St Paul's School, London
- This is about the St Paul's School in the United Kingdom. For other schools see St. Paul's School disambiguation
St Paul's School is one of Britain's oldest and most pre-eminent public schools, known for its academic tradition and alumni, and located in Barnes, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England.
History
St Paul's School
| High Master | George Martin Stephen |
|---|---|
| Established | 1509 |
| School type | Public |
| Location | Barnes, London, UK |
| School colors | Black and White |
St Paul's School was founded in 1509 by John Colet, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, on a plot of land to the north of the Cathedral. Colet was the outspoken critic of the powerful and worldly Church of his day, and the friend of Erasmus and Sir Thomas More. The eldest son of Sir Henry Colet, a member of the Mercers' Company and twice Lord Mayor of London, he inherited a substantial fortune, the great part of which he used for the endowment of his School.
The School provided for the education of 153 children of 'all nations and countries indifferently' in good manners and literature. The number 153 has long been associated with the miracle of the draught of fishes recorded in St John's Gospel, and for several generations Foundations Scholars have been given the option of wearing an emblem of a silver fish.
Colet assigned the management of the School and its revenues to the Mercers' Company. 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 nune members of the Company, together with three representatives each of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London. The Company still forms the major part of the School's governing body, and it continues to administer Colet's trust.
The original School which stood in St Paul's Churchyard was destroyed with the Cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The school was twice rebuilt, in 1670, and again in 1822; but towards the end of the 19th Century, it was decided that the school should move out of the City of London
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. Under the direction of F. W. Walker, who had become the High Master in 1887, the School rapidly expanded, and established itself as one of the foremost teaching schools in the country. 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.
In September 1939, the School was evacuated to Crowthorne in Berkshire, where, under the then high Master, W. F. Oakeshott, it became a boarding school for the period of the war. In the meantine, the London buildings became the H.Q. 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 as a day school. 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 and the present and fifth School buildings were ready be September 1968. The High Master notes loudly that the school buildings are due to disintegrate within a decade and is calling upon students to donate copious monetary funds to the school.
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, an in 1904, St Paul's Girls' School was opened in Brook Green. During the past 100 years the School has earned a reputation which today places it foremost among girls' schools in the country.
The Boys' School numbers 846 boys in 2005, the 496th year of its foundation. Approaching its 500th anniversary an ambitious total rebuilding of the School at its present site is planned, to be completed over a 25 year time-period.
Many 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) and the Old Pauline Cricket Club (OPCC).
Its property borders another private school - the Swedish School in London.
Noted alumni
Famous former pupils, known as Old Paulines, include:
- Aurobindo, Sri; Hindu mystic, philosopher, yogi and guru
- Berlin, Sir Isaiah; political philosopher and historian of ideas
- Blakesley, Joseph Williams; clergyman
- Binyon, Laurence; poet
- Chesterton, G. K.; writer
- Churchill, John; Duke of Marlborough and army officer
- Compton, Spencer; Earl of Wilmington and politician
- Dennis, Simon; rower and Olympic gold medalist
- Freud, Sir Clement; writer, broadcaster and politician
- Halley, Edmond; astronomer, geophysicist, meteorologist and physicist
- Hendry, Simon; musician
- Kash, Tim; television presenter
- Mackenzie, Sir Compton; writer
- Miller, Dr Jonathan; theatre and opera director
- Milton, John; poet
- Murphy, Michael; folk musician, journalist, activist
- Montgomery, Field Marshal Bernard; army officer
- Nash, Paul; artist
- Newby, Eric; writer
- Osborne, George; politician
- Parsons, Nicholas; actor and television presenter
- Pepys, Samuel; civil servant and diarist
- Roscoe, Tom; Emperor and Competitive Boy
- Roy, Indra Lal; air force pilot
- Simpson, John; journalist
- Torrance, James; Statesman
- Winston, Professor Robert; biologist and television presenter
- Woolf, Leonard; civil servant and political theorist