The Pilgrims' School is a leading boys' preparatory school and cathedral school in the cathedral city of

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

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 b ...

. The school is renowned for sending their students to the nearby

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 ...

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 ...

and other top senior schools. The official date of establishment for the cathedral school is unknown but historical records indicate that choristers of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

's renowned

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

have been educated in the

Close Close may refer to: Music * ''Close'' (Kim Wilde album), 1988 * ''Close'' (Marvin Sapp album), 2017 * ''Close'' (Sean Bonniwell album), 1969 * "Close" (Sub Focus song), 2014 * "Close" (Nick Jonas song), 2016 * "Close" (Rae Sremmurd song), 201 ...

as early as the 7th century. The current school was opened in 1931. As it also educates choristers of the

Winchester College Chapel Choir Winchester College Chapel Choir is an historic British boys choir that sings in the Chapel of Winchester College. It contains boys under age 12 as well as older students from Winchester College. The Choir has performed on the radio and on intern ...

, the school maintains close links with the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

History

Pilgrims' School playing fields, Winchester

A number of schools set up to educate the choir boys of

are known to have existed since

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times. Some scholars link them with Alta Schola, established in Winchester around AD 676. The school moved to its present site and became a full preparatory school in 1931. It was officially registered as opened on 1 January 1935. The main building, redesigned by Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

in the 17th Century, is on the site of a former Roman villa, and includes a medieval hall and barn. A pre-preparatory department was opened in 2007 to meet the growing demand for an early years programme.

Architecture

The school hall contains England's oldest surviving wood double hammer-beamed roof, which used to accommodate the pilgrims travelling to the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Houses

Upon entry, each boy is allocated to one of the 5 houses, known as 'Sets'. They compete in inter-set competitions and points are given for good conduct and academic performance, etc.http://www.thepilgrims-school.co.uk/Sets *Romans *Saxons *Normans *Monks *

Wrens Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is comm ...

Boarding houses

Most boys are day pupils but the boarding programme is open to all. Cathedral Choristers or Quiristers generally board full-time while others return home for the weekend.

Main School

There are eight

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

, and the building mainly houses the

Choristers and the majority of 'Commoners' (other pupils).

Q School

Q School, short for 'Quiristers School', is the property of

, because the Quiristers sing in the College Choir and used to be taught separately in this building when they were a full part of the

community. However, in the 1960s it became uneconomical for the college to organise a separate school and curriculum from the rest of the boys, who were from Years 9-13, and so from 1966 onwards The Pilgrims' School welcomed Quiristers to be educated with the 'Commoners'. They still, however, have 4 dormitories for the Quiristers and some Commoners. The Quiristers continue to sing and rehearse at

, but are educated at The Pilgrims' School; staff at Q School are now solely members of staff at The Pilgrims' School. Q School is situated on Kingsgate Street in

, close to the main school site.

Headmasters

Alumni

Jules Knight Julian "Jules" Knight (né Kaye; born 22 September 1981) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for being a member of the British vocal group Blake and his portrayal of Harry Tressler in the medical drama '' Holby City''. He left Blak ...

, actor * Hugh Mitchell, actor * Stephen Barton, composer *

Johnny Flynn John Patrick Vivian Flynn (born 14 March 1983) is a British actor and singer-songwriter. He has starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom '' Lovesick'', and portrayed David Bowie in the film '' Stardust''. Flynn i ...

, musician *

Jamie Byng James Edmund Byng (born 27 June 1969) is a British publisher. He works for the independent publishing firm Canongate Books, where he is the CEO and publisher. Early life Byng grew up in the village of Abbots Worthy in Hampshire, England.

, publisher *

Jack Dee James Andrew Innes Dee (born 24 September 1961), known professionally as Jack Dee, is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Lead Balloon'' ...

, comedian *

Patrick Gale Patrick Evelyn Hugh Sadler Gale (born 31 January 1962) is a British novelist. Early life Gale was born in 1962 on the Isle of Wight, the youngest of four children. His father was the prison governor of HM Prison Camp Hill on the Isle of Wight, ...

, author * Jon Snow, broadcaster * Anthony Smith, sculptor

References

External links

* * ISI Inspectio
ReportsJoining The Pilgrims' School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilgrims School, The Schools in Winchester Choir schools in England Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire Boys' schools in Hampshire Preparatory schools in Hampshire Boarding schools in Hampshire Independent schools in Hampshire Educational institutions established in 1931 1931 establishments in England