Truro School
Encyclopedia
Truro School is a mixed independent school located in the city of Truro
, Cornwall
, UK. The current Headmaster is Paul Smith. Deputy Headteachers are Nick Fisher (academic) and Anita Firth (pastoral). Phil Brewer is Assistant Head (Co-curricular) and Head of Sixth Form. There were 819 pupils (526 boys, 293 girls) in the 2008–2009 academic year and 25% (209) were enrolled as sixth form students.
in November 1879, and on 20 January 1880 lessons commenced using sites in River Street and Strangways Terrace, Truro. The present site was completed in 1882. The name Truro College was changed to Truro School in 1931 when it was considered that it was "pretentious...to claim the style of "College" if its pupils are for the most part below the age of 18". Girls were admitted into the sixth form
in 1976, and it became fully co-educational in 1990. In 2005, a history of the school entitled High on the Hill was produced by Joanna Wood to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the school.
There have been only 9 Headmasters in the 130 years since the foundation of the school: George Turner (1880–1887), Thomas Jackson (1887–1890), Herbert Vinter (1890–1921), Egbert H. Magson(1921–1946), A Lowry Creed (1946–1959), Derek Burrell (1959–1986), Barry Hobbs (1986–1991), (Brian Jackson, Acting Headmaster 1991-1992), Guy Dodd (1992–2001) and Paul Smith (since 2001).
In November 2005 the school was one of 50 private schools found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
, which had resulted in them increasing fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make an ex-gratia payment, collectively totalling £3 million, into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period where the fee information was shared.
Headmaster Paul Smith said that the school had acted "unwittingly". "This ... systematic exchange of confidential information as to intended fee increases was anti-competitive and resulted in parents being charged higher fees than would otherwise be the case," the OFT stated.
, its facilities include the school chapel, Burrell Theatre (named after Derek Burrell, headmaster from 1959–1986), a covered and heated swimming pool
, two gym
nasiums, 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of sports fields, a running track, tennis
and squash
facilities, and an astro-turf pitch. The school is almost entirely situated on a hill and therefore has limited disabled facilities with only two of the buildings having disabled access lifts.
Each pupil is placed into a school 'house' used for intra-school competitions and sports matches:
The four houses compete for the Opie Shield over many varied sporting events for boys, girls and mixed teams across all year groups. Deputy Head Anita Firth recently introduced non-sporting events such as the "Top House" competition, an inter-house quiz along the lines of University Challenge. The shield is presented annually on Speech Day by the Headmaster to the captains of the house accruing the most number of points across the disciplines. The Opie Shield has been won by Smith House for six consecutive years but in the academic year 2008-09 by the smallest margin for some time.
temporary students who spend up to three terms in the Lower Sixth.
The school has three boarding houses - one for boys and two for girls:
Trennick is the only boarding house situated in the school's original main building, although the other two are still on the campus. They are family-run communities with married house staff and other teachers who live on site. Temporary and 'Flexi-boarding' is also available.
, Queen drummer Roger Taylor
, the actor John Rhys-Davies
; automobile designer Geoffrey Healey
; international opera singers Benjamin Luxon
and Alan Opie
; several Members of Parliament (including current MPs George Eustice
and Mark Prisk
); Olympic Gold medallist Ben Ainslie
; and England international rugby union
captain John Kendall-Carpenter
.
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, UK. The current Headmaster is Paul Smith. Deputy Headteachers are Nick Fisher (academic) and Anita Firth (pastoral). Phil Brewer is Assistant Head (Co-curricular) and Head of Sixth Form. There were 819 pupils (526 boys, 293 girls) in the 2008–2009 academic year and 25% (209) were enrolled as sixth form students.
History
"Truro Wesleyan Middle Class College" (referred to as Truro College) was founded by Wesleyan MethodistsWesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the name used by the major Methodist movement in Great Britain following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements...
in November 1879, and on 20 January 1880 lessons commenced using sites in River Street and Strangways Terrace, Truro. The present site was completed in 1882. The name Truro College was changed to Truro School in 1931 when it was considered that it was "pretentious...to claim the style of "College" if its pupils are for the most part below the age of 18". Girls were admitted into the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
in 1976, and it became fully co-educational in 1990. In 2005, a history of the school entitled High on the Hill was produced by Joanna Wood to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the school.
There have been only 9 Headmasters in the 130 years since the foundation of the school: George Turner (1880–1887), Thomas Jackson (1887–1890), Herbert Vinter (1890–1921), Egbert H. Magson(1921–1946), A Lowry Creed (1946–1959), Derek Burrell (1959–1986), Barry Hobbs (1986–1991), (Brian Jackson, Acting Headmaster 1991-1992), Guy Dodd (1992–2001) and Paul Smith (since 2001).
Admission and fees
Pupils must sit an entrance exam, the equivalent of an 11+ exam, although some pupils take the equivalent 13+ exam as certain local schools still teach up to year 9 (year 3). Academic, and occasionally music, artistic or sports scholarships, are also awarded as are means-tested bursaries as part of an established assisted place scheme. Current fees range from £5,360 per term for day pupils to £7,460 per term for boarders.In November 2005 the school was one of 50 private schools found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, which had resulted in them increasing fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make an ex-gratia payment, collectively totalling £3 million, into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period where the fee information was shared.
Headmaster Paul Smith said that the school had acted "unwittingly". "This ... systematic exchange of confidential information as to intended fee increases was anti-competitive and resulted in parents being charged higher fees than would otherwise be the case," the OFT stated.
Site and facilities
Built on a hilltop overlooking the city of Truro and its nineteenth century CathedralTruro Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro is an Anglican cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It was built in the Gothic Revival architectural style fashionable during much of the nineteenth century, and is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom...
, its facilities include the school chapel, Burrell Theatre (named after Derek Burrell, headmaster from 1959–1986), a covered and heated swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, two gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasiums, 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of sports fields, a running track, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and 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...
facilities, and an astro-turf pitch. The school is almost entirely situated on a hill and therefore has limited disabled facilities with only two of the buildings having disabled access lifts.
Form and house system
The school uses the traditional numbering system for year groups: the lower school - years 1 to 5, and the sixth form - lower- and upper-sixth years. This is equivalent to years 7 to 13 in modern state schools. Years 1 to 3 are split into forms for most lessons although Maths and Foreign languages are structured into sets according to ability. For the GCSE (years 4 and 5) forms are sub-divided into smaller sets for most subjects. This continues into the sixth form.Each pupil is placed into a school 'house' used for intra-school competitions and sports matches:
- School (green) (Head of House: Mr D. Meads)
- Smith (blue) (Head of House: Mr D. O'Neil)
- Vinter (gold) (Head of House: Mrs K. Burridge)
- Wickett (red) (Head of House: Mrs S. Mulready)
The four houses compete for the Opie Shield over many varied sporting events for boys, girls and mixed teams across all year groups. Deputy Head Anita Firth recently introduced non-sporting events such as the "Top House" competition, an inter-house quiz along the lines of University Challenge. The shield is presented annually on Speech Day by the Headmaster to the captains of the house accruing the most number of points across the disciplines. The Opie Shield has been won by Smith House for six consecutive years but in the academic year 2008-09 by the smallest margin for some time.
Boarding
Though the majority of students are day-pupils, there are also about 45 boarders, of whom a quarter are from overseas, including a dozen GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
temporary students who spend up to three terms in the Lower Sixth.
The school has three boarding houses - one for boys and two for girls:
- Trennick - Boys - years 2 - 6
- Pentreve - Junior Girls - years 1 - 5
- Malvern - Senior Girls - sixth form
Trennick is the only boarding house situated in the school's original main building, although the other two are still on the campus. They are family-run communities with married house staff and other teachers who live on site. Temporary and 'Flexi-boarding' is also available.
Preparatory and pre-preparatory school
Truro School has its own feeder school for the age group 3 - 11. Treliske School was founded in 1936 and is situated within the grounds of Truro Golf Course, near Treliske Hospital. It has recently been renamed Truro School Preparatory School, or TruroPrep. Originally a boys school, it became co-educational in 1989. There have been just 4 headmasters since inception: Tommy Stratton (1936–1960), Alan Ayres (1960–1989), Russell Hollins (1989–2004) and Matthew Lovett since 2004. The building to accommodate Willday House, the Pre-Preparatory School originally located in Trennick Lane, was added in 1991. There were 240 pupils (135 boys, 105 girls) in the 2008 - 2009 academic year. Current fees range from £2150 - £3045 per term.School uniform
The school uniform for the lower years consists of a blue with brown and white diagonal striped tie and navy blazer with the white school crest on the breast pocket. Until recently, ties were awarded for performance in activities which could either be full or half colours; these featured a plain blue tie with a crest on it (previously a full colour pattern of the schools crest). Also, clubs and societies within the school offered similar ties, however this was mainly through sporting activities and the School's Christian Union. This system has been changed to one of 'badges', worn on the blazer (lower school) or jacket (sixth form), awarded for music, drama and sports. The rest of the uniform consists of a white shirt/blouse with black trousers or a school kilt for girls. In 2004, the sixth form moved away from traditional dress to a more smart casual style. Jackets must still be worn, with a formal shirt and tie for boys and plain blouse for girls.Curriculum
The school teaches the full range of arts, science and social science subjects to GCSE and A-Level. The sciences are taught as three separate subjects as it is considered that this allows students a greater choice of options at A-Level and beyond. For the school year 2007/2008 the three separate sciences became compulsory subjects for GCSE in place of the previous option to take up a combined science course in the 4th year. Geology has also been introduced as a GCSE option - previously pupils had to have extracurricular lessons for Geology at GCSE level. French and German are both taught in the 1st and 2nd year and students also have the further option to take up Spanish in year 3.School publications
The students produce three magazines: Apparatus Criticus (English), Rigor Mortis (History) and Spark (Current Affairs), the latter being established by Upper Sixth pupils in September 2008. All students receive a copy of Terraces, a magazine highlighting events from the previous year, at the beginning of September. This magazine is produced within the school by a member of staff. A twice yearly newsletter is also sent to the homes of pupils.Notable alumni
There are several notable alumni of Truro School. Some of the more notable are: Jaws actor Robert ShawRobert Shaw
-Arts and humanities:* Bob Shaw , Irish science fiction writer* Bob Shaw , co-writer for Seinfeld, A Bugs Life and others* Robert J...
, Queen drummer Roger Taylor
Roger Meddows-Taylor
Roger Meddows Taylor , known as Roger Taylor, is a British musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of...
, the actor John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
; automobile designer Geoffrey Healey
Geoffrey Healey
Geoffrey Carroll Healey , British car designer, was born in Perranporth, Cornwall, the son of Donald Healey and his wife Ivy Maud, on 14 December 1922.-Early life:...
; international opera singers Benjamin Luxon
Benjamin Luxon
Benjamin Matthew Luxon CBE is a retired British baritone.-Biography:He studied with Walter Grünner at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established an international reputation as a singer when he won a third prize at the 1961 ARD International Music Competition in Munich...
and Alan Opie
Alan Opie
Alan Opie is a Cornish baritone, primarily known as an opera singer.He attended Truro School and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the London Opera Centre before joining the Sadler's Wells Opera...
; several Members of Parliament (including current MPs George Eustice
George Eustice
Charles George Eustice is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Camborne and Redruth....
and Mark Prisk
Mark Prisk
Michael Mark Prisk is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford, and was appointed Minister of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in May 2010...
); Olympic Gold medallist Ben Ainslie
Ben Ainslie
Charles Benedict Ainslie, CBE is an English sailor and three-times Olympic gold medalist. He started sailing at the age of 8 and first competed at the age of 10...
; and England international rugby union
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
captain John Kendall-Carpenter
John Kendall-Carpenter
John MacGregor Kendall-Carpenter was an England rugby union international who won 23 caps as a back row forward between 1949 and 1954. He subsequently served as President of the Rugby Football Union , the England Schools Rugby Football Union and Cornwall...
.