Sidcot School is a British co-educational

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 ...

for boarding and day pupils, associated with the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school is based in the

Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

near the village of

Winscombe Winscombe is a large village in the North Somerset unitary district of Somerset, South West England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, southeast of Weston-super-Mare and southwest of Bri ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and caters for children between the ages of 3 and 18. Children aged from 3 to 11 are educated in Sidcot Junior School, which is located on its own site adjacent to the main campus. About 130 of the school's 525 pupils (2010) are in this junior school. In the senior school, nearly half of the 395 pupils are boarders. Over 29 different countries are represented making up 25% of the school. Boarders board in the grounds in one of the 6 boarding houses. The girls' houses are Newcombe, School House Girls and Meadowside, and the boys' are School House Boys and Wing House. Although a Quaker School, pupils come from a variety of different faiths and cultures. All pupils are expected to join in with a short Meeting for Worship every Friday morning instead of assembly. Prior to September 2013, Sidcot school operated a 3 house system named after explorers: Nansen, Shackleton and Rhodes. A new House system was introduced at the beginning of the 2013 Autumn term. There are four houses in the revised house system named after the cardinal points of the compass: North, East, South and West, each house has a colour: Blue, Yellow, Green and Red respectively. The houses are mainly used for sports days and house matches of sport. One of the principal aims behind the new system is to allow greater interaction between students in the Senior and Junior Schools. The introduction of House Assemblies at points in the term facilitates students to work together within their Houses. All staff are aligned to a House and given the opportunity to participate in its life as well as support House events. In addition to its sports centre that houses a 25m pool and equestrian facilities, Sidcot has built a new creative arts block, with extensive drama, art and music facilities, which opened in June 2009. It is open to the public for exhibitions, courses and workshops. Many past pupils and teachers are members of the Sidcotians (Alumni Network).

History

The first Quaker school was established at Winscombe in 1699 to teach boys of Quaker families. The current school reopened in 1808 and welcomed girls, making Sidcot one of the oldest co-educational boarding schools in the UK - although it was not until the late 19th century that they were all taught together for the first time.

Uniform

The school uniform is predominantly navy blue. All pupils must wear a blue and white striped shirt and blazer (both of which sport the school's logo of a ship) until 6.30 pm from Monday to Friday. Boys must wear ties, and after the recent bi-centenary celebrations boys have two tie options. Sixth form must wear 'smart-casual' clothing and on Monday 'interview smart' suits.

School logo

The school logo has recently been changed. The ship, because of its historical significance as the logo for many years has been retained, but is now shown forging through the waves. The current colour palette has been built on the school's traditional blue.

Notable former pupils

Notable Sidcot Old Scholars include: *

Tim Bevan Timothy John Bevan, (born 20 December 1957) is a New Zealand-British film producer, the co-chairman (with Eric Fellner) of the production company Working Title Films. Bevan and Fellner are the most successful British producers of their era ...

, film producer *

Percy Bigland Percy Bigland (1856–1926) was an English portrait painter. Life Bigland was the son of Edwin Bigland, of Birkenhead in 1856. He was educated like his brother at the Sidcot School as his family were Quakers. Bigland studied art in Munich in Ger ...

, portrait painter * Mary Brazier, neuroscientist *

Nick Broomfield Nicholas Broomfield (born 1948) is an English documentary film director. His self-reflective style has been regarded as influential to many later filmmakers. In the early 21st century, he began to use non-actors in scripted works, which he cal ...

, documentary film maker *

Edward Theodore Compton Edward Theodore Compton, usually referred to as E. T. Compton, (29 July 1849 – 22 March 1921) was an English-born, German artist, illustrator and mountaineering, mountain climber. He is well known for his paintings and drawings of alpine ...

, landscape painter *

Robin Cowling Robin James Cowling (born ) is an English retired rugby union player. He won 8 caps for between 1977 and 1979, and played 216 games for Gloucester Rugby between 1967 and 1974 before playing 184 times for Leicester Tigers between 1974 and his ...

, English rugby union player *

Aldo van Eyck Aldo van Eyck (; 16 March 1918 – 14 January 1999) was a Dutch architect. He was one of the most influential protagonists of the architectural movement Structuralism. Family He was born in Driebergen, Utrecht, a son of poet, critic, essayist ...

, Dutch Modernist architect and city planner (1932–1935) *

Mary Fulbrook Mary Jean Alexandra Fulbrook, (née Wilson; born 28 November 1951) is a British academic and historian. Since 1995, she has been Professor of German History at University College London. She is a noted researcher in a wide range of fields, incl ...

, academic and historian * Charles Gilpin, MP *

Charles Handley-Read Charles Harry Ralph Handley-Read (1916 – 17 October 1971) was an architectural writer and collector and the first serious 20th-century student of the work of William Burges, "a pioneer in Burges studies who was the first to assess the historica ...

, architectural historian *

Douglas Macmillan Douglas Macmillan MBE (10 August 1884 – 9 January 1969) was a British civil servant, vegetarianism activist and founder of the Macmillan Cancer Support charity, now one of the largest charities in the UK. Early life and education He was bo ...

, British civil servant, and founder of the

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, a ...

charity. *

Robert Millner Shackleton Robert Millner Shackleton FRS (30 December 1909 – 3 May 2001) was a British field geologist who developed an interest in the geology of East Africa. He initiated structural studies across orogenic belts in Tanzania-Zambia-Malawi (in the late ...

FRS, Professor of Geology * George Newman, first Chief Medical Officer *

Stephen Peet Stephen Hubert Peet (16 February 1920 – 22 December 2005) was an English filmmaker, best known as a pioneer of illustrated oral history and his BBC television series ''Yesterday's Witness'' (1969–1981). Parental family and early life Step ...

, documentary film maker * Brian Priestman, conductor *

Mary Tregear Mary Tregear, FBA (11 February 1924 – 17 December 2010) was a British museum curator and art historian specializing in Chinese art. She was born in Wuchang, China. After studying at Bristol University and SOAS, University of London, she taugh ...

, art historian *

Anthony Waller Anthony Waller (born 24 October 1959) is a film director. He was born in Beirut. Filmography *'' Mute Witness'' (1995) *''An American Werewolf in Paris'' (1997) *'' The Guilty'' (2000) *''Nine Miles Down'' (2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, F ...

, film director (''Mute Witness'','' An American Werewolf in Paris'') *

Zoë Wanamaker Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is a British-American actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. A nine-time Olivier Award nominee, she won for '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1979) and '' Electra ...

, American-born English actress *

Deborah Warner Deborah Warner (born 12 May 1959) is a British director of theatre and opera, known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Benjamin Britten and Henrik Ibsen. Early life Warner was born in Oxfordshire, England, to ...

, stage and film director *

Anthony Brian Watts Anthony Brian Watts FRS is a British marine geologist and geophysicist and Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics in the Department of Earth Sciences, at the University of Oxford. Education Watts was born in Essex and educated at Sidcot ...

FRS, Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics *

Vincent Watts Vincent Challacombe Watts OBE (born 11 August 1940) is a British academic and businessman. He was educated at Sidcot School, Peterhouse, Cambridge (MA, Molecular Biology), and at the University of Birmingham (MSc). He served as Vice-Chancellor ...

, Vice-Chancellor of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

(1997–2002) *

Justin Webb Justin Oliver Webb (born Justin Oliver Prouse, 3 January 1961 in Portsmouth, Hampshire) is a British journalist who has worked for the BBC since 1984. He is a former BBC North America Editor and the main co-presenter of BBC One's '' Breakfast ...

, journalist and presenter,

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' programme.

References

External links

Sidcot
*
Sidcotians
{{authority control Independent schools in North Somerset Quaker schools in England Co-educational boarding schools Boarding schools in Somerset International Baccalaureate schools in England