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Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed,
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...
in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorne. The school flourished in the early 20th century under headmaster
Sir Cyril Norwood ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
(1906–1916), embodying "the ideals and experiences of a leading
public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
". Norwood went on to serve as the master at
Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...
and Harrow, and as president of
St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
. The headmaster, Jaideep Barot MA MSc, is a member of the
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the United ...
(HMC) and was appointed in September 2018. The school was first cited in the ''Public Schools Year Book'' in 1907, and former headmaster John Mackay (1960–1975) served as the chairman of the HMC in 1970. Founded as an all-boys school, Bristol Grammar is now fully co-educational having first admitted girls in 1980. The school counts among its alumni prominent personalities including Nobel laureate
Sir John Pople Sir John Anthony Pople (31 October 1925 – 15 March 2004) was a British theoretical chemistry, theoretical chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Walter Kohn in 1998 for his development of computational chemistry, comp ...
, former British ambassador to the US Lord Oliver Franks, and founder of Penguin Books Sir Allen Lane. It has educated members of both houses of the UK Parliament and has a strong legal tradition, having educated three present Lord Justices of Appeal (Sirs Rabinder Singh,
Mark Warby Sir Mark David John Warby PC (born 10 October 1958), styled The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Warby, is a Lord Justice of Appeal. Career He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford. He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn ...
and
Timothy Holroyde Sir Timothy Victor Holroyde, PC (born 18 August 1955), styled The Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Holroyde, is an English Court of Appeal judge, formerly a judge of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, Queen's Bench Division. He was appointed ...
). The school is divided into four sections: the Infant School (ages 4/5-6/7), the Junior School (ages 6/7-11/12), the Senior School (ages 11/12-15/16) and Sixth Form (ages 16–18). The Junior School was ranked in 2016 by ''
The Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...
'' as one of the best value prep schools in the UK. The Senior School and Sixth Form rank academically amongst the best performing independent schools in
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
.


History

The school was founded on 17 March 1532 by brothers Robert and Nicholas Thorne, when it was housed in the
St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
, as part of the new founding of schools after
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
's closure of the monasteries, where previously a large proportion of England's education had occurred. The school motto ''Ex Spinis Uvas'', which translates as "Grapes From Thorns", is a play upon the names of the school founders Robert and Nicholas Thorne. The Grammar Scole at Frome Gate was in the care of its first schoolmaster, Thomas Moffat, when good fortune stepped in to secure its future. The Thorne family were wealthy Bristol merchants, friends of men like
John Cabot John Cabot ( it, Giovanni Caboto ; 1450 – 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest-known European exploration of coastal North ...
and known to royalty. They wished to endow a school where the sons of Bristol merchants and tradesmen could receive an education. On 17 March 1532,
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
issued a
Charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
under which the Thornes could endow the Grammar School and establish it in larger premises at
St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
near the bottom of Christmas Steps. There the boys learnt
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine
and some
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. By 1767, the buildings were cramped. Charles Lee, the Master, persuaded the Corporation that the Grammar School should be allowed to exchange premises with the other City School,
Queen Elizabeth's Hospital Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (also known as QEH) is an independent day school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1586. QEH is named after its original patron, Queen Elizabeth I. Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Elizabeth's Hos ...
, which had a pleasant, new site on Unity Street, further up the hill. This exchange was carried out, and Charles Lee proceeded to enjoy his new school by greatly reducing the numbers of boys. The School was set to rights in 1812, but education was moving away from the classics and this caused further problems resulting in the school being closed in 1844. It received a new scheme in 1847 and re-opened in January 1848 with 300 pupils. By 1870 the headmaster (Rev John William Caldicott) told the Endowed Schools Commission that the school was "full to overflowing" with 240 boys. However, it was significantly less well endowed than Bristol's other secondary schools ( Queen Elizabeth's, Red Maids' and Colston's), and its now dilapidated buildings were located in the wrong area of the city for pupils who mostly lived in
Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
and Redland. At that time, Bristol had substantial hospital endowments (second only to London and Edinburgh) but these were mostly spent on charity rather than education. The assistant charity commissioner proposed a scheme that would reorganise the objectives of the endowed schools and secure funding for the Grammar School and the new Clifton High School for Girls. After several years of debate and negotiation the initiative was approved in 1875, and in 1877 a new location in
Tyndalls Park Tyndall's Park is an area of central Bristol, England. It lies north of Park Row and Queen's Road, east of Whiteladies Road and west of St Michael's Hill, between the districts of Clifton, Cotham and Kingsdown. It includes the campus of Bristol ...
was agreed. The first buildings in Tyndalls Park were occupied in 1879: the Big School, with its Great Hall, and the Headmaster's House, a modest dwelling which is now the Junior School. Further classrooms were added, a
Gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...
nasium and a Fives Court and a Rifle Range. These have been rebuilt as art rooms and rehearsal rooms, but the Winterstoke wing still houses the laboratories which were added in 1914. The Preparatory School began in 1900, and in 1928 moved into its own building on Elton Road, but this was destroyed on the night of 24 November 1940 by incendiary bombs. The Prep Hall, which survived, is now the Mackay Theatre. The Elton Road ruin was rebuilt as classrooms under John Garrett, who added the University Road block and began to colonise the other side of Elton Road. Since then, the school has built yet more classroom accommodation and a new sports hall; Modern Languages, Classics, Geography and Art have their own Elton Road Houses, and the former playing field is now the Design and Technology Centre. The school became a
direct grant grammar school A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...
in 1946 as a result of the
Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Historians ...
and chose to become independent in 1979 when direct grants were abolished by the 1974–9 Labour Government. In 1980 the school became fully coeducational, having admitted girls to the Sixth Form for the previous two years.


Houses

There are six Houses in the Senior School, each named after its Head of House. Each student is placed in one of the six House groups at the beginning of their time in the Senior School, remaining in the House until they leave school. House activities include plays, music competitions and inter-House sporting tournaments. The House names and colours are: *Scott's (black) *Niamir's (yellow) *Edwards's (blue) *Glenn's (red) *Short's (brown) *Hilliard's (green) The school's boarding house was closed in July 1939.


Colours

House colours are awarded, given at the end of the term should that person perform well in an activity or sport. School colours are awarded to pupils typically in their final year, who perform exceptionally well in sport or any other school activity. They would be expected to compete in a school team (such as Cricket, Rugby, Hockey or Football) and show continued commitment. This was extended to include performing arts, awarding several students colours for their contribution to
concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...
s,
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
s and taking House assemblies.


Tutors and teaching

The size of teaching groups ranges from 25 students per teacher in lower years to occasionally one per teacher (for less popular subjects in the sixth form). Optional subjects include Russian and
Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
. All students have access to
computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
s with
internet access Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...
. The school offers
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
as a subject from Year 9 onwards, and
Classical Civilisation Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
is also available now as a GCSE.


Sport

During the autumn term, the sport curriculum is dominated by
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
for the boys and
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
for the girls. During the spring term, it is dominated by hockey, football, and rugby for the boys and
netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
for the girls. During the summer term, there is a division between
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
for the boys and for the girls. Both sexes may participate in sports such as
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
and
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
. The school owns a large area of land in
Failand Failand is a village in Somerset, England. It lies within the civil parish of Wraxall and Failand and the unitary authority area of North Somerset. The village has two separate parts. Failand itself is on the B3128 Bristol to Clevedon road, and ...
which features two AstroTurf hockey pitches, tarmac tennis/netball courts, five cricket pitches, nine rugby pitches, two football pitches and a 3G astro pitch. There is an athletics track as well as shot and javelin areas. Full-time grounds staff are employed. Sport is compulsory one afternoon a week for every year-group up to, and including, year 11. A new pavilion has been built as part of the 475th anniversary expansion of the school, replacing the old pavilion. There is now a larger car park and better coach access. The new pavilion provides facilities for up to 350 pupils and staff at a time with improved showering and changing facilities as well as an attractive hospitality area for spectators. The total cost of the project was £2.4 million. This is in addition to the sports hall on the Tyndall's Park campus, which supplements the one afternoon a week pupils spend doing sport with around another hour or so a week of PE within the school day. The school rugby team won the U15 1991
Daily Mail Cup The National Schools Cup are a set of annual English schools' rugby union cup competitions, with the U18 Cup being the main competition. The finals of the Cup and Vase competitions are held at Twickenham Stadium, whilst finals for the Plate and Bow ...
and came runner-up in the same competition in 1995. Bristol Grammar has a sporting rivalry with fellow Bristol public school
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...
.


Model United Nations

Bristol Grammar has been successful at
Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...
for a number of years now, holding their own conference BGSMUN, in February, since 2007. These conferences, presided over by the school's own Secretaries General, include chairing teams of BGS Sixth Form students. Various schools are invited to compete, with Exeter College winning the 2015 conference. The school's own team has been particularly successful in recent years, winning Best Delegation at both Exeter College MUN and MUNCH.


Campus

Bristol Grammar School occupies a
triangle A triangle is a polygon with three Edge (geometry), edges and three Vertex (geometry), vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, an ...
of land between the
University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
on the University Road side, what used to be Dingle's department store on the lower side and a series of houses on the Elton Road side known as Tyndalls Park. The school has been expanding, and while it has always owned all the houses to one side of the main campus until recently only four (Barton's, Norwood's, Martin's and Garrett's) were occupied. Most of the houses have now had their leases relinquished and have been converted into teaching space.


Great Hall

The foundation stone was laid on 10 June 1877 and the school moved in during 1879. It is the largest first floor hall in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. In 1996, the old servery was removed and the hall was restored to its old layout; the roof was also renewed during this time. There is a full kitchen between the Great Hall and the Science Wing, as well as two classrooms and an office belonging to the history department. Underneath the Great Hall is the Staff Room, the Pople Room, and the school offices. It has been designated by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
as a grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. To one side of the Great Hall, sitting separate from the Hall itself and the Junior School, is another building designed to blend in. During the 1940s/1950s, this was the woodworking department, and later a staff work room. It is now a Music room which is also used for House Assemblies. The Great Hall foundation stone has never been found. Inside the foundation stone there is a time capsule, reported to contain "Copies of The Times and of the Bristol newspapers and a parchment document containing an account of the ceremony". However, despite extensive searches of the outer walls, it has not been found. Two possibilities exist - that the foundation stone was placed at the far end of the building where the Science wing now is, and was destroyed or covered up when that building was erected; or that the stone is buried under tarmac towards the front of the building. The foundation stone was laid on 10 June 1877. The Big School was designed in the late
Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...
style, by the Bristol firm of Foster and Wood. Sometimes known as the Long Room, but now usually as the Great Hall, it was designed as a teaching room, and the Masters' stalls are still in place. The room is long, wide and high. Downstairs there are now, as in 1879, the Headmaster's Study, the Senior Common Room, offices and classrooms. Originally these would have accommodated the Sixth Form, while the rest of the school had lessons together in the Hall. The organ, which was built by Vowles & Son of St James' Square, was presented by
William Wills, 1st Baron Winterstoke William Henry Wills, 1st Baron Winterstoke (1 September 1830 – 29 January 1911), known as Sir William Wills, Bt., between 1893 and 1906, was a British businessman, philanthropist and Liberal politician. Seat - Combe Lodge, Blagdon, Somerset. ...
, in January 1880. It cost over £1,000 and it is still played for assemblies and concerts. Nowadays, the organ would cost at least £2 million.A brief history of BGS
Bristol Grammar School website The main stairs leading out of the Great Hall have been modified to fulfil fire and safety regulations and in preparation for the new library and Sixth Form building known as The Hub. When the whole school assembled in the Great Hall for the official opening of the new staircase, the invited guests included people who donated large sums of money to help get the project on its way and some of the OBs, including John Pople, who have supported the school. This work was permitted due to work done by the school's archivist who demonstrated that this was the way that the original staircase was likely to have been. This satisfied the authorities sufficiently that they granted permission to make structural alterations to the Grade II listed building. The Hub project however, was cancelled by the, then, new Headmaster, Roderick MacKinnon, so the planned building, which was popular among students, was discarded. This was mainly due to financing issues as building the hub would be very expensive (at least £1 million). The staircase was originally one big staircase which started at ground level, led up and split into two smaller ones which doubled back to reach the Great Hall. This has now been reversed; two smaller staircases lead up and merge into a larger one which doubles back to reach the Great Hall. This meant that the wall between the two smaller staircases could be knocked through to insert a modern automated double glass door allowing pupils to reach the Great Hall with greater ease from within the campus. The old entrance with the great wooden doors at the front still remains. Previously a small door to the campus side of the building was for visitors, teachers and Prefects only. The School has re-purposed the Elton Road block, and changed the Mackay Theatre into a mixed use space for the music school. Most of the teaching rooms in this block are now used for this purpose. The block has been extended with a new 245 seat (standard layout) theatre, and additional rehearsal/teaching space, and is named the 1532 Performing Arts Centre. This centre fits between the Elton Road Block and the Princess Anne Block. This is one of the biggest building jobs on the main campus since 1994 when the Design & Technology Centre was built in the centre of the site..


School song

''Carmen Bristoliense'' (Song of the Bristolians) is the school song of Bristol Grammar School, which is sung in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. The song was written in 1909 by Headmaster
Cyril Norwood Sir Cyril M. Norwood (15 September 1875 – 13 March 1956) was an English educationalist who served as Headmaster of Bristol Grammar School and Harrow School, Master of Marlborough College, and President of St John's College, Oxford. Biography T ...
, and set to music by the Director of Music, C. W. Stear. It is sung in the final
school assembly A school assembly is a gathering of all or part of a school for purposes, such as special programs or communicating information basis. In some schools, students gather to perform a common song or prayer, and to receive common announcements. A ro ...
each term, and at other school or related events such as the annual prize giving ceremony and old boys' (and girls') dinners. The song consists of four verses and a chorus, although usually only the first verse and chorus are sung. The fifth line was updated from Norwood's original on the 400th anniversary of the school's founding.


Headmasters

Until the 19th century, the Headmaster was known simply as the "Master" and his assistants as "Ushers". Little is known of those of the 16th century and nothing of any before Thomas Moffat, the "scolemaster" of the City Audit Book of 1532 who took the School to the Bartholomews. The first few dates are conjectural.


Old Bristolians


References


Further reading

* Robbins, K., 2010. ''Pride of place : a modern history of Bristol Grammar School''. Andover: Phillimore. * Hill, C.P., 1951. ''The History of Bristol Grammar School''. London: Pitman. * Sampson, W.A., 1912. ''A History of the Bristol Grammar School''. Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith.


External links

* {{Authority control Independent schools in Bristol Educational institutions established in the 1530s 1532 establishments in England Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Schools with a royal charter Charities based in Bristol Grade II listed buildings in Bristol Grade II listed educational buildings