Silcoates School is a 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 ...

in the village of

Wrenthorpe Wrenthorpe is a village north-west of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located in the Rhubarb Triangle. History Although earlier remains, such as Roman coins and pottery, have been found in the area, the current settlement dates f ...

near

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, England. The school was founded in 1820 as the Northern Congregational School at Silcoates House, for the board and education of the sons of

Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

clergy, and was situated close to

Ossett Ossett is a market town in the City of Wakefield metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated between Dewsbury, Horbury and Wakefield. At the 2011 Census, the population was ...

and

Horbury Horbury is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated north of the River Calder about three miles (5 km) south west of Wakefield and two miles (3 km) to the ...

, each of which had unusually large

populations. It was a boys' boarding school until 1995, receiving pupils from around the world. Girls were admitted into the sixth form from 1976, with female boarders accommodated in the Coach House. The school now exists as a co-educational day school with a campus on the border between the villages of

and

Alverthorpe Alverthorpe is a suburb of, and former village in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. History After the start of the Industrial Revolution woollen and worsted yarns were spun and woollen and worsted cloth woven in the mills and factories that w ...

. Silcoates School is made up of three separate, but closely linked, sections: a Senior School for boys and girls aged 11 to 18 (Year 7 to the Upper Sixth Form); a Junior School for boys and girls aged 4 to 11 (Year 1 to Year 6); and Pre-School for boys and girls aged 3 to 4.School sections
Silcoates.org.uk

Motto

The school's motto is "Clarior ex Ignibus" (brighter through the flames), commemorating a fire of 1904 which caused the school to move into temporary exile in

Saltburn Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar. It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Rid ...

, on the coast of North Yorkshire between

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

Houses

Silcoates School - Silcoates Lane - geograph

There are four houses representing significant headmasters: * Evans' (Yellow and green tie) * Spencer's (Blue and green tie) * Moore's (Light green and green tie) * Yonge's (Red and green tie)

Curriculum

The majority of pupils usually take a minimum of 9 GCSEs, and 4 AS and 3 A2-Levels in the Sixth Form, with many progressing on to degree level courses. There is a wide and varied selection of subjects to choose from at GCSE and A Level, including some specialist and vocational programmes.

Sport and activities

School activities include drama and art, and music with a music school. Sport facilities include an indoor pool and sports pitches. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme makes use of various venues in the north of England and abroad.

Entrance scholarships

Academic Scholarships are offered at 11+ and above; Sixth Form entrants are eligible for these awards. Bursaries are available for the sons and daughters of ministers and missionaries of the United Reformed Church, the Congregational Church, of other recognised Christian denominations, and to some parents subject to a financial assessment.

Notable former staff and pupils

Imran Ahmad Khan Imran Nasir Ahmad Khan (born 6 September 1973) is a British former politician and convicted sex offender who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield from the 2019 general election until 2022. Elected as a Conservative, Ahmad Khan ha ...

(born 1973), Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield (December 2019-May 2022) *

Hugh Banton Hugh Robert Banton (born April 1949) is a British musician and electronic organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group Van der Graaf Generator. Career Banton was born in April 1949 in Yeovil, Somerset, into a ...

(1949),

Progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

icon, member of

Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...

Andrew Burt Andrew Thomas Hutchison Burt (23 May 1945 – 16 November 2018) was a British actor, voiceover artist, and counsellor. Early life and education Andrew Burt was born on 23 May 1945 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Hutchison Bu ...

(1945–2018), Actor * Reece Chapman-Smith (born 1998), rugby league player for

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

and

Halifax RLFC The Halifax Panthers are a professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which formed in 1873. Halifax were one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. They have been Rugby Leag ...

George Entwistle George Edward Entwistle (born 8 July 1962) was Director-General of the BBC during 2012, succeeding Mark Thompson. After a career in magazine journalism, he joined BBC Television in 1989, becoming a producer with a primary focus in factual and p ...

(born 1962), Former Director General of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

J. S. Fletcher Joseph Smith Fletcher (7 February 1863 – 30 January 1935) was an English journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction, and was one of the most prolific English writers of ...

(1865–1935), historian, writer of historical and detective novels *

Josh Holling Joshua Brynmor Rusby Holling (born 15 February 1996) is an English former first-class cricketer. Holling was born at Barnsley in February 1996. He was educated at Silcoates School, before going up to Leeds Beckett University. While studying at ...

(born 1996), cricketer *

John Horam John Rhodes Horam, Baron Horam (born 7 March 1939) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. He is the only MP since the Second World War to have sat in the House of Commons for three different political parties, latterly as the Conser ...

(born 1939), Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Orpington *

Karim Ahmad Khan Karim Asad Ahmad Khan KC (born 30 March 1970) is a British lawyer and specialist in international criminal law and international human rights law who has served as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since 2021. Following his appoi ...

(born 1970), Chief

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is the officer of the International Criminal Court whose duties include the investigation and Prosecutor, prosecution of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, name ...

Richard O'Dwyer Richard O'Dwyer (born 5 May 1988) is a British entrepreneur & computer programmer who created the TVShack.net search engine while a student at Sheffield Hallam University. In May 2011, the U.S. Justice Department sought to extradite O'Dwyer ...

(born 1988), Creator of TVShack.net *

Mark Harrison Mark Harrison is the name of: * Mark Harrison (American football) (born 1990), American football player * Mark Harrison (comics) (born 1963), British comic book artist * Mark Harrison (footballer) (born 1960), English footballer * T. Mark Harrison ...

(born 1971), Caribbean Squash Champion * Sir William Peel (1875–1945), colonial governor of Hong Kong * Sir Henry Norman Rae (1860–1928)

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP for Shipley *

James Guinness Rogers James Guinness Rogers (29 December 1822 – 20 August 1911), was a British Nonconformist clergyman. Education Rogers was born at Enniskillen, Ireland in 1822, where his Cornish-born father Thomas Rogers (1796–1854) was an Irish Evangeli ...

(1822–1911), Nonconformist divine *

Oliver Rowland Oliver Rowland (born 10 August 1992) is a British racing driver. He is currently competing full-time in Formula E driving for Mahindra Racing. He has previously competed for Manor Motorsport in the 2018 WEC season, and he was also previously the ...

(born 1992), British Racecar driver * Thomas Scales was chaplain and secretary at the school in 1850.Leeds White Chapel later Queen Street
Genuki, Retrieved 15 January 2016 *

William Thomas Stead William Thomas Stead (5 July 184915 April 1912) was a British newspaper editor who, as a pioneer of investigative journalism, became a controversial figure of the Victorian era. Stead published a series of hugely influential campaigns whilst ed ...

(1849–1912), journalist, campaigner, victim of RMS ''Titanic'' disaster *

David Stiff David Stiff (born 20 October 1984 in Dewsbury) is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler. He went to school at Silcoates School, Wakefield but later moved to Batley Grammar School. The former-Yorkshire ...

(born 1984), County Cricketer *

Tim Stimpson Timothy Richard George Stimpson (born 10 September 1973 in Liverpool) is a former rugby union international full back (and occasional wing). During his career he played for Wakefield, West Hartlepool, Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers, Perp ...

(born 1973), International rugby player * Theodore Taylor (1850–1952), Businessman, Liberal politician, Profit-sharing pioneer *

Maurice Yonge Sir Charles Maurice Yonge, CBE, FRS FRSE (9 December 1899 – 17 March 1986) was an English marine zoologist. Life Charles Maurice Yonge was born in Silcoates School near Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1899 the son of John Arthur Yonge (1865-1946 ...

(1899–1986), zoologist

References

External links

Silcoates School
{{authority control Independent schools in the City of Wakefield Educational institutions established in 1820 Schools in Wakefield