Related Searches
Definitions
Bjarke
Hundred&o=10616
Bjarke Hundred&o=10616

Rossall School

Rossall School is a British, co-educational, public school (an independent school in England) in between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year. Its establishment was "to provide, at a moderate cost, for the sons of Clergymen and others, a classical, mathematical and general education of the highest class, and to do all things necessary, incidental, or conducive to the attainment of the above objects." Along with Cheltenham and Marlborough, Rossall was part of a flurry of expansion in education during the early Victorian period. These schools were to later be complemented by others such as Clifton, Wellington, Malvern and Radley.

Set in a estate next to Rossall Beach, Rossall is also a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and was granted a royal charter on October 21, 1890. It accepts students between the ages of 11 and 18 and also has an associated preparatory school. Rossall's campus has a large array of facilities for extra-curricular activities and the school is home to the Lawrence House Space Science and Astronomy Centre, the only facility of its type in the UK. Rossall has constantly adapted itself to different attitudes in education over the years, for example being the first school to have a Combined Cadet Force as well as being one of the first schools in the UK to introduce the International Baccalaureate and a dedicated international study centre on campus.

History

Foundation

The idea of founding a boarding school on the Fylde coast initially came from a Corsican called Zenon Vantini who owned the local North Euston Hotel in Fleetwood. Since its opening, the North Euston Hotel had not had the numbers of visitors that Vantini had hoped for. His idea was to open two schools in the vicinity of Fleetwood, one for boys, the other for girls, totalling 1,000 students to boost local economic activity in the hope that this might boost visitor numbers to Fleetwood and thus help his hotel. Due to high child mortality rates in the early Victorian period, Vantini hoped that the schools could be funded in the long term by a form of tontine insurance scheme, whereby the cost to educate those children who reached their teenage years was offset by those who had died in infancy.

Vantini called a meeting at the North Euston Hotel to discuss the foundation of the schools with local businessmen and clergy. It was at this point that it was decided that any school that was to be founded would be directly affiliated to the Church of England. This was to be the first major Church of England school in the north of England and a sister school to Marlborough College which had opened the previous year. It was soon established though that there was little hope of founding the girls school and the idea of the girls school was soon abandoned, with the boys' school pupil numbers reduced to 200. Consequently, Vantini's involvement with the scheme steadily dissipated, Rev. St. Vincent Beechey, the parish priest of Fleetwood, soon took the reins.

Beechey soon set about finding the funds required to set up such a school. Beechey managed to get the financial support of Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, The Earl of Derby as patron, the Duke of Devonshire as vice-president and Archbishop Sumner, then Bishop of Chester and later Archbishop of Canterbury, as visitor. As a result of Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood's financial problems from over-investing in the development of Fleetwood, he agreed to lease his ancestral home of Rossall Hall to the school for 21 years, with the option of buying it for £7,000 after ten years. The Northern Church of England Boarding School, re-named Rossall College under the reign of William Osborne, opened on 22 August 1844.

1844 to 1914

Initial problems were not unusual for boarding schools of the time, though Rossall did nearly shut down in its infancy because of huge outbreaks of Scarlet Fever. The foundation stone to the school chapel, now the Sumner Library, was laid in 1848 by the first ever Bishop of Manchester, James Prince Lee - the diocese having only been created that same year. Rossall's swift and successful development can be seen by its inclusion in the book 'The Great Schools of England.'

The current chapel was constructed in the 1860s and the school underwent further development from the 1880s to 1900 to accommodate more students and to create further facilities such as the gym which still stands. In 1874 Rossall hit the headlines as it became the first Church of England school to play a Catholic school, Stonyhurst College, in an inter-school sports fixture by playing them at cricket. A number of Protestant newspapers warned against such activities advising Rossall parents to be wary of encroaching papism.

Two decades later, Rossall had its first major experience of warfare with roughly one hundred O.R.s serving in the Boer War, nearly half of them winning distinctions or mentions in despatches. Seventeen old boys however died in active service, all of whom are now commemorated in the stalls of the school chapel.

Rossall was widely considered to be in top 30 public schools in the UK by the end of Queen Victoria's reign also earning itself a place in the Public Schools Yearbook and the Public School News section of the Cambridge Review. Despite some financial difficulties as a result of fund embezzling by a bursar, by the end of the 1920s Rossall's academic results were amongst the best in the country with record numbers achieving scholarships to Oxbridge and attaining distinctions in the Higher Certificate examinations.

1914 to 1945

During the world wars large numbers of Old Rossallians lost their lives in combat, 297 in World War One alone - the majority of whom are now commemorated in the extension memorial chapel. Rossall has had the privilege of being allowed to have a memorial plaque placed at St Georges Chapel by the Menin Gate in honour of its fallen, alongside schools such as Rugby, Eton and Harrow. 1,617 ORs fought in World War One, 300 of whom received war honours.

Rossall's WWI War Honours (With Bar)
V.C. G.C.M.G. C.B. C.I.E. C.M.G. D.S.O. C.B.E. O.B.E. M.B.E. D.S.C. M.C. D.F.C. A.F.C. D.C.M. M.M.
2 1 4 2 16 54 (9) 9 37 9 2 154 (13) 4 3 2 2

Before the Second World War Rossall had made plans to accommodate Westminster School however these plans were scrapped when the government seized the campus for its own departments, the Office of Works, Board of Education and Ministry of Pensions, forcing Rossall up to Naworth Castle.When the school got the campus back in 1940 it looked to take a school from the south-east in, as Westminster had now found an alternative solution. The eventual choice was that of Alleyn's who had to be evacuated from London as a result of the risk of bombing. Another side effect of the war was that there was only one centenary dinner celebrating the 100th year of Rossall. Rather more unusual was the fact that it was conducted by Old Rossallians imprisoned in Changi Jail - a Japanese Prisoner of War camp.

1945 to present

The school left the 1940s in good health, even attracting Benjamin Britten to give a concert in Big School in 1954. It continued to thrive and in the 1970s, in a bid to ensure the highest standards during a period of declining boarding, girls were allowed to enroll. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the school pushed on with a development programme and had a number of royal visits including the Queen in 1994 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its foundation. The school however went through great financial difficulty at the turn of the millennium.

Rossall has since had a large amount of investment, with the boarding houses currently undergoing refurbishment and large restructuring throughout the years. The middle school now runs from years 7 to 9, one year longer than traditionally. As a part of the modernising of the school the IB was introduced as an alternative to A-Levels in 1998, being only the 3rd school in the UK to do so, and there is now also a large international boarding contingent.

Rossall is still committed to relatively affordable private education in relation to the rest of the UK - 80% of those who attend the school are the first in their family to attend an independent school and a large number of scholarships and bursaries are available. 2007 saw the return of the Rossall Summer School - developed to give children from outside of the UK the opportunity to develop their English speaking skills as well as being a chance for those thinking of going to a boarding school to prepare for the change in daily lifestyle.

In December 2007 it was announced that the current headmaster, Tim Wilbur, would be leaving at the end of the academic year. His successor has been announced as Dr Stephen Winkley, formerly Second Master at Winchester College, Headmaster of Uppingham School and Chairman of the Boarding School Association

Campus

Architecture

The Archway

This is perhaps Rossall's most prominent architectural feature. It was erected in 1867, under the reign of William Osborne, with the foundation stone being laid by William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire. It is believed to have been designed by Edward Graham Paley. It is clearly modelled on the entrance gates of the Oxbridge colleges and originally had large wooden doors which were locked at night however these have since been removed for improvements in access.

The Chapel

It the 1860s a new school chapel was built to cope with the increasing number of students, the old chapel serving, as it does today, as the school library. The new chapel was designed by Edward Graham Paley, extended by Robert Lorimer and includes numerous carvings by Eric Gill. The chapel organ was designed by Harrison & Harrison.

The Dining Hall

The original school dining hall burnt down in the 1920s. The replacement, the current dining hall, was designed by Sir Hubert Worthington. The design was not without fault however - it was constructed from bricks encased in a weatherable coating that would dissolve away to leave it looking in the same condition as the rest of the square. Despite the best efforts of the north Lancashire climate and the Irish Sea, the bricks have yet to fully weather, or in most cases weather in any way at all. Hence its peculiar colour compared with the rest of the Rossall buildings. The largest section of wood panelling behind the headmaster's table in the dining hall is made from an oak tree that grew in the back garden of George Mallory. It is likely that it is the largest school dining hall in the country and was described by F. A. M. Webster in his book Our Great Public Schools as, "one of the most splendid in the country."

There are four coats of arms attached to the exterior of the dining hall to commemorate the various families associated with Rossall over the years; The Allen Family for the historic owners of the site, The Hesketh Family for the most recent owners of the site prior to the school, The Fleetwood Family for Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood who originally loaned Rossall Hall for the opening of the school and The Beechey Family for the founder of the school, The Revd. St. Vincent Beechey.

Canberra Grammar School

Stone from Rossall can be found in the cloisters of Canberra Grammar School along with stones from Eton, Westminster, St Paul's, Charterhouse, Uppingham, Clifton, Tonbridge, Shrewsbury, Sherborne, Wellington, Cheltenham, Repton and Radley.

Facilities

The school has a number of specialist sporting, scientific and cultural facilities, including:

Scientific

  • Observatory with 12' Victorian Telescope
  • Astronomy Centre and Starlab Planetarium

Sporting

Rossall today

The school offers both A-levels and the International Baccalaureate IB Diploma Programme for Sixth form students. The Preparatory School operates on IB Primary Years Programme.

Extra-curricular activities

Sports

There are 64 clubs and societies currently in operation at Rossall. Amongst them are the more traditional such as Rugby, football, Fives and Hockey. There are also numerous other unique clubs such as the Croquet Club. As well as competing in sporting competitions around the country, Rossall plays host to a number of inter-school tournaments throughout the year. In recent years these have included hockey, preparatory school rugby and basketball. The most notable tournament is the fives competition which attracts the likes of Lancing College, Malvern College, Uppingham School and Shrewsbury School.

Music

Rossall has numerous school choirs including the Beecham Singers, a choir principally for those in the local community to join. They give regular recitals throughout the year, often for charity. The school's chapel choir has performed at Durham Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral and York Minster. In the summer of 2007 the choir went on a tour of Paris culminating in a performance at Notre Dame and Chartres Cathedral.

Combined Cadet Force

Rossall was the first school in the United Kingdom to form a Combined Cadet Force (CCF). It was founded in February 1860 when the threat of a French/Irish Catholic invasion was at its height. Although Rugby School claims to have raised a company of Volunteer Riflemen in 1804Rossall's is the oldest contingent continually in existence and the one from which many other schools drew the inspiration of founding theirs'. Other schools such as Eton College formed their corps a few months after Rossall. The institution is still present in the school today with around 100 cadets currently enlisted. In recent years the shooting team has excelled with notable victories in the Home Guard Cup and Loyal’s Regimental Cup.

Miscellaneous

Other societies include the Astronomy club which makes use of the school's telescope and planetarium and the Literary Society, which meets on Friday evenings to discuss different genres of literature.

School terms

Buildings

  • Big School - The Main Assembly Hall
  • Brew Room - The small kitchens in each house in which the students may prepare food for themselves.
  • Chagger - The nickname for the houses changing rooms.
  • Common Room - The name of the Teachers Lounge. Teachers are known as members of Common Room.
  • The Cop - The dyke that runs around Rossall - most noticeable around the playing fields.
  • The Gazebo - The small structure with the flagpole that sits atop the mound next to Mitre Fleur-de-Lys. The gazebo is the oldest structure at Rossall, dating from no later than 1733 (See picture to the right.)
  • Moni's Lawn - The elevated area of grass next to the dining hall on which only school monitors can walk
  • Nagger - The nickname for the Matron's office where laundry is cleaned etc.
  • The Needle Room - The Middle School Matron's office
  • Rosshop - Rossall's own shop which sells the school's uniform, sports equipment etc.
  • Senior Club - The sixth form bar
  • The Square - The main school quad

Daily Life

  • The Carmen - The school song. It is sung at major school events including Old Rossallian dinners and end of term assemblies.
  • Congers - Congregational hymn practice in chapel.
  • Nagger Bag - The name of the bags in each house used to pick up and carry the students' laundry to Nagger.
  • School - A lesson

Disciplinary Terms

  • The Bill - Being placed on the Bill is usually a result of very poor behaviour and involves a student being summoned at lunchtime to talk to the First Deputy Head personally about their misdeeds. A punishment is then issued if the pupil's explanation is not accepted. The advantage of the Bill system is that all pupils, from whatever house or year group, are treated similarly.
  • Gating - Pupils are gated as the worst form of punishment before expulsion or suspension. Students who are gated are only allowed to wear their school uniform and must stay within the school grounds, usually in the house. There are also usually extra punishments involved such as litter-picking or essay writing. This is most often given for smoking, drinking or skipping lessons.
  • Parade - A small punishment, usually given for a minor misdemeanor, distributed by a monitor when a younger pupil has disobeyed them when the monitor is trying to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
  • P.S. (Punishment School) - The Rossall equivalent of detention

Sport Terms

  • Rossall Fives - Rossall's unique version of fives - an amalgamation of Rugby, Winchester and Eton Fives - though it resembles Rugby Fives more than the other two codes.
  • Rossall Hockey (Ross Hockey) - A relatively famous game unique to Rossall - a cross between Rugby and Hockey, originally derived from the Eton Field Game, played on the beach in the harshest winter months.
  • Shore - A Rossall Hockey pitch
  • Zephyr - A rugby top

Houses

Like many independent schools Rossall adopted a house system early on, with each pupil belonging to a house. It forms an integral part of life at the school and there are frequent inter-house events in sports as well as the arts. The current houses are:

House Name Student's Gender Part of: House Colours Founded House Type
Anchor Boys + Girls Middle School 2004 Boarding
Dragon Boys + Girls Middle School 2006 Day
Falcon Boys + Girls Middle School 2006 Day
Stag's Head Boys + Girls Middle School 2006 Day
Lugard Boys Boys ISC 1985 Boarding
Lugard Girls Girls ISC 1985 Boarding
Dolphin Girls Senior School 1980 Day
Maltese Cross Boys Senior School 1886 Boarding + Day
Mitre Fleur-de-Lys Boys Senior School 1875 Boarding + Day
Pelican Boys Senior School 1888 Boarding + Day
Rose Girls Senior School 1884 Boarding
Spread Eagle Boys Senior School 1868 Boarding + Day

Old Rossallians

Many notable people have studied at Rossall over the years.

The school alumni society is called the Rossallian Club. The Rossallian Club has numerous gatherings every year all over the UK and, with the advent of a large international boarding contingent in recent years, all over the world - the first ever OR meal in Germany took place in 2006. The school also has its own masonic lodge, founded in 1928, that meets three times a year at Freemasons's Hall in London. It is part of the Public School Lodges Council and is open to any Old Rossallian who wishes to join.

Rossall's alumni are one of only nine schools to have won the Halford Hewitt Public Schools Golf Tournament more than twice. The schools are (in order of victories): Charterhouse (16), Harrow (11), Eton (10), Tonbridge (6), Rugby (5), Watson's (4), Rossall (3), Shrewsbury (3), Merchiston (3). Rossall is also positioned 8th overall in the Anderson Scale of past performances in the competition.

Headmasters of Rossall

First year at Rossall Final year at Rossall Name Education Career after Rossall
1844 1849 Dr John Woolley University of London & University College, Oxford First Principal of the University of Sydney.
1849 1869 Rev. William Alexander Osborne St Paul's & Trinity College, Cambridge Retired from education after Rossall
1870 1875 Rev. Robert Henniker Charterhouse & Trinity College, Oxford Retired from education after Rossall
1875 1886 Dr. Herbert Armitage James Abergavenny Grammar School, Jesus College & Lincoln College, Oxford Headmaster of Cheltenham and Rugby. President of St. John's College, Oxford.
1886 1896 Rev. Charles Coverdale Tancock Sherborne & Exeter College, Oxford Headmaster of Tonbridge
1896 1908 Rev. Dr. John Pearce Way Bath College & Brasenose College, Oxford Retired from education after Rossall
1908 1932 Rev. Canon Edward John Walford Houghton Sherborne & Christchurch, Oxford Retired from education after Rossall
1932 1937 Harold George Michael Clarke St Paul's & Trinity College, Cambridge Headmaster of Repton
1937 1957 Rev. Charles Edgar Young Charterhouse & Exeter College, Oxford Retired from education after Rossall
1957 1967 Geoffrey Sale Berkhamstead & Lincoln College, Oxford Retired from education after Rossall
1967 1972 Roger Wykeham Ellis Winchester & Trinity College, Oxford Headmaster of Marlborough and Head of the HMC
1973 1987 Dr John Sharp Keighley Grammar & Brasenose College, Oxford Retired from education after Rossall
1987 2001 Richard David Walton Rhodes Rossall & St John's College, Durham Retired from education after Rossall
2001 2008 Timothy Wilbur Kent & Loughborough Headmaster of Wanganui Collegiate School
2008 Incumbent Dr. Stephen Charles Winkley St. Edward's and Brasenose College, Oxford

Lawrence House Astronomy & Space Science Centre

Rossall is also home to the Lawrence House Astronomy & Space Science Centre - the only centre dedicated solely to the teaching of Astronomy. The project consists of the telescope in Rossall's Assheton Observatory as well as a building of its own containing a lecture theatre, classrooms and a portable planetarium. The telescope is of particular note - being long, 18 inches wide and dating from 1870. The project has been funded by the Lawrence House Trust and predominantly run by Dr. Nick Lister, originally the head of D.T. at the school and now Astronomer in Residence. Dr Lister studied at Plymouth University before getting his PHD from University College London. He is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and was recently appointed as vice-president of the Association for Astronomy Education, where he succeeded Dr Robert Massey of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, who has now become president of the organisation.

When initial assessments were being made for the feasibility of restoring the observatory, both the telescope and observatory were in a poor condition as a result of years of neglect and an arson attempt by some local children. However, the telescope is made predominantly from brass and thus suffered minimal corrosion and damage. Most importantly the lens of the telescope survived unscathed allowing for restoration. This was carried out at first by several dedicated parents and governors of the school, amongst them Syd Little.Soon after the basic restoration ideas were raised for a larger project allowing the teaching of astronomy on a larger scale. After getting clearance from the original owners of the telescope to go ahead with the project, Rossall was given funds from the Lawrence House Trust, an educational charity, to go forward with their plans. The centre had an official opening on Tuesday 26 September 2006 with Old Rossallian and former Astronomer Royal Sir Francis Graham Smith in attendance. The centre's motto is 'Astronomy For All' meaning that it offers courses to Rossall Students but also at a small cost to the general public. Courses also range from beginner to advanced to ensure that anybody who wishes to study Astronomy can do so.

Possibly because of its emphasis on practical astronomy as a subject, Rossall School was depicted as the school attended by Dan Dare, the fictional space hero in The Eagle comic who was a favourite character of boys of the 1950s–60s.

References

Further reading

  • 'Rossall School, Its Rise and Progress' - Canon St Vincent Beechy (1894)
  • 'History of Rossall School' - John Frederick Rowbotham (First ed. 1895, John Heywood)
  • 'The Centenary History of Rossall School' - W Furness (1945, Gale and Polden)
  • 'A Very Desolate Position' - Peter Bennett (1977, Rossall Archives)
  • 'Rossall Will be What You Make it' - Peter Bennett (1992, Rossall Archives)
  • 'The Tide Flows On' - Derek Winterbottom (2006, Manx Press)
  • 'A Short History of the Rossall School Corps.' - Lt.-Col. L. H. Trist (1960, pp. 27. Fleetwood Chronicle: Fleetwood)
  • 'Alleyn’s and Rossall schools : the Second World War, experience and status'- Donald Leinster_Mackay (1990 , Leeds : Museum of the History of Education, University of Leeds.)
  • 'Hymns for use in the chapel of Rossall School' - Herbert A. James. (1880, R. Clay, Sons, & Taylor: London)
  • 'Rossall. An Ode, by O. Seaman ... for the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the School' - Charles Harford Lloyd (1894, London & New York : Novello, Ewer and Co)

External links

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Monday October 06, 2008 at 09:29:31 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation

Search another word or see Bjarke Hundred&o=10616on Dictionary | Thesaurus |Spanish
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT