Alderman Newton's Greyfriars School building, Leicester

Alderman Newton's Boys School was a school in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, England. It was a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

then it became a comprehensive school. The original school was opened in 1784, thanks to money bequeathed by a former Mayor of Leicester, Gabriel Newton. Land at

Greyfriars, Leicester Greyfriars, Leicester, was a friary of the Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as the Franciscans, established on the west side of Leicester by 1250, and dissolved in 1538. Following dissolution the friary was demolished and the site level ...

acquired by the school in 1863 later proved to be the site of the Greyfriars friary church which contained the site of the grave of

King Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Batt ...

. The school building has been converted to house the

King Richard III Visitor Centre King Richard III Visitor Centre is a museum in Leicester, England that showcases the life of King Richard III and the story of how his remains were discovered in 2012. The centre opened in 2014 on the site of Greyfriars, the medieval friary whe ...

. Its pupils were known as Newtonians. They wore a uniform of green coats, which later became a Green Blazer with red piping around the cuffs and coat tails. The lower school, on the opposite side to the Cathedral and Greyfriars was where the 1st and 2nd year juniors were located. In the post war years well into the 1970s the lower school boys had to wear short grey trousers, the green school blazer and the green cap with red cords. All lower school boys had to wear the cap for fear of detention whilst walking between the lower and main school or the dinner block opposite the lower school. They also had to doff their caps to any "Masters" whom they met along the street. The teachers (called "Masters") mostly wore the black graduate gowns. On special occasions, such as the annual prize-giving which was held at the de Montfort Hall, the Masters would also wear their University stoles or colours which denoted their university of graduation. Some of these entailed quite elaborate faux fur collars. The school was closed in 1999 when it was merged by the local authority with two other local schools to form a single school. The road where the new school is located is named Greencoat Road in acknowledgement of the green coats worn by Alderman Newton's School pupils. There is an Old Newtonians Society for ex-pupils and an Old Newtonians Rugby Football club.

Notable former pupils

* Sir Greg Knight (born 1949), conservative politician * Neil McKendrick (born 1935), historian *

Harry Morley Harry Morley (5 April 1881 – 18 September 1943) was a British painter, etcher and engraver known for his classical and mythological compositions. Early life Morley was born in Leicester where he studied at the Alderman Newton's School and t ...

(1881-1943), artist and illustrator * Sir Edwin Nixon (1925–2008), IBM executive *

Theodore Plucknett Theodore Frank Thomas Plucknett (2 January 1897 – 14 February 1965) was a British legal historian who was the first chair of legal history at the London School of Economics. Plucknett was born on 2 January 1897 in Bristol. Plucknett complete ...

(1897–1965), academic and historian * Sir John Plumb (1911–2001), historian * Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow (1905–1980), academic and novelist *

Philip Snow Philip Albert Snow OBE (7 August 1915 – 4 June 2012) was an English cricketer. In 1936 Snow made his debut for the Leicestershire Second XI against the Nottinghamshire Second XI. From 1936 to 1937 Snow played four matches for the Leicester ...

(1915-2012), cricketer and colonial administrator *

Trevor Storer Trevor Storer (11 July 1930 – 31 July 2013) was a British businessman and founder of the Pukka Pies company in 1963, which was originally called Trevor Storer's Home Made Pies. He was the author of ''Bread Salesmanship'', which became the train ...

(1930–2013), baker, founder of

Pukka Pies Pukka Pies is a manufacturer of pies based in Syston, Leicestershire, England. Products The company's products include single-serve and sharing pies, sausage rolls, pasties, catering sausages, frozen puff pastry, and non-meat foods, with ...

Eric Trapp Eric Joseph Trapp (17 July 1910 – 8 September 1993) was an Anglican bishop in the mid-20th century. Early life Born on 17 July 1910 and educated at Alderman Newton's School in Leicester, and then at Leeds University, he undertook a period of s ...

(1910–1993), Anglican Bishop of Zululand and later of Bermuda * Sir Alan Walters (1926–2009), economist and advisor to Margaret Thatcher *Bernard Green (1931-1998) Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry

References

External links

Alderman Newton's Schools
at British History Online Defunct schools in Leicester 1999 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1999 {{Leicestershire-school-stub