St George's School, Windsor Castle is a co-educational independent preparatory school in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, near

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Founded to provide choirboys for the

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 ...

St George's Chapel St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

, it now educates over 400 boys and girls.

History

The school was established to provide six choristers for the

Choir of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle The Choir of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle exists to sing services in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. It has been in existence since 1348 and, with the exception of the Commonwealth period (1649–1660), has sung services in the ...

, which sings in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

, which is the official country residence of the British Royal Family. St George's is one of the oldest schools in the country, and has provided an unbroken line of boy choristers to sing daily services in St George's Chapel since 1352. As late as 1942 the school was reported by its headmaster as being "for the sons of Gentlemen only". The school's choristers have sung at events such as the

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Countess of Wessex; the funeral of

John Hunt, Baron Hunt Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt, (22 June 1910 – 7 November 1998), styled as Sir John Hunt from 1953 to 1966, was a British Army officer who is best known as the leader of the successful 1953 British ...

; and also the Blessing of the

Wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

of the now

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

and

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

Present day

The seventeen full choristers live at the school, with about seven 'probationers' who are mostly day pupils. The choristers attend lessons at the school with the other children and rehearse each day before and after school in the Song School by the Chapel, where they also sing seven services each week during term time. Their school fees are partly met by grants from the Dean and Canons of Windsor. The school has a boarding community of 30 children, many of whom board on weekly or flexible arrangements. Most pupils have experienced some level of boarding before they leave at 13. The school buildings are situated just below the north wall of Windsor Castle, with the school being divided into three distinct sections – the Pre-Prep (Nursery to Year 2) the Middle School (Years 3, 4 and 5) and the Senior School (Years 6, 7 and 8). Nearly all pupils over the age of 7 learn an instrument, the majority of girls take part in ballet, tap or jazz dancing and a range of school choirs covers all age-groups. Although the school is a town centre school, spacious playing fields are situated next door to the school site, within the King's private grounds. Boys play

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

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 striki ...

and the girls play

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

and

rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a rounded end wooden, plastic, or metal bat. The players score by running aroun ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

takes place in the school's indoor pool. In 2021, the house names were changed from Revenge, Rodney, Vindictive and Victory, to Garter, Clarence, Lancaster and Winchester. They are now named after the towers at Windsor Castle. The original houses were named after warships.

Headmasters

*1893–95: A. Bickerseth *1885–1904: H. F. W. Deane *1904–34: G. S. Fowler''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', vol. 168 (1942), pp. 266 & 298: "St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle — The Choir School is a first-class Preparatory School for the Public Schools, for the sons of Gentlemen only... G. S. Fowler, MA, St George's School, Windsor Castle" *1934–42:

James William Webb-Jones James William Webb-Jones (1904 – 1965) was a Welsh choral conductor, educator, and cricketer. Family and Early Life James William, who was born in Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wales, was the only child of the trans-European steamship agent Ern ...

*1942–45: P. H. C. Cavanaugh (acting headmaster) *1946–71: W. P. O. Cleave *1971–83: Richard Russell *1983–92: George Hill''In High Remembrance'', Ed. R. H. E. Russell & P. A. F. Thomas (2007) *1992–93: Bernard Biggs *1993: Anthony Brailsford (acting headmaster) *1993–95: Alan Mould *1995–99: Roger Marsh *1999: Alan Mould (interregnum; autumn term) *2000–11: Roger Jones *2011–12: Andrew Salmond-Smith *2012-17: Chris McDade *2017-2018: Roger Jones *2019– William Goldsmith

Notable pupils

Princess Eugenie of York Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank ( ; Eugenie Victoria Helena; born 23 March 1990) is a member of the British royal family. She is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of King Ch ...

(born 1990), daughter of

The Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was D ...

and granddaughter of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor (born 8 November 2003) is the elder child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, both members of the British royal family. She is a granddau ...

(born 2003), daughter of

The Earl of Wessex Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the W ...

and granddaughter of

* Sir Walford Davies (1869–1941), composer. *

Timothy Bavin Timothy John Bavin (born 17 September 1935) is a British Anglican bishop and monk. He was the bishop of Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg from 1974 to 1985. He was then Bishop of Portsmouth from 1985 to 1995. Early life and education Bavin was ...

(born 1935), Anglican bishop *

Michael Chance Michael Chance CBE (born in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom 7 March 1955) is an English countertenor and the founder and Artistic Director of The Grange Festival. Chance was born in Penn, Buckinghamshire, into a musical family. After growing u ...

(born 1955), countertenor‘CHANCE, Michael Edward Ferguson’ in '' Who's Who 2012 (London: A. & C. Black, 2012)
online edition
(subscription site) by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, December 2011, accessed 22 April 2012 * John Denison (1911–2006), music administrator *

David Fanshawe David Arthur Fanshawe (19 April 1942 – 5 July 2010) was an English composer and self-styled explorer with a fervent interest in world music.''The Times'' obituary 9 July 2010. His best-known composition is the 1972 choral work '' African Sanctu ...

(1942–2010), classical composer * John David Morley (born 1948), writer and novelist * Francis Grier (born 1955), classical composer *

Miles Jupp Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp (born 8 September 1979) is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series ''Balamory''. He also played ...

(born 1979), comedian * John Lubbock (born 1979), conductor

Notes

External links

School website
* ISI Inspectio
ReportsOfsted boarding report 2007Choir Schools Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's School, Windsor Castle Choir schools in England 1348 establishments in England Windsor Castle Educational institutions established in the 14th century Preparatory schools in Berkshire Independent schools in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead