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St Paul's School, London

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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

File:StPaulsSchoolCrest.jpg

High Master George Martin Stephen
Established 1509
School type Public
Location Barnes, London, UK
School colors Black and White

St Paul's School is one of Britain's oldest and most pre-eminent public schools, known for its long academic tradition and distinguished alumni. It is located in Barnes, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England.

History

St Paul's School takes its name from St Paul's Cathedral in London. A cathedral school had existed since early times, and certainly from about 1103. By the sixteenth century, however, it had declined, and in 1509 a new St Paul's 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 London, he inherited a substantial fortune, the great part of which he used for the endowment of his School, having no family of his own (his 21 siblings having all died in childhood and he being a celibate priest).

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 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 (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 they had to pay for their own wax candles.

Colet was the outspoken critic of the powerful and worldly Church of his day, and the 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. The governing body of the school is still strongly associated with nominees of 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 nine 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.

St Paul's has since its foundation been one of the leading British public schools. 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' and the other boarding schools were Charterhouse, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Westminster and Winchester).

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.

Buildings

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.

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 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 and the present and fifth School buildings were opened in September 1968. This 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.


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' 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.

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 all its pupils are expected to pass into St Paul's School when they reach the age of 13. It therefore serves as a junior school for the main establishment.

Present day

The Boys' School numbered 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 period.

The school still maintains a limited boarding facility for the use of some forty boys. 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 and "charity sponging" event.

The school has a strong sports department: its achievements include runners-up in the rugby U15 Daily Mail Cup and the Boat Club has won the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley Royal Regatta twice in its history.

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).

In 2005, St Paul's obtained (for the second year running) the best overall placing in the GCSE exam league tables published nationally, and was also the leading boys school in the A level results tables. 30% of its leavers went to Oxford and Cambridge, which was also the highest proportion achieved by any boys' school in the country, and one of the highest proportions achieved by any school.

School coat of arms

Like many older educational foundations, St Paul's School traditionally used the arms of its founder, John Colet. 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 a 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 Pauls are repeated.

Notable alumni

Famous former pupils, known as Old Paulines, include:

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