Dixie Grammar School is an
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
in
Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth is a market town and civil parish in western Leicestershire, England. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 1,906, increasing to 2,097 at the 2011 census. It is most famously near to the site of the decisive final battle of ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
.
The earliest records of the School's existence date from 1320, but the school was re-founded in 1601 under the will of an Elizabethan merchant and Lord Mayor of London,
Sir Wolstan Dixie, by his great-nephew
Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna
Sir Wolstan Dixie of Appleby Magna and then Market Bosworth (1576 – 25 July 1650) was the founder of the Dixie Grammar School in Market Bosworth.Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archæological Society, Vol 2 London and Middlesex Archa ...
, who came to live in Market Bosworth in 1608.
The most distinguished of the School's former pupils is
Thomas Hooker
Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known as an outstanding spea ...
, founder of
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, Connecticut, known as the Father of American Democracy.
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
, moralist, poet and author of the famous
dictionary
A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...
, taught at the school in the mid-eighteenth century.
The main building of today's school was built in 1828 and faces the market square of Market Bosworth. A distinguished headmaster of the school was the Rev.
Arthur Benoni Evans
Arthur Benoni Evans (1781–1854) was a British writer.
Evans was born at Compton Beauchamp in the English county of Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire), on 25 March 1781. His father, the Rev. Lewis Evans, vicar of Froxfield, Wiltshire, was a well-kn ...
from 1829 till his death in 1854. The school ceased to exist as a "grammar school" in 1969, with the establishment of
Market Bosworth High School (11–13 years) and
Bosworth Community College, Desford (14–18 years), as much larger comprehensive schools found favour.
The Leicestershire Independent Educational Trust was formed in 1983, and four years later the school was re-opened as a selective, independent, day school for boys and girls of all backgrounds between the ages of 10 and 18. Three years later the Junior School opened, moving in 2001 to its present premises, Temple Hall in
Wellsborough.
[Dixie Grammar School Website]
History
The Dixie Grammar provides education for the following ages of children:
* The Pippins Nursery School (ages 3–4)– in Wellsborough
* The Dixie Grammar Junior School (ages 5–10) – in Wellsborough
* The Dixie Grammar School (ages 10–18) – in Market Bosworth
In 2012 the Headmaster Mr John R Wood was Chairman of the
Independent Schools Association.
In November 2015 the Dixie was inspected by the
Independent Schools Inspectorate
The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect independent schools in England. These schools are members of associations, w ...
and was given the top grade of 'Excellent' in all 8 inspection categories. The current Headmaster is Mr Richard Lynn.
References
External links
Official Website
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in the 17th century
Independent schools in Leicestershire
Market Bosworth
1601 establishments in England