Whitgift School

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For the comprehensive school, see Whitgift School, Grimsby
Whitgift School
Motto Vincit qui patitur
(He who endures, wins)
Established 1596
Type Independent day
Headteacher Dr Christopher Barnett
Location South Croydon
Greater London
England
LEA Croydon
Ofsted number 3066014
Staff 128 (approx.)
Students 1,200
Gender Boys
Ages 10 to 18
Website http://www.whitgift.co.uk/

Coordinates: 51°21′36″N 0°6′5″W / 51.36, -0.10139

Whitgift School is an independent day school educating approximately 1,200 boys aged 10 to 18 in South Croydon, London in a 45-acre parkland site.

Contents

History and grounds

It was founded in 1596 by the Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift and is part of the Whitgift Foundation along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School of John Whitgift. In 1931 the school moved to its current site, Haling Park, which was once home to Lord Howard of Effingham, the Lord High Admiral of the Fleet sent against the Spanish Armada.[1] The ship (a model of HMS Ark Royal) that features prominently on the top of "Big School" (the school hall) is a reminder of the history of the site. Additions since the 400th anniversary of the school have been a maze in the founder's garden, an aviary, an enclosure for red squirrels, lakes and a multi-million pound sports complex.

Whitgift is famed in the local area for its wide variety of animals, most notably the peacocks which have graced the grounds since the 1930s. In 2005 Sir David Attenborough visited the school to open the lakes, the enclosure of which also houses two albino wallabies (a gift from the Queen), and various waterfowl.[2] The school plans to continue to increase its collection in the future, although it already holds the world record for the largest number of domesticated animals at an educational institution.[citation needed] The most recent addition is a small flock of flamingos in the lake area.

In recent years the school has played host to several first-class[3] and one-day games[4] played by Surrey County Cricket Club. The cricket ground can cope with up to 5,000 spectators. Former Surrey cricketer, David Ward is now cricket coach at the school. There has also been other famous sportsmen who have taught and coached at Whitgift. Those currently working at the school include John Humphrey, who played football for Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace, Colin Pates, the former Chelsea and Arsenal defender, and Neil Kendrick, the former Surrey spin bowler, as well as Victor Moses and Lee Hills currently playing for Crystal Palace.

Education

Since 2005, Whitgift has offered International Baccalaureate[5] to the sixth form as an optional alternative to A-Levels; joining a growing list of schools to offer the assessment.

Co-curricular activities

While Whitgift School has one the finest academic results in the country,[6] it also pays substantial importance to co-curricular activities within the school life. This is reflected in the outstanding sporting facilities as well as an array of musical activities. The school also has highly developed Design Technology and Art suites, more than six computer rooms, as well as two libraries.

The houses at Whitgift play an important role in the co-curricular activities of the students. The eight houses and their colours are Andrews' (Purple), Brodies' (Salmon Pink), Crosses' (Red), Dodds' (Silver), Ellis' (Light Blue), Masons' (Royal Blue), Smiths' (Gold) and Tates' (Green). The Houses are named after former headmasters, headboys and the founding Housemasters. Each House has a Housemaster or Housemistress, house captain and vice-captain as well as House Prefects. Some of the Houses have form representatives. All the House representatives have a special House-tie with the house colour shown on it.

The school has strong Rugby Football teams, frequently reaching the latter rounds of the National Daily Mail Cup for English Schools at Under 18 and Under 15 levels[citation needed]. The school won this competition at Under 15 level in 1999 and 2003. As at 2008 there are several former Whitgift schoolboys playing rugby at the highest professional level in the UK. Danny Cipriani at Wasps made his full England debut in 2008, while Richard Thorpe and Nick Canty[citation needed] are under contract to London Irish.

The school also produced the ex-Gloucester fullback, Chris Catling and Cambridge and former Wasps fullback, Jonny Ufton.

Senior staff

Headmaster Dr Christopher A Barnett

Second Master/History Mr JD Pitt

Deputy Headmaster/History Mr PJ Yeo

Proctor/Mathematics Mr DE Elvin

Assistant Proctor/History Mr PC Fladgate

Senior Housemaster/Classics Mr RF Martin

Head of Lower School/French Mrs AC Kingsbury

Head of Upper School & Head of Sixth Form/History Mr MJ Brown

Deputy Head of Lower School & Registrar/PE Mr SA Beck

Assistant Head (Academic)/Mathematics Mr DW Munks

Assistant Head (Pastoral)/English Mr SD Cook

Chaplain and Vicar of Croydon/Theology and Philosophy Revd Canon Colin J Luke Boswell

Head of Third Form/History Mr JA Reddy

Head of First Form/Mathematics Mr L d'Arcy

Assistant Heads of Third Form Mr J Carroll (Mathematics); Mr W Collinson (English)

Assistant Heads of First Form Mr J Humphrey (PE); Mr L Beecham (English)

Notable alumni

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2008)

Former pupils are known as Old Whitgiftians. The following are a selection of notable alumni.

Southern Railway School's Class

The School lent its name to the seventeenth steam locomotive (Engine 916) in the Southern Railway's Class V of which there were 40.This Class was also known as the Schools Class because all 40 of the class were named after prominent English public schools. "Whitgift", as it was called, was built in 1934.The locomotive bearing the School's name was withdrawn in 1962

References

  1. ^ Whitgift History
  2. ^ RHS
  3. ^ First-class matches played at Whitgift School
  4. ^ List A cricket matches played at Whitgift School
  5. ^ Whitgift School IB page
  6. ^ School results including comparison with rest of England
  7. ^ "The Old Whitgiftian Association Notices".
  8. ^ Peter Ling's obituary
  9. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3211612/Mark-Shivas.html

External links

List of schools in the London Borough of Croydon
Primary
Secondary
Independent
Further Education
Buildings and structures in Croydon, England
Highrises
Notable lowrises
Major railway stations
Major complexes
Sports venues
Architecture of Croydon • Croydon Vision 2020 • List of tallest buildings and structures in Croydon
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitgift_School"

This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

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