Oswestry School
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Oswestry School is an ancient
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 ...
(English
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 and
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
), located in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was founded in 1407 as a 'free' school, being independent of the church. This gives it the distinction of being the second-oldest 'free' school in the country, between
Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
(founded 1382) and
Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
(1440). (See also the article on early grammar schools.) Due to the fact that these Renaissance schools focused heavily on subjects such as Latin grammar, Oswestry School has long been known locally as 'The Grammar School' even during the period when Oswestry had modern state
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 ...
s. Oswestry School should also not be confused with other secondary schools in Oswestry, such as
the Marches School The Marches School is a coeducational secondary school with sixth form in Oswestry, north-west Shropshire, England. It was the first academy to be created in Shropshire. It has an enrolment of around 1,200 pupils, in year groups 7-11, key stages ...
. One of the school's earliest sites, dating from the 15th century, can still be seen adjacent to St Oswald's Parish Church. It is currently used as the town's visitor and information centre, incorporating a coffee shop and exhibitions. The present-day senior school is located on Upper Brook Street and the junior school is based at Bellan House on Church Street. Bellan House Preparatory School was a completely separate institution until its amalgamation in the 1970s.


History

Oswestry School was founded in 1407 by
David Holbache Dafydd ab Ieuan ( 1350 – 1422/23), better known by his English name David Holbache, was a Welsh politician, best known for founding Oswestry School in 1407. Family background Dafydd, was born in the mid-14th century to Ieuan "Gôch" ap D ...
,
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
and
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, and his wife Guinevere. They are also known by their Welsh names: Dafydd ab Ieuan and Gwenhwyfar ferch Ieuan. Later in the 15th century it took up residence in the ancient half-timbered building close to the Parish Church of St Oswald. The school later attracted the attention of
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
and
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
; the former gave to the school an endowment of "forty
shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...
per annum" to help with its running, and the latter dismissed the headmaster at the time for being a "delinquent" (too "
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
"). Early archive records show that a small percentage of the subsidised school-fees was set aside to pay for
cockfight A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
ing, the pupil entertainment of that time. Changes to the governance of the school in the mid-17th century saw a gradual transition from the lay trustees to a group of lay and clerical governors headed by the Bishop of St Asaph, who, from that time on, would appoint the Headmaster. Henceforth, these would be ordained men, a tradition which would extend into the 20th century. Increasing numbers in the mid-18th century meant a move for the school to its present site on land next to the battlefield where in 642 AD King Oswald was defeated by
King Penda Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theo ...
. The
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
building was constructed in 1776 on land leased (and later bought) from a local landed aristocrat. Its closest neighbour, the
neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
Victorian chapel, built in 1863, stands looking across at St Oswald's Maes-y-llan battlefield, now the school's extensive playing fields. A major change took place in 1972: with the admission of girls, the school became co-educational. Shortly after this, the local pre-preparatory school, Bellan House, was taken over, thereby eventually allowing the school to offer education spanning the widest possible range – now 4 years up to 18. Previously, Oswestry School solely admitted boys.
Alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
of Oswestry School are referred to as Old Oswestrians. Oswestry School celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2007. Douglas Robb, who was headmaster from 2010 to 2014, had taught at
Prince Edward School , streetaddress = , city = Harare , country = Zimbabwe , coordinates = , type = State school, boarding and day school , established = , headmaster = Dr. Aggrippa G. Sora , gender = Boys , lower_age = 13 , upper_age = 19 ...
in
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
and developed links between the two schools.Tim Jefferis
"Douglas Robb: This is Your Life"
dated 7 September 2014 at tjjteacher.com, accessed 27 March 2019


Houses

Oswestry School has had numerous houses over the years, including both 'competitive' and 'residential' houses. At different eras the house might have identified a pupil as day/boarder, boy/girl, or junior/senior. There are currently three boarding houses: School House, Holbache and Guinevere. Senior boarders and day pupils now mingle in the 'competitive' houses: Burnaby, Donne, Oswald and Spooner. Here are just some of the current and historical houses: *Burnaby - Formerly a competitive house for day students, now mixed *Donne - Formerly a competitive house for day students, now mixed *Guinevere - A boarding house for girls situated at The Quarry *Holbache - This started life as a senior boys' boarding house on Welsh Walls, acquired following WWII. It had previously been the old Cottage Hospital and was reputed to have retained its beds, warmth and ghosts. This building has since been redeveloped as apartments. In January 2006 it reopened on school grounds as home to sixth form boys. It has been both a residential and a competitive house. *Oswald - Formerly a competitive house for boarders, now mixed *School House - A boarding house for boys up to 5th form, based in the oldest part of the present school buildings, which date from 1776. *Spooner - Formerly a competitive house for boarders, now mixed


School Song

In the 19th century, an Old Oswestrian wrote the school's
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 ...
song, 'Hymnus Oswestriensium', which is informally known by its first words, 'Gaude Plebs'. 'Gaude Plebs', though written for Oswestry School, also became the official song of the nearby
Moreton Hall School Moreton Hall is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 6 months to 18 and boys aged 6 months to 13, situated in North Shropshire four miles from the market town of Oswestry. Founded in 1913, Moreton Hall celebrated its centenary ...
. Moreton Hall was founded in 1913 by the widow and daughters of Oswestry's late headmaster, John Jordan Lloyd-Williams. It primarily educated girls, who were not then eligible to attend Oswestry School. The song is as follows: ''Gaude, plebs redemptionis'' ''Gaude, tantis aucta bonis'' ''Dei beneficio;'' ''Omni labi propulsata'' ''Mens exultet, provocata'' ''Linguae ministerio.'' ''Pro defunctis te laudandum'' ''Pro viventibus, orandum,'' ''Celebramus, domine.'' ''Tu rem publicam beasti,'' ''Tu maiores secundasti,'' ''Noster et sis hodie.'' ''Agimus pro fundatore'' ''Et pro multo largitore'' ''Grates laeto pectore.'' ''At ni tu das incrementum,'' ''Nil est aurum, nil argentums,'' ''Nil humana sapere.'' ''Quicquid bonum, sis tutela,'' ''Quicquid malum, sis medela,'' ''Rite gerens omnia;'' ''Et, quot sumus hic sodales,'' ''Fac sanctorum commensales'' ''In perenni gloria.'' ''Amen''


Notable Old Oswestrians

Notable pupils and staff of the school include:


List of Heads

*1974–1985: Frank E. Gerstenberg MA (Cantab) *1985–2000: I. G. Templeton MA (Edinburgh) *2000–2010: P. D. Stockdale BSc MEd *2010–2014: Douglas Robb MA (Edinburgh) *2014–2021: Julian Noad *2021-2022: Lyndsay Lang (acting) *2022-: Peter Middleton


References


External links


School website
* ISI Inspectio
Reports
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in the 15th century 1407 establishments in England Boarding schools in Shropshire Independent schools in Shropshire Oswestry *