("Small things grow in harmony" - Sallust) , established = , closed = , type = Public School
Independent school;

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 comp ...

, religion = , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Mr Deiniol Williams , founder =

Merchant Taylors' Company ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

, specialist = , address = 186 Liverpool Road , city =

Great Crosby Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England and is historically, part of Lancashire. Location In 1907, the Victoria County History described Great Crosby's location thus: 'The ancien ...

, county =

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...

, country =

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, postcode = L23 0QP , local_authority = Sefton , urn = 104973 , ofsted = , staff = ~80 (full-time) , enrolment = 737 , gender = Boys , lower_age = 7 , upper_age = 18 , houses = Armours, Harrisons, Stevens, Warings , colours = Black and Gold , publication = , free_label_1 = Former pupils , free_1 = Old Crosbeians , free_label_2 = School Song , free_2 = ''Crescat Crosbeia'' , website = http://www.merchanttaylors.com/ Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby is a British independent school for day pupils, located in

. The school's motto is that of the

Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

: ''Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt'' (Small Things Grow in Harmony).

History

The school was founded in 1620 under the instruction of the estate of John Harrison, a citizen and Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, Merchant Taylor of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, who was born in

, and was run under the auspices of the Merchant Taylors' Company until 1910. In 1878, the school moved to its present site, some 1,000 yards from the previous, which now forms part of the Merchant Taylors' Girls' School, with whom the school shares a Governing Board and

Bursar A bursar (derived from "bursa", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education (fo ...

. The first Headmaster was the Revd John Kidde who was also at the time the ‘Minister of Crosby’ and a farmer of to support his family of eight children. Kidde was apparently sacked from the post in 1651 on the grounds of mismanagement although it is thought he was forced out by Roman Catholic Sympathizers on account of his Puritan/Presbyterian ways. Merchant Taylors' Boys' School Clock Tower

Merchant Taylors' Boys' School Clock Tower

Present day

Until the 1970s, Merchant Taylors' was also a boarding school. It currently caters for over 700 day pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 (with an additional 120 in the Junior School). Lessons run Monday-Friday, 08:40-16:00 (A Saturday working day was abolished in 1981). As a result of these longer school days, holidays are frequently several weeks longer than

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

dates. The school is independently run, and, as such, charges tuition fees. Fees were partially subsidised by the Government under the Assisted Places Scheme until the closure of that scheme in 2001. The Schools now run their own means tested Assisted Places Scheme under which about 20% of pupils benefit from free, or reduced-fee places. The schools offer around £1 million a year in bursaries. About 17 per cent of pupils at the two senior schools receive assistance, worth up to 100 per cent of the £11,394 annual fees. Academically, the School sees around 60% of grades awarded at A* and A at

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private s ...

and, consistently excellently at

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, where 80% and above of grades have been recorded at A*-B. 2012 saw record results at A Level, with the percentage of grades awarded at A* and A 62.3%. The School also enters students for a range of other public examinations, including

Extended Project Qualification An Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is a qualification taken by some students in England and Wales, which is equivalent to 50% of an A level. They are part of level three of the National Qualifications Framework. It is currently graded A*-E. ...

s, which have been offered since 2011. In 2013, Merchant Taylors’ was Crosby’s best performing school with 98% of pupils at the boys’ school achieving five Cs or above in any subject at

Sports and extracurricular activities

The primary sports played by the school are

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shootin ...

and

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 st ...

, however

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

as well as samoan cricket have both recently been introduced as an 'official' school sport and looks set to challenge the more established sports over the coming years. The school also has a boat house which is currently on loan to Southport Dragon Boat Club, in the nearby town of Southport for its rowing team. The rowing team compete in national races with a number of boys competing at national level every year. The rugby coaching staff includes former Scottish international Ian McKie, and included Mike Slemen, former

and

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

international and England team selector until his death in 2020. The school also has a

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...

, run in conjunction with Merchant Taylors' Girls' School, headed by Contingent Commander, Major (CCF) Helen Irwin. Her predecessors include Lieutenant Colonel (CCF), Mike Slemen, Squadron Leader Mark Stanley RAFAC (formerly

RAFVR(T) The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch), often abbreviated to RAFVR(T), was a Volunteer Reserve element of the Royal Air Force specifically appointed in a cadet training role within the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Members o ...

) and Lieutenant Colonel (CCF), Paul Irvine. The Army section of MTS CCF is badged as

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. Th ...

(

King's Regiment The King's Regiment, officially abbreviated as KINGS, was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 1 September 1958 by the amalgamation of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) which had been raised in 16 ...

until July 2006). In 2015, Merchant Taylors' CCF celebrated its centenary year. A new banner was presented in the nearb
St. Faith's Church
with The Duke of York in attendance. In December 2011, the £5.5m Ian Robinson Sports Centre was opened. Facilities include a climbing wall, fitness suite, sports hall and dance studio. The Sports Centre is named after ex Head of Rugby, Ian Robinson, who died on a school sports tour in Australia after a white water rafting accident in 2007. Other facilities include a heated indoor swimming pool on site (which is now no longer in use due to maintenance issues), a language laboratory, extensive playing fields, fully equipped science laboratories, an art and design suite, cricket nets, a self-contained music block and a share of Northern Club's facilities.

Notable pupils

''Alumni of MTS Crosby are known as "Old Crosbeians"'' * James Allen, (

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

commentator) *Professor John E. Baldwin, FRS, pioneering radio astronomer and fellow of Queens' College Cambridge * Tony Barrow, the Beatles' press officer 1962–1968 * Matthew Baylis, novelist and screenwriter * Alan Blackshaw, mountaineer * James Burnie, Liberal MP for Bootle * John Culshaw, record producer and television executive * George Kruger Gray, designer *

Dick Greenwood John Richard Heaton Greenwood, (born 11 September 1940) is an English former rugby union player and coach. A flanker, he played for Waterloo, Cambridge University, Lancashire and . He later coached Preston Grasshoppers and England. Biograph ...

, rugby international and Captain of the England team *Professor Anthony Heath (1942–), sociologist, fellow of Nuffield College *Professor

Philip Ingham Philip William Ingham FRS, FMedSci, Hon. FRCP (born 19 March 1955 Liverpool) is a British geneticist, currently the Toh Kian Chui Distinguished Professor at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, a partnership between Nanyang Technological Un ...

FRS, developmental geneticist, Toh Kian Chui Distinguished Professor, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Singapore * Simon Jack, BBC finance reporter * Ben Kay, of the England Rugby World Cup winning side of 2003 * Bruce Kenrick, founder,

Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locat ...

housing charity *Prof Robert Legget, civil engineer * Spencer Leigh, journalist and popular music historian * Sir Hardman Lever, accountant *

Charles James Mathews Charles James Mathews (26 December 1803 – 24 June 1878) was a British actor. He was one of the few British actors to be successful in French-speaking roles in France. A son of the actor Charles Mathews, he achieved a greater reputation tha ...

, actor * Thomas Eric Peet,

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

Nigel Rees Nigel Rees (born 5 June 1944 near Liverpool) is an English writer and broadcaster, known for devising and hosting the Radio 4 panel game '' Quote... Unquote'' (1976–2021) and as the author of more than fifty books, mostly works of reference ...

, broadcaster and author * Samuel Roukin, actor *

Robert Runcie Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, (2 October 1921 – 11 July 2000) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury 1980–1991 *

Phil Sayer Philip Clift Sayer (18 May 1953 – 14 April 2016) was an English voice artist, newsreader and radio presenter. He was one half of the Sayer Hamilton voice studio, based in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in partnership with his wife, Elinor Hamilton. ...

broadcaster *

William Snowden William Snowden (born 27 September 1952) is an English former cricketer. Snowden was born in September 1952 at Whiston, Lancashire. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby, before going up to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. While stud ...

, cricketer * Sir John Walton, barrister and politician * Sir Charles Kingsley Webster, historian * Barrie Wells, insurance entrepreneur and sports philanthropist *

Donald J. West Donald James West (9 June 1924 – 31 January 2020) was a British psychiatrist, parapsychologist and author. Biography He was born in June 1924 in Liverpool, England, and studied medicine at Liverpool University. He did postgraduate work at ...

, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Criminology, University of Cambridge * Ronald White, amateur golfer *Bertie Wilson, Second Engineer on RMS ''Titanic'' *The Witty brothers: Arthur Witty and Ernest Witty, footballers

Headmasters

Notable teachers and staff

Dame Jean Davies Commandant Dame Jean Lancaster, ( Davies; 11 August 1909 – 29 August 1996) was a senior British naval officer who served as Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) from 1961 to 1964. Early life Davies was born on 11 August 1909 to ...

, Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service * John Pugh, Liberal Democrat MP for

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

* Mike Slemen, former

and

international and England team selector

References

External links

School website

{{authority control Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors Educational institutions established in the 1620s Independent schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton 1620 establishments in England Crosby, Merseyside Boys' schools in Merseyside