Bloxham School
All Saints' School or Bloxham School | |
---|---|
Coeducational | |
Age | 11 to 18 |
Houses | Seven senior boarding houses, one senior day house, one junior house |
Colour(s) | Black & White |
Publication | The Bloxhamist |
Former pupils | Old Bloxhamists |
Affiliation | Woodard Corporation HMC |
School Hymn | For All the Saints A Shining Light |
Website | www |
Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is a
Founded as a school of the Oxford Movement, Bloxham is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
History
Hewett's school
The original school on the site in the north of the village of Bloxham was founded in 1853 by
Egerton's school
In 1859, Hewett's dilapidated school buildings were bought for £1,615 by Philip Reginald Egerton, a Church of England curate working in Deddington.[4] Like Hewett, he was strongly influenced by the Oxford Movement and sought to establish a new school to teach its values.[5] Egerton adopted the previous foundation's name of All Saints' School, and its motto, but based the school's ethos on that of his alma mater, Winchester College. He sought the backing of several notable academics and clergymen, including Wilberforce, Woodard and Henry Liddon.[5] The project was initially funded by Egerton's wealthy wife, Harriet, and received its first pupil on 31 January 1860. Under the personal leadership of Egerton, Bloxham initially provided education for middle class boys in the public school tradition, although classics was originally not widely taught. In 1861 there were 29 pupils and by 1863 there were 60. Thanks to Wilberforce's continued support, Street drew up new plans for expanding the neo-Gothic school buildings, and additional money was provided by John Hubbard, 1st Baron Addington and John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough.[3] The new buildings were unveiled in 1864 in the presence of Thomas Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield and Benjamin Disraeli.[5] The Chapel Wing, the last of Street's buildings, was opened on 21 February 1873.
The school quickly grew, rising to two hundred pupils in twenty years.
During the 1890s, Bloxham shrank in size as the local provision of
Academic performance
The school achieved 52% 9-7 grades in the 2022 GCSEs.[9]
Buildings and facilities
Bloxham School has grounds which cover approximately 60 acres (240,000 m2) in the village of Bloxham. The Neo-Gothic complex of buildings designed by George Edmund Street, called Main School, dominates the school and the north end of the village.
Bloxham has a
Bloxham School has four large playing fields, three of which are used for cricket in the summer term. It has two AstroTurf all-weather pitches, which are used for hockey and tennis, as well as additional hard tennis courts. The Dewey Sports Centre, opened by Anne, Princess Royal in 1986, has an indoor sports hall, a well-equipped gym and a climbing wall. Along with the swimming pool, which was extensively refurbished in 2014, it is available for public use. Bloxham also has Fives courts.
Deer Park is where the bursary is situated, as well as some of the buildings used by the CCF, including the armoury and shooting range. Woollen Hale, the house of Bloxham headmasters since 1986, is located on the top of Hobb Hill, overlooking playing fields and the Main School.
Houses
Like most traditional public schools, houses form the basis of school organisation and are incorporated into the boarding system. There are seven boarding houses within the senior school, as well as one day house (Merton). The boarding houses are Crake, Egerton, Raymond, Seymour, Stonehill, Wilberforce and Wilson, with Raymond, Stonehill and Wilberforce being the girls' houses. There is also a junior boarding house, Park Close, for the first form (Year 7) and second form (Year 8) weekly boarders, but all junior pupils are members of Exham House. The school operates a house-based tutor system, in which pupils of several year groups share a tutor within one house. All houses are made up of both boarders and day pupils, who are called 'day boarders'. House captains are appointed each year and make up part of the school's prefect body. The two oldest houses are Crake and Wilson, previously called School House, with all the other houses constituted later. The newest boarding house to be built was Seymour, which was finished in 1982. Although Stonehill and Merton, in the current establishment were the last to be constituted but in older buildings than Seymour. Houses provide a focus for social and sporting activity, with rivalries existing between different houses.
House | Colour | Gender | Housemaster/mistress | Named after |
---|---|---|---|---|
Crake | Red | M | R. Hudson[11] | A former school chaplain. |
Egerton | Green | M | D. R. Best[12] | Philip Reginald Egerton , the school's founder.
|
Exham | Dark blue | M/F | C. Bridge[13] | A former headmaster. |
Merton | Orange | M/F | C. Linton[14] | Name of the original building. |
Raymond | Light blue | F | J. C. Single[15] | A former pupil, Chairman of Governors and major benefactor. |
Seymour | Pink | M | M. D. Bull[16] | A former headmaster. |
Stonehill | Teal | F | H. Woodward[17] | The road it is located on. |
Wilberforce | Purple | F | P. D. Jones[18] | Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford. |
Wilson | Yellow | M | D. Bowden[19] | The first boarder and former master. |
Religion
Chapel
The founder of Bloxham, P. R. Egerton, envisaged Bloxham as a school which would take in the sons of local families and turn out young men ‘well educated in the Christian faith.’ Religion still plays a major role in the life of the school and this is focused on the Chapel of All Saints. One Eucharistic service is held each week for the pupils in the chapel. For larger school occasions such as Founderstide (the founder's day) and Christmas, the school uses St Mary's Church, Bloxham. The chaplain plays an important part in school life and is helped by a team of chapel prefects. Special arrangements are made for non-Anglicans to attend their own places of worship if required.
The school has hosted the Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature since October 2011.[20]
Bloxham Project
The Bloxham Project is an inter-school council started in the 1960s to address the role of religion in schools.[21] It was started by the Chairman of Bloxham School Council and the school chaplain, Donald Dowie. The first Bloxham Conference on Public School Religion took place in 1967 at Bloxham School, and today approximately 120 independent schools take part in the project. It is a full-time organisation which continues to promote Christian educational values in the United Kingdom.[22] The project is currently run from Ripon College Cuddesdon near Oxford, where several of Bloxham's headmasters have been educated.
Sport
Sport plays a significant role in Bloxham life, with afternoons on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays being allocated to games' practices and matches for pupils in years 9–13. Every pupil in the school is involved in sport, with the aim being that each pupil will represent the school in at least one team during their time at Bloxham. The major sports are rugby, hockey and cricket for boys, and hockey, netball and tennis for girls. Other sports played at Bloxham include squash, athletics, swimming, golf, riding, polo, target shooting, basketball, clay pigeon shooting, fives, sailing, cross-country and badminton.[23]
The school's main sporting rivals include
Societies and pastimes
Bloxham has several societies, some of which are pupil-run. School societies include the Scholars Society, the Debating Society and the Common Room Society. The Choral Society, or Chapel Choir, sing twice a week during the school's chapel services. Clubs include a Photography Club, a Wildlife Club and a Model Railway Club. Bloxham School was host of the British Youth
Bloxham runs a Combined Cadet Force (CCF) for pupils in third form (Year 9) and above. This was founded in 1910 as the school's Officers' Training Corps.[24] Bloxham is one of the few schools in the country to have been granted its own cap badge and former members have served with distinction in the British armed forces.[citation needed] Most terms there is a CCF over-night expedition and a range day. The CCF was formerly affiliated with the Royal Green Jackets and is now affiliated with its successor regiment, The Rifles.
The school has a music department which offers professional tuition in brass, guitar, keyboard, organ, percussion, singing, strings and woodwind.
The school magazine is called The Bloxhamist and is published at the beginning of every Michaelmas term.
Prefects
The school’s prefect system was introduced in its current form by Armitage in the late 1920s.[25] Prefects were solemnly initiated in chapel, and once in office they were responsible for much of the daily administration of the school. Prefects were in charge of most discipline and a prefectural code was introduced; school prefects could give up to six strokes with a cane, and house prefects three.[25]
Motto and arms
The motto of Bloxham School is taken from Hewitt's 1853 school. A quotation from the Book of Proverbs, it is Justorum Semita Lux Splendens (Latin), which translates as "The path of the just is a shining light". Until 2009, the school arms was that of the Egerton family, although this usage was never registered with the College of Arms. It is now a stylised version of the original coat-of-arms.
Fees
Source:[26]
Boarder type | Fees per term | Fees annual (3 terms) | Update date |
---|---|---|---|
Senior overseas boarders | £14,680 | £44,040 | April 2024 |
Senior national boarders | £13,880 | £41,640 | |
Senior day boarders | £10,770 | £32,100 | |
Senior day house | £7,330 | £21,990 |
Additional overnight stays for day boarders are charged at £57 a night.
Boarder type | Fees per term | Fees annual (3 terms) | Update date |
---|---|---|---|
Weekly boarders | £9,430 | £28,290 | April 2024 |
Day boarders | £8,590 | £25,770 | |
Day house | £7,290 | £21,870 |
Additional overnight stays for day boarders are charged at £57 a night.
Notable alumni
Current members of the school are known as 'Bloxhamists' with alumni referred to as 'Old Bloxhamists', or OBs for short. Notable OBs include:
Military
- Colonel Sir Thomas Boswall Beach CMG CBE
- Brigadier-General Sir William Henry Beach CB CMG DSO
- Air Vice-Marshal Thomas Bowler CB CBE[27][28]
- General Sir Adrian Bradshaw KCB OBE,[29] Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe
- General Sir Edward Burgess, NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander
- Garrison Sergeant Major Vivian Davenport MBE MC DCM & Bar
- Major General Richard Roderick Davis CB CBE
- Lieutenant David Eastwood CBE MC
- Brigadier-General Wilfred Ellershaw, Aide-de-Camp to Lord Kitchener
- Squadron Leader Dave Glaser DFC AE
- Colonel L. A. Grimston CIE OBE VD
- Major-General Reginald Hewer CB CBE MC
- Air Marshal Sir Francis John LinnellKBE CB
- Captain Harry Godfrey Massy-Miles MC
- Colonel Sir Henry Allan Roughton May CB
- Air Commodore Sir Dennis MitchellKBE CVO DFC AFC
- Squadron Leader C. T. N. MooreMBE
- Admiral of the Fleet Sir Gerard Noel GCB KCMG, Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet
- Lieutenant-General Dudley Sheridan Skelton CB DSO MC, Honorary Surgeon to HM King George V
- Major-General Bruce M. Skinner CMG CBE MVO, Surgeon-General to the British Armed Forces
- Major Derrick le Poer Trench DSO MC
- Lieutenant St John Graham Young GC
- Brigadier Dimitry Dimitrievitch Zvegintzov CBE OStJ[30]
Government and politics
- Peter J P BarwellMBE, Lord Mayor of Birmingham 1992-3
- Sir Peter H. Clutterbuck CIE CBE VD,[31] colonial civil servant in British India
- Alexander Granville CMG CBE, colonial administrator in Egypt
- Sir Gerald Howarth, Conservative politician and Member of Parliament
- Eustace Maude, 7th Viscount Hawarden, peer and colonial provincial governor in Sudan
- E. H. D. Nicolls CMG OBE, British colonial official
- Denis Norman, former Government Minister in Zimbabwe
- Frederic Urquhart, colonial administrator in Australia
Religion
- Fr Sergei Hackel, senior priest in Britain of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh.[32]
- George Hand, Anglican bishop
- Victor White, theologian and psychotherapist
The arts
- George S Elgood, painter
- Ross Nichols, academic, poet, artist and historian[33]
- Stephen Reynolds, writer
- Tom Sharpe, novelist
- Peter Snow, painter, theatre designer and teacher.[34]
- Albert Chevallier Tayler, painter
- Leonard Shuffrey, the notable architect and architectural designer attended Bloxham between 1856 and 1867.[35]
- Henry Tonks FRCS, artist
- Pip Torrens, actor
Other
- Alfie Barbeary, rugby union player
- Will Bratt, Formula Three racing driver[36]
- Sheraz Daya, British Ophthalmologist
- Saskia Jones, victim of the November 2019 London Bridge terrorist attack
- G. Kenneth Jenkins, Keeper of the Coins at the British Museum
- Thomas Sanderson-Wells MBE
- John Sergeant, journalist
- Ward Thomas CBE DFC CdeG, Television Executive[37]
- John Vesey-Brown, first-class cricketer
Bloxham School war dead
The stone arch at the main entrance to the school was built to the memory of Bloxham pupils who have died in conflict, and the school chapel contains memorials to the school's war dead from multiple conflicts. Bloxham suffered a high casualty rate during World War I, in which 79 current and former pupils were killed.[38] The portraits of the school's dead of the First World War are hung near the chapel.
Headmasters
The first five headmasters at Bloxham were ordained Anglican priests, with the first lay headmaster being appointed in 1925. The portraits of former headmasters hang in the school dining hall.
- Philip Egerton (1860–1886)
- F. S. Boissier (1886–1898)
- G. H. Ward (1899–1914)
- Alexander Grier (1914–1919)
- F. H. George (1919–1925)
- Valentine Armitage (1925–1940)
- K. T. Dewey (1940–1952)
- R. S. Thompson (1952–1965)
- D. R. G. Seymour (1965–1982)
- M. W. Vallance (1982–1991)
- D. K. Exham (1991–2002)
- Mark Allbrook (2002–2013)
- P. Sanderson (2013–present)
Notable masters
- Mark Allbrook, former Headmaster
- Frederick Scobell Boissier, former Headmaster, father of Arthur Boissier
- Cedric Boyns, Housemaster
- Philip Reginald Egerton, founder
- Felix Francis, crime writer, Bloxham Head of Science 1984-1991
- Cyril Frost, artist and silversmith[39]
- David Hatch, student teacher
- Kenneth Spring OBE, former Commander of the CCF, housemaster and art master
References
- ^ "School Census Data". EduBase. Department for Education. Retrieved 24 May 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Old Bloxhamist Society, 'J. W. Hewett:1853-1857', A History of Bloxham School (H.E. Boddy & Co. Ltd, Banbury, 1978), 1-12.
- ^ a b c d e Sherwood & Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire (Penguin Books Ltd, 1974), p. 480-1.
- ^ a b "Bloxham School : catalogue" (PDF). Nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d Old Bloxhamist Society, 'P. R. Egerton: The Years of Risk, 1859-1864', A History of Bloxham School (H.E. Boddy & Co. Ltd, Banbury, 1978), 13-30.
- ^ Simon Batten, A Shining Light: 150 Years of Bloxham School (James & James (Publishers) Ltd, 2010)
- ^ Old Bloxhamist Society, 'F. S. Boissier, 1886-1898', A History of Bloxham School (H.E. Boddy & Co. Ltd, Banbury, 1978), 13-30.
- ^ Old Bloxhamist Society, 'A. R. M. Grier, 1916-1919', A History of Bloxham School (H.E. Boddy & Co. Ltd, Banbury, 1978), 84.
- ^ Bryan (22 March 2024). "Explore Bloxham School: Reviews, Rankings, Fees, And More". Britannia UK. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Simon Batten, A Shining Light: 150 Years of Bloxham School (James & James (Publishers) Ltd, 2010), p. 106
- ^ "Crake House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Egerton House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Exham House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Merton Day House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Raymond House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Seymour House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Stonehill House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Wilberforce House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Wilson House". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature, 'About Us' http://www.bloxhamfaithandliterature.co.uk/about-us.aspx (Accessed 7 January 2015)
- ^ Simon Batten, A Shining Light: 150 Years of Bloxham School (James & James (Publishers) Ltd, 2010), p. 93
- ^ "Welcome". The Bloxham Project. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ a b "Bloxham School on www.isbi.com". Isbi.com. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "Bloxham CCF". Bloxham School. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ a b Old Bloxhamist Society, A History of Bloxham School (H.E. Boddy & Co. Ltd, Banbury, 1978), 118.
- ^ "School Fees". Bloxham School. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "T G Bowler". Rafweb.org. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "Deddington OnLine – The Bowler Boys". Deddington.org.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "No. 60534". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 2013. p. 2.
- ^ "A History of Bloxham School's Combined Cadet Force". Bloxham School. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Full text of "Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science"". Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "Fr Sergei Hackel – Obituaries, News". The Independent. London. 5 March 2005. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "Bloxhamists". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ The Times. "Lives remembered: Peter Snow, Peter Glossop and Phyllis Thom | Times Online Obituary". Timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "The Old Bloxhamist Scocety" (PDF). The Bloxhamist. XL: 8. February 1914.
- ^ "Will Bratt site". Willbratt.com. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ The Bloxhamist. Vol LXI, No 447. p22
- ^ "Bloxham School Great War Roll of Honour". Bloxhamschoolwardead.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ "Lot 3 - A pair of silver knife rests". Sworder. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
External links
- Official website
- Profile at the Independent Schools Council website