alone qualification or choose between a year studying Arabic or studying French culture and language.In years 12 and 13 pupils study for A Levels. There are plans to expand to around 900 pupils over the next ten years.
The classrooms at the Perse are named numerically, e.g. 1, 2, 3, with specialist classrooms such as science labs and music rooms being denoted by a prefix to their number; for example: P1 for Physics or A2 for Art.
Developments
The Perse School is accepting girls at 11+ and 13+ in September 2010 thus becoming fully co-educational.Recent site developments planned:
- Construction of science laboratories extension completed September 2007.
- Construction of a new classroom block and Art & Technology Centre at the Perse Preparatory school started July 2007 and due to be complete by September 2008.
- Construction of a new hall at The Pelican started July 2007 and due to be complete by September 2008.
- Coinciding with the expansion of September 2010, the school constructed a new teaching and learning block.
Alumni
- Pete AtkinPete AtkinPete Atkin is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series This Sceptred Isle.-Early life:...
, singer/songwriter - Maurice BlochMaurice BlochMaurice Bloch is a British anthropologist.He attended the Lycée Carnot in Paris and the Perse School in Cambridge, moving to Britain at the age of eleven. His move to the UK was because his father had been killed by the Nazis when in the French Army and his mother, a marine biologist, had...
, anthropologist - Ranjit BoltRanjit BoltRanjit Bolt OBE is a British playwright and translator. He was born in Manchester of Anglo-Indian parents and is the nephew of playwright and screen-writer Robert Bolt. His father is literary critic Sydney Bolt, author of several books including A preface to James Joyce, and his mother has...
, translator and playwright - Gustav Victor Rudolf BornGustav Victor Rudolf BornGustav Victor Rudolf Born is Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at King's College London and Research Professor at the William Harvey Research Institute, St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College....
, pharmacologist - Mel CalmanMel CalmanMelville Calman was a British cartoonist best known for his "little man" cartoons published in British newspapers including the Daily Express , The Sunday Telegraph , The Observer , The Sunday Times and The Times .-Biography:Calman was the youngest of the...
, cartoonist - Thomas P. CampbellThomas P. CampbellThomas P. Campbell, Ph.D. , is the ninth director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. After fourteen years as a curator in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, specializing in tapestries, he was elected Director and CEO on September 9, 2008...
, director of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the... - Rajani Palme DuttRajani Palme DuttRajani Palme Dutt , best known as R. Palme Dutt, was a leading journalist and theoretician in the Communist Party of Great Britain.-Early years:...
, leading figure in the Communist Party of Great BritainCommunist Party of Great BritainThe Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:... - David GilmourDavid GilmourDavid Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, singer and guitarist of Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially... - Marius GoringMarius GoringMarius Goring CBE was an English stage and cinema actor. He is most often remembered for the four films he did with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in A Matter of Life and Death and as Julian Craster in The Red Shoes...
, actor - Sir Peter Hall, founder of the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
and a Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
director - Spike HughesSpike HughesPatrick "Spike" Cairns Hughes was a British jazz musician, composer and music journalist. He was the son of Irish composer, writer and song collector Herbert Hughes...
, jazz musician and journalist, pupil during Rouse's headmastership - Julian HuppertJulian HuppertJulian Leon Huppert is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom and Member of Parliament for Cambridge since 2010...
, Liberal Democrat MP for CambridgeCambridge (UK Parliament constituency)Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.... - Harold JamesHarold James (historian)Harold James is a renowned historian, specializing in the history of Germany and European economic history. James is a prolific author, having published dozens of books and articles in his field...
, professor of history and international relations - Humphrey JenningsHumphrey JenningsFrank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organization...
, film director - F. R. LeavisF. R. LeavisFrank Raymond "F. R." Leavis CH was an influential British literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for nearly his entire career at Downing College, Cambridge.-Early life:...
, literary critic - Michael LoeweMichael LoeweMichael Loewe , also known as M. A. N. Loewe, is a British academic and renowned sinologist who has authored dozens of books, articles, and other publications in the fields of Classical Chinese and ancient Chinese history....
, sinologist - Brian Marsden, astronomer
- Sir Arthur Marshall, aviation engineer
- Colin McFarlaneColin McFarlaneColin McFarlane is an English actor and voice artist. He has appeared in several TV series, including The Fast Show, Judge John Deed, Jonathan Creek, Randall & Hopkirk , Jeeves and Wooster, Black Books and The Thin Blue Line. He is also known for portraying Police Commissioner Gillian B...
, actor - Group Captain William Neil McKechnieWilliam Neil McKechnieGroup Captain William Neil McKechnie was a pilot in the Royal Air Force who was awarded The George Cross in 1929 and was killed in action over Germany in 1944.-Early life:...
, George CrossGeorge CrossThe George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
recipient - Anthony MichellAnthony MichellAnthony George Maldon Michell FRS was an Australian mechanical engineer of the early 20th century.-Early life:...
, hydraulic engineer - MistabishiMistabishiMistabishi is a UK composer, singer/songwriter, electronic music producer, at present signed to Hospital Records.He has gained recognition in the international dance music scene with his first Studio Album 'Drop'...
, dubstep genre song writer - Ronald G. W. Norrish, Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1967
- Edward Henry PalmerEdward Henry PalmerEdward Henry Palmer was an English orientalist.Palmer was born in Cambridge as the son of a private schoolmaster. He was educated at The Perse School, and as a schoolboy showed the characteristic bent of his mind by picking up the Romany tongue and a great familiarity with the life of the Gypsies...
, orientalist - Revd Dr John PolkinghorneJohn PolkinghorneJohn Charlton Polkinghorne KBE FRS is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and Anglican priest. He was professor of Mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest...
, physicist and theologian - Sir Mark PotterMark Potter (judge)Sir Mark Howard Potter PC is an English judge who was President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice for England and Wales from 7 April 2005 to 5 April 2010.-Education:...
, Appeal Court judge and President of the Family DivisionPresident of the Family DivisionThe President of the Family Division is the head of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales. The Family division was created in 1971, out of the former Admiralty Court and probate courts into the then Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division.As of 13 April 2010,... - Ronnie RossRonnie RossAlbert Ronald "Ronnie" Ross was a jazz baritone saxophonist.Ross moved to England in 1946 and began playing tenor saxophone in the 1950s with Tony Kinsey, Ted Heath, and Don Rendell. During his tenure with Rendell he switched to baritone saxophone...
, jazz musician - W. H. D. RouseW. H. D. RouseWilliam Henry Denham Rouse was a pioneering British teacher who advocated the use of the Direct Method of teaching Latin and Greek.-Life:Born in Calcutta India on 31 May 1863...
, headmaster in the early 20th century - Mark SaggersMark Saggers-Early life:He attended the Perse School, Cambridge, 1970–77 and was a keen sportsman representing the school at rugby, hockey, and cricket. As a schoolboy, he was a regular on the Newmarket Road End terrace at Cambridge United Football Club.-Sporting career:...
, BBC sports broadcaster - G.L.S. Shackle, economist
- Jeremy SilberstonJeremy Silberston-Early life:Silberston was the son of economist Professor Aubrey Silberston, and his mother, Dorothy, was a founder member of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship. He attended The Perse School, Cambridge....
, film director - David SteinerDavid Steiner (academic)David Miller Steiner is the New York State Commissioner of Education in the New York State Education Department.-Biography:He was born in Princeton, New Jersey to academic George Steiner and was raised in Cambridge, England. He attended The Perse School in Cambridge and earned degrees from...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
State CommissionerCommissioner of Education of the State of New YorkThe Commissioner of Education of the State of New York is the head of the state education department. The Board of Regents chooses a Commissioner of Education who heads the State Education Department and also serves as the President of the University of the State of New York office...
of Education - Sir David TangDavid TangSir David Tang, KBE is a Hong Kong businessman and socialite best known as the founder of the Shanghai Tang fashion chain, which he sold in 2006 to Richemont.Tang's grandfather "founded the Kowloon bus company and became one of Hong Kong’s greatest philanthropists"...
, Hong Kong-based entrepreneur - Bishop Jeremy TaylorJeremy TaylorJeremy Taylor was a clergyman in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing...
, a major influence on the foundation of MethodismMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother... - Sir Donald TebbitDonald TebbitSir Donald Tebbit, GCMG, was a British diplomat.He attended The Perse School, Cambridge, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he was from 1984-85....
, industrialist and diplomat - Sir Quentin Thomas, head of the British Board of Film ClassificationBritish Board of Film ClassificationThe British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
- Sir George Paget ThomsonGeorge Paget ThomsonSir George Paget Thomson, FRS was an English physicist and Nobel laureate in physics recognised for his discovery with Clinton Davisson of the wave properties of the electron by electron diffraction.-Biography:...
, Nobel Prize for Physics in 1937 - Sir Ralph Lilley TurnerRalph Lilley TurnerSir Ralph Lilley Turner MC was an English Indian languages philologist and university administrator. He is also the author of some publications concerning the Romani language....
, 2nd/3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles - E. H. WarmingtonE. H. WarmingtonE.H. Warmington was a professor of classics, internationally known for his Latin translations. He attended The Perse School, Cambridge.He produced numerous works, often with other scholars, over many decades of the twentieth century...
, classicist
Headmasters
- George Griffith, MA - died 1686
- Frederick Heppenstall, MA - 1864 to 1874
- Dr W. H. D. RouseW. H. D. RouseWilliam Henry Denham Rouse was a pioneering British teacher who advocated the use of the Direct Method of teaching Latin and Greek.-Life:Born in Calcutta India on 31 May 1863...
, MA, LittD (Cantab) - 1902 to 1928 (formerly a fellow of Christ's College, CambridgeChrist's College, CambridgeChrist's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
) - H. A. Wootton - 1928 to 1945
- Stanley Stubbs, MA - 1945 to 1969 (formerly a housemaster at Gresham's SchoolGresham's SchoolGresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
) - A. E. Melville - 1969 to 1987
- Dr Martin Stephen, PhD, BA - 1987 to 1994 (subsequently High Master of The Manchester Grammar School and then St Paul's School)
- Dr Nigel P. V. Richardson, PhD, MA - 1994 to 2008 (formerly headmaster of Dragon SchoolDragon SchoolThe Dragon School is a British coeducational, preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877 as the Oxford Preparatory School, or OPS. It is primarily known as a boarding school, although it also takes day pupils...
) - Mr Edward C. Elliott, MA - 2008 onwards (formerly deputy head at the Perse School)
Notable Staff
- Glenn KirkhamGlenn KirkhamGlenn Charles W. Kirkham is an English field hockey player.-Early life:He was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford...
, the vice-captain of the England national field hockey teamEngland national field hockey teamThe England national field hockey team represents England in international field hockey. The team finished in fifth-place in the 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany....
, serves as a sports coach at the Perse. Kirkham participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, and the 2010 Commonwealth Games2010 Commonwealth GamesThe 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
in DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. - Dr. Frederick Crossfield HappoldFrederick Crossfield HappoldFrederick Crossfield Happold, was an educational pioneer, tenured headmaster, author and decorated British army officer.-Early life and First World War:...
DSODSODSO may refer to:Decorations* Distinguished Service Order refers to a number of decorationsMusic* Dallas Symphony Orchestra* Dark Star Orchestra* Deathspell Omega, a French black metal band* Detroit Symphony Orchestra...
(Cantab.)