Birkdale School
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Birkdale School is a Christian independent school for pupils aged 4–18, in the city of
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
in England. Founded by Maurice Asterley, in 1904, the school provides education underpinned by a strong Christian ethos. Birkdale is a member of the
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the Unite ...
, and is a registered charity, educating roughly 1000 students per annum. Previously just a boys school, since 1995 girls have been admitted to the
Sixth Form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
, with the whole school becoming co-educational in September 2020, starting with the youngest four year groups.


History

Birkdale was founded in 1904 by Maurice Asterley as a preparatory school for boys between the ages of 4 and 13 to provide a
Christian education Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the r ...
and takes its name from its first home, Birkdale House on Newbould Lane. The school moved in 1915 to the Oakholme building under Griffiths' leadership (1909–1939). At the start of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the school evacuated to
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
under Roberts, Head Master in 1939. After the war, Roberts moved his pupils to
Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from De ...
creating Brocksford Hall School, whilst twenty boys returned to Oakholme Road under Heeley in 1942 who later became Head Master in 1943. The Westbury building was purchased in 1946 from Thomas Cole of Cole Brothers (now
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
) to allow for the continued expansion of the school. The Endcliffe building on Endcliffe Crescent was purchased in 1975 with the Grayson and Johnson Buildings following in 1994 and 1999 respectively to create the current school and campus. The period of greatest growth within the School was overseen during the tenure of the M. D. A. Hepworth, Head Master from 1983 to 1998. More recently, an extension of the Grayson Building was built to house the
Sixth Form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
common room and an extension was also built on the back to allow space for the Modern Languages department and additional science laboratories. The Octagon, a music practice room designed to amplify sound was added to the original Oakholme Building in 1989. As part of a major building project, which saw the construction of a large sports hall over the site of an outdoor swimming pool, the Caxton building was built to house the DT and IT departments. The science labs and Heeley Hall were built recently.


Buildings

Birkdale School consists of a Senior School and a Prep School split over 2 sites. The Senior School has six main buildings: Johnson Building, Grayson Building, Endcliffe Building, Oakholme Building, Westbury Building, and the Science Block. The Lower School (ages 11–12) are based in the Johnson building, Middle School (ages 13–15) in the Oakholme building and the Sixth Form (ages 16–18) in the Grayson building.


Houses

There is a House system employed at Birkdale Senior School, four in total, each named after old Head Masters. Each house consists of a House Master who is a member of faculty, a House Captain who is a member of sixth form, and a dozen House Prefects also from the sixth form, chosen by faculty. Their roles consist of holding house assemblies and organising house events. The heads of school, as well as the sixth form prefects, operate independently from the house prefects. The current Housemasters are Mr Michael Clarke (Asterley), Mr Christopher Rodgers (Griffiths), Mr Thomas Clark (Hall) and Mr Andrew Alsop (Heeley). The Prep School had a slightly different house system, with a house dedicated to J.G. Roberts, Head Master 1933 – 43, and one to the family of Sir John Osborn, Conservative MP for Sheffield Hallam 1959 – 1987, of Osborn House, the current site of the Preparatory School. Martin House is named after Cyril Martin, who gained the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...
in the First World War and the George Cross in the Second World War. Westbury House was the fourth house. As of September 2020, the Prep department has adopted the same Houses as the Senior School.


''The Birkdalian''

''The Birkdalian'' has, since the mid-twentieth century, been the school magazine. Currently published once a year late in the Christmas term it provides an account of a year in the life of the school. Articles are written by staff and pupils and edited by a small group of staff and senior pupils.


Administration

The Head Master is Mr Peter Harris, who was previously the Principal of
Ewell Castle School Ewell Castle School is a 3–18 mixed, independent day school and sixth form in Ewell, Epsom, Surrey, England. It was founded in 1926 by Herbert Budgell as a boarding school and became fully mixed in September 2015. It consists of the Main Ho ...
and taught Geography at Birkdale between 1998 and 2009. The previous Head Master was Dr Paul Owen, who is the current Head of Stockport Grammar School. The Deputy Head of Senior School is Mr Phillip King, who succeeded Mr Nicolas Pietrek (who is now the Head of Thorpe House School Trust). The Head of the Prep School is Mr Chris Burch.


Sport

Birkdale has its own playing fields, Castle Dyke, within a few miles of the main school site. There was a £2 million investment after acquiring a 125 year lease for the 30 acre Castle Dyke playing fields and the construction of a new state-of- the-art Sports Pavilion, which opened in 2006. On campus, the school has a sports hall and attached gym. Competitive matches are played weekly – rugby and hockey in the winter term, football and hockey in easter, and cricket in summer. Teams are entered into various regional and national tournaments, such as the Rosslyn Park Sevens tournament and ISFA football tournaments. Sports tours depart annually – recent trips have included a rugby tour to Canada, cricket to Dubai and hockey to Holland. During the 2007–08 school year, the U16 Rugby team reached the national quarter final of the Daily Mail Vase.


Head Masters


Nepal

As part of the school's charity projects it has developed strong links with some institutions in and around
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. Most notable are the Peace Garden School, for which the school has helped raise money for a new school building, and a leper colony on the outskirts of Kathmandu, where Birkdale is helping to build new facilities and a new school. Money has also been granted to other schools to help purchase equipment or develop facilities. As with other school charity projects, the money is raised through charity events and fund-raisers (as opposed to taking it from the school accounts). Since the year 2000, trips have been run once a year to
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
for pupils and teachers. These involve volunteer work teaching or otherwise working at the schools and leper colony as well as a trek in the
Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the diffic ...
region and a visit to the
Chitwan Chitwan District (, , ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers . In 2011 it had a population of 579 ...
jungle. The trips are considered crucial in maintaining strong personal links with contacts in Nepal, and helping charitable funds to be focused effectively. As well as links with Nepal, the school has begun to form links with J. E. B. Stuart High School in Virginia, USA, following on from a teacher exchange.


Notable alumni

* Cyril Martin GC, MC (1897–1973), soldier and George Cross recipient. * Sir Rex Harrison (1908–1990), actor. * Sir Paul Kennedy, KC (born 1935), former Lord Justice of Appeal. * Sir Michael Palin (born 1943), comedian, actor, traveller and writer. * Bruce Dickinson (born 1958), musician. *Ian G. Walker (born 1958), industrialist. *
Mark Roe Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...
(born 1963), golfer. * Sir John Holbrook Osborn (1922–2015), MP for Sheffield Hallam 1959–87 * Lord Allan of Hallam (Formerly Richard Allan, MP) (born 1966), Liberal Democrat Peer. *
Richard Coyle Richard Coyle is an English actor. He portrayed lead role of Father Faustus Blackwood in Netflix series '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'', and Jeff Murdock in the sitcom ''Coupling''. Early and personal life Coyle was born in Sheffield, En ...
(born 1972), actor. * David Jennings (born 1972), composer. * Justin Wilson (1978–2015), racing driver. * Stefan Wilson (born 1989), racing driver. * Charlie Davies (born 1989), Rugby Union player. *
Zhou Guanyu Zhou Guanyu (, pronounced ; born 30 May 1999) is a Chinese racing driver who currently competes in Formula One for Alfa Romeo. He is the first Chinese driver to compete in Formula One. He competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for UNI-Virt ...
(born 1999), Formula 1 racing driver. * Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e (born 2003), Rugby League player.


References


External links

{{Authority control Independent schools in Sheffield Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Educational institutions established in 1904 1904 establishments in England