Birkdale School
Birkdale School | |
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Address | |
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Oakholme Road , , S10 3DH England | |
Coordinates | 53°22′28″N 1°30′17″W / 53.374510°N 1.504785°W |
Information | |
Type | Private school |
Motto | Res Non Verba (Actions not Words) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
Established | 1904 |
Founder | Maurice Asterley |
Department for Education URN | 107163 Tables |
Head Master | Peter Harris |
Staff | ~200 |
Gender | Co-educational |
Age | 4 to 18 |
Enrolment | ~1,000 pupils (inc. Prep School) |
Houses | Griffiths, Asterley, Hall and Heeley. |
Colour(s) | Red , Dark Blue |
Publication | The Birkdalian |
Former pupils | Old Birkdalians |
Partner Schools | Peace Garden School, Nepal |
Website | http://www.birkdaleschool.org.uk/ |
Birkdale School is a
in England. Founded by Maurice Asterley, in 1904, the school provides education underpinned by a strong Christian ethos.Birkdale is a member of the
History
Birkdale was founded in 1904 by Maurice Asterley as a preparatory school for boys between the ages of 4 and 13 to provide a Christian education and takes its name from its first home, Birkdale House on Newbould Lane.[1] The school moved in 1915 to the Oakholme building under Griffiths' leadership (1909–1939).[citation needed]
At the start of the
The period of greatest growth within the School was overseen during the tenure of the M. D. A. Hepworth, Head Master from 1983 to 1998. More recently, an extension of the Grayson Building was built to house the
Buildings
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Birkdale_School_Johnson_Building.jpg/250px-Birkdale_School_Johnson_Building.jpg)
Birkdale School consists of a Senior School and a Prep School split over 2 sites. The Senior School has six main buildings: Johnson Building, Grayson Building, Endcliffe Building, Oakholme Building, Westbury Building, and the Science Block.
The Lower School (ages 11–12) are based in the Johnson building, Middle School (ages 13–15) in the Oakholme building and the Sixth Form (ages 16–18) in the Grayson building.
Houses
There is a House system employed at Birkdale Senior School, four in total, each named after old Head Masters. Each house consists of a House Master who is a member of faculty, a House Captain who is a member of sixth form, and a dozen House Prefects also from the sixth form, chosen by faculty. Their roles consist of holding house assemblies and organising house events. The heads of school, as well as the sixth form prefects, operate independently from the house prefects.
House Name | Named After | |
---|---|---|
Asterley | Maurice Asterley 1904–09 | |
Griffiths | Alban Griffiths 1909–39 | |
Heeley | Howard Heeley 1943-63 | |
Hall | John Hall 1963-83 |
The current Housemasters are Mr Michael Clarke (Asterley), Mr Christopher Rodgers (Griffiths), Mr Thomas Clark (Hall) and Mr Andrew Alsop (Heeley).
The Prep School had a slightly different house system, with a house dedicated to J.G. Roberts, Head Master 1933 – 43, and one to the family of
The Birkdalian
The Birkdalian has, since the mid-twentieth century, been the school magazine. Currently published once a year late in the Christmas term it provides an account of a year in the life of the school. Articles are written by staff and pupils and edited by a small group of staff and senior pupils.[citation needed]
Administration
The Head Master is Mr Peter Harris, who was previously the Principal of Ewell Castle School and taught Geography at Birkdale between 1998 and 2009. The previous Head Master was Dr Paul Owen, who is the current Head of Stockport Grammar School. The Deputy Head of Senior School is Mr Phillip King, who succeeded Mr Nicolas Pietrek (who is now the Head of Thorpe House School Trust). The Head of the Prep School is Mr Chris Burch.
Sport
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/BEn_jones.jpg/135px-BEn_jones.jpg)
Birkdale has its own playing fields, Castle Dyke, within a few miles of the main school site. There was a £2 million investment after acquiring a 125 year lease for the 30 acre Castle Dyke playing fields and the construction of a new state-of- the-art Sports Pavilion, which opened in 2006. On campus, the school has a sports hall and attached gym.
Competitive matches are played weekly – rugby and hockey in the winter term, football and hockey in easter, and cricket in summer. Teams are entered into various regional and national tournaments, such as the Rosslyn Park Sevens tournament and ISFA football tournaments. Sports tours depart annually – recent trips have included a rugby tour to Canada, cricket to Dubai and hockey to Holland.
During the 2007–08 school year, the U16 Rugby team reached the national quarter final of the Daily Mail Vase.[3]
Head Masters
Head Master | Years Active | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1900s | 1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maurice Asterley | 1904–09 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alban Griffiths | 1909–39 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
J. G. Roberts | 1939–43 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Howard Heeley | 1943–1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Hall | 1963–83 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Rev'd Michael Hepworth | 1983–98 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Court | 1998–2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dr Paul Owen | 2010–2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nicholas Pietrek | 2018–2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peter Harris | 2019– |
Nepal
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Peace_Garden_School%2C_Nepal%2C_April_2012.jpg/250px-Peace_Garden_School%2C_Nepal%2C_April_2012.jpg)
As part of the school's charity projects it has developed strong links with some institutions in and around Kathmandu in Nepal. Most notable are the Peace Garden School, for which the school has helped raise money for a new school building, and a leper colony on the outskirts of Kathmandu, where Birkdale is helping to build new facilities and a new school. Money has also been granted to other schools to help purchase equipment or develop facilities.
As with other school charity projects, the money is raised through charity events and fund-raisers (as opposed to taking it from the school accounts). Since the year 2000, trips have been run once a year to
As well as links with Nepal, the school has begun to form links with
Notable alumni
- Cyril Martin GC, MC (1897–1973), soldier and George Cross recipient.[2]
- Sir Rex Harrison (1908–1990), actor.[4]
- Sir Paul Kennedy, KC (born 1935), former Lord Justice of Appeal.[4]
- Bruce Dickinson (born 1958), musician.[6]
- Ian G. Walker (born 1958), industrialist.[7]
- Mark Roe (born 1963), golfer.[4]
- Sir John Holbrook Osborn (1922–2015), MP for Sheffield Hallam 1959–87
- Lord Allan of Hallam (Formerly Richard Allan, MP) (born 1966), Liberal Democrat Peer.[4]
- Richard Coyle (born 1972), actor.
- David Jennings (born 1972), composer.
- Justin Wilson (1978–2015), racing driver.[8]
- Stefan Wilson (born 1989), racing driver.[9]
- Charlie Davies(born 1989), Rugby Union player.
- Zhou Guanyu (born 1999), Formula 1 racing driver.[10]
- Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e (born 2003), Rugby League player.[11]
References
- ^ a b "Birkdale School – Actions not Words" (PDF). Birkdale School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Prep Handbook" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015.
- ^ Sheffield Telegraph, 25 January 2008
- ^ a b c d e "Birkdale | Junior and Senior Boys Independent School | Yorkshire | Guide to Independent Schools". guidetoindependentschools.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Birkdale School". www.schoolsguidebook.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-00-817244-2.
- ^ "How I made it... Ian Walker, Rotary Engineering". The Star. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "Special talent marks Sheffield ace out as a future Grand Prix star". The Star. 6 July 2001. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "Wilson steers to second win". The Star. 12 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "Racing driver goes from Sheffield industrial estate to F1 World Championship". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ "Keighley Cougars' Quentin Laulu-Togaga'e and son Phoenix complete rare playing feat". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2 July 2022.