Ackworth School is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two so ...

and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of seven

Quaker schools in England 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 ...

. The school (or more accurately its Head) is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and

SHMIS The Society of Heads, formerly the Society of Headmasters & Headmistresses of Independent Schools (SHHIS), or "S of H", is an association of Headmasters and Headmistresses of various types of independent schools in the United Kingdom, and was forme ...

. The Head is Martyn Beer, who took over in April 2024. The Senior Deputy Head is Nancy Newlands-Melvin. The school has a nursery that takes children aged 2 1/2 to 4, a Junior School (known as Coram House) that takes children age 5 to 11, and the Senior School for students aged 11 to 18. The boarding facilities cater for pupils from 11 years of age. Originally it was a boarding school for Quaker children. Today most of the school's pupils are day pupils. There are more than 25 different nationalities in the boarding houses. Most of today's pupils are not Quakers, but the school retains a strong Quaker ethos and is able to offer means-tested Bursary awards to children from Quaker and non-Quaker families. There is a very short Quaker-style silence at assembly and before meals. Once a week the School meets for a longer Meeting for Worship.

History

The school was founded by John Fothergill and others in 1779 as a

for

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

boys and girls. Prior to the school's foundation, the buildings housed a

foundling hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...

created by Thomas Coram.

School life

Houses

The school has four houses: Woolman,

Gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

, Penn and Fothergill. Penn, Gurney and Woolman were all famous Quakers, and John Fothergill was the founder of the school. Every pupil is assigned to one of the four houses at the start of their time at the school for inter-house events, which include sport, music, drama, poetry and art. Students are also divided for meals according to their houses.

Uniform

The school uniform consists of grey trousers, grey socks, light blue shirt, navy school tie, and navy-blue blazer for boys, and navy skirt, blue-and-white-striped blouse, and navy blazer for girls. The sixth form students wear their own suitable 'business style' clothing.

Music

The school has a strong musical tradition. In 1995, a purpose-built music facility was built on the site of one of the old boarding houses, comprising a recital hall with seating for 180, 14 practice rooms, 2 classrooms, a music library and a recording studio. Summer schools are sometimes held there during school holidays. In January 2019, Ackworth School became the 15th member of the All-Steinway Group of Schools.

Boarding

Boarders live together in an amalgamated boarding house. Until 1997, the school timetable included Saturday morning lessons, leaving Wednesday afternoons free, providing a more-balanced week for boarders. The changing demographic of the school has led to this being phased out.

Sixth Form

Sixth formers have free periods during which they are encouraged to study.

Charity Week

Each year in the week before October half term is Ackworth's Charity Week. Two charities, one national and one international, are chosen for which the school then raises money through a series of events. Included within these events are cake stalls, auctions, concerts and the sale of doughnuts and hot dogs. One event involves putting sixth formers in stocks and allowing younger students to throw water at them. One of the most-popular events of Charity Week is the staff/sixth-form entertainment. The sixth form and certain members of staff are encouraged to prepare a series of sketches to entertain younger students. In the middle of the event, a fund-raising activity occurs, where the sixth form raise money from the other students. On 18 October the school celebrates Founder's Day, the day on which in 1779 the school was founded. The whole school gathers in the Meeting House and sings the Founder's Day Hymn before each year group departs on a day trip, usually a walk.

Union with other Quaker schools

In 2007, the National Quaker Choral Festival was held at the school, where pupils from Quakers schools all over England came to sing in a large choir to Karl Jenkins' " The Armed Man". On 28 March 2009, the Bridge Film Festival — which had been held at

Brooklyn Friends School Brooklyn Friends School is a school at 375 Pearl Street in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. Brooklyn Friends School (BFS) is an independent, college preparatory Quaker school serving a culturally diverse educational community of approximately 90 ...

, located in Brooklyn,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, for the last nine years — was held at the school. It is a Quaker film festival in which students make a film which is judged and prizes are awarded. The school entered the 2008 festival, sending several students to Brooklyn Friends School to witness the festival. For the 2009 festival, student Simon Waldock prepared a film about the history of the school; the film involved an interview with a former scholar from the 1950s. The film did not win but was commended by judges.

Notable alumni

The school's former pupils are called Ackworth Old Scholars. There is an active Old Scholars Association, with an annual Easter gathering in the school. Notable Old Scholars include: * Kweku Adoboli (born 1980), investment banker, convicted in the

2011 UBS rogue trader scandal The 2011 UBS rogue trader scandal caused a loss of over US$2 billion at Swiss bank UBS, as a result of unauthorized trading performed by Kweku Adoboli, a director of the bank's Global Synthetic Equities Trading team in London in early September ...

* Henry Ashby (1846–1908), paediatrician * Henry Ashworth (1794–1880), cotton master * John Gilbert Baker (1834–1920), botanist *

Geoffrey Barraclough Geoffrey Barraclough (10 May 1908, Bradford – 26 December 1984, Burford) was an English historian, known as a medievalist and historian of Germany. He was educated at Bootham School (1921–1924) in York and at Bradford Grammar School (192 ...

(1908–1984), historian * Sir Henry Binns (1837–1899), prime minister of Natal, 1897–1899 * William Arthur Bone (1871–1938), chemist fuel technologist * Henry Bowman Brady (1835–1891), naturalist and pharmacist * John Bright (1811–1889), politician * Basil Bunting (1900–1985), poet *

Peter Christopherson Peter Martin Christopherson (also known as Sleazy, 27 February 1955 – 25 November 2010) was an English musician, video director, commercial artist, designer and photographer, and former member of British design agency Hipgnosis. He also found ...

(1955–2010), musician, video director and designer *

Susanna Corder Susanna Corder (9 November 1787 – 28 February 1864) was an educationist and Quaker biographer. Early years Corder was born in 1787 in Kelvedon in Essex, the daughter of Quakers Ruth ''née'' Marriage and John Corder, a farmer. A sickly child, ...

(1787–1864), educationist and Quaker biographer *

Alfred Darbyshire Alfred Darbyshire (20 June 1839 – 5 July 1908) was a British architect. Education and career Alfred Darbyshire was born on 20 June 1839 in Salford, Lancashire, to William Darbyshire, the manager of a dyeworks, and his wife Mary née B ...

(1839–1908), architect * Philip J Day (born 1959), documentary filmmaker * Henry Doubleday (1810–1902), starch manufacturer and comfrey cultivator *

William Farrer Ecroyd William Farrer Ecroyd (14 July 1827 – 9 November 1915) was an English politician.A. C. Howe, �Ecroyd, William Farrer (1827–1915)��, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed ...

(1827–1915), worsted manufacturer and politician * George Edmondson (1798–1863), headmaster of Queenwood Hall * Thomas Edmondson (1792–1851), inventor of the first railway-ticket printing machine *

Sarah Stickney Ellis Sarah Stickney Ellis, born Sarah Stickney (1799 – 16 June 1872), also known as Sarah Ellis, was an English author. She was a Quaker turned Congregational church, Congregationalist. Her numerous books are mostly about women's roles in society. ...

(1799–1872), writer and educationist *

Lindsey Fawcett Lindsey Fawcett is a retired British actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as the inmate ''Sharon 'Shaz' Wylie'' on the hit drama television series, '' Bad Girls''. Biography Lindsey's first professional job was playing Bet in Sam Me ...

(born 1979), actress known for her role in ITV's Bad Girls *

James Fearnley James Fearnley (born 9 October 1954, Worsley) is an English musician. He played accordion in the Celtic punk band The Pogues. Life and career As a child he was a choir treble before his voice changed at the age of sixteen. He took piano lessons ...

(born 1954), musician and member of The Pogues * Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1871–1928), heraldist * Francis Frith (1822–1898), photographer *

Dominic Harrison Dominic Richard Harrison (born 5 August 1997), known professionally as Yungblud (pronounced "Youngblood"), is an English singer, musician, songwriter and actor. In 2018, he released his first EP, ''Yungblud'', followed shortly after by the albu ...

(born 1997) Musician. Performing as Yungblud * Marie Hartley (1905–2006), artist, writer, photographer and historian * William Howitt (1792–1879), writer *Sir Philip Hunter (born 1939), educationist * Sir Joseph Hutchinson (1902–1988), geneticist and professor of agriculture *

Samuel Herbert Maw Samuel Herbert Maw (September 12, 1881 – August 19, 1952) was a British-Canadian architect, architectural delineator, delineator and cartographer. Born in the English county of Suffolk, he learned architecture in England and found success th ...

(1881-1952), architect, delineator and cartographer *

William Allen Miller William Allen Miller FRS (17 December 1817 – 30 September 1870) was a British scientist. Life Miller was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Ackworth School and King's College London. He was related to William Allen and first cousi ...

(1817–1870), chemist * John Howard Nodal (1831–1909), journalist and dialectologist *

Jacob Post Jacob Post (1774–1855) was an English Quaker and a religious author. He wrote accounts of two founding Quakers: George Fox and William Penn. Life Jacob Post was born in Whitefriars, London, on 12 September 1774. His parents, John and Rosamund P ...

(1774–1855), Quaker religious writer *

Sir James Reckitt Sir James Reckitt, 1st Baronet (15 November 1833 – 18 March 1924) was a founder of the household products company Reckitt and Sons, developed from his father Isaac Reckitt's starch and laundry blue business. Biography James Reckitt was born ...

(1833–1924), starch, blue and polish manufacturer * Anna Richardson (1806–1892), philanthropist, abolitionist and pacifist *

Elizabeth Robson Elizabeth Robson or Elizabeth Stephenson (25 June 1771 – 11 December 1843) was a British Quaker minister. She travelled to preach including almost four years in America where she visited over 1,000 meetings. Life Robson was born in Bridlington, ...

, (1771–1843), Quaker minister * Sanil Sachar (1992-), Indian author and poet * Jane Smeal (1801-1888), abolitionist * Sir Arthur Snelling (1914–1996), diplomat *

Joseph Southall Joseph Edward Southall RWS NEAC RBSA (23 August 1861 – 6 November 1944) was an English painter associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. A leading figure in the nineteenth and early twentieth-century revival of painting in tempera, Sout ...

(1861–1944), painter and pacifist *

Patric Standford Patric Standford (5 February 1939 – 23 April 2014) was an English composer, supporter of composers' rights, educationalist and author. Early life and education Patric John Standford (real name John Gledhill) was born in Barnsley, moved to t ...

(1939–2014), musical composer * Henry Tennant (1823–1910), general manager of the North Eastern Railway, 1870–1891 * Kathleen Tillotson (1906–2001), literary scholar *

Thomas Thomasson Thomas Thomasson (18081876) was a political economist and a campaigner for the repeal of the Corn Laws who was one of Bolton's greatest benefactors. Life Thomasson was born at Turton into a Bolton family and was grandson of one of the original ...

(1808–1876), cotton master *

Samuel Tuke Samuel Tuke may refer to: *Sir Samuel Tuke, 1st Baronet (c.1615–1674), English Royalist officer, playwright and nobleman *Samuel Tuke (reformer) Samuel Tuke (31 July 1784 – 14 October 1857) was a Quaker philanthropist and mental-health ref ...

(1784–1857), philanthropist and asylum reformer *

Benjamin Barron Wiffen Benjamin Barron Wiffen (1794–1867) was an English Quaker businessman, bibliophile and biographer of early Spanish Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a m ...

(1794–1867), biographer *

Jeremiah Holmes Wiffen Jeremiah Holmes Wiffen (1792–1836) was an English poet and writer, known as translator of Torquato Tasso. Life The eldest son of John Wiffen, an ironmonger, by his wife Elizabeth Pattison, both from Quaker backgrounds, he was born at Woburn, B ...

(1792–1836), poet and translator *

James Willstrop James Willstrop (born 15 August 1983) is an English professional squash player living in Yorkshire, England. He was born in North Walsham, Norfolk, England. Career Willstrop has a large build for a squash player, being and . He trains at P ...

(born 1983), squash player * James Wilson (1805–1860), economist, founder of '' The Economist'', politician, and financial member of the

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, 1859–1860 *

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(born 1958), former Labour Chief Whip * Fiona Wood (born 1958), burns-treatment pioneer,

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* Sarah Woodhead (born 1851), first ( Girton College) woman to be awarded an Oxbridge degree – the equivalent of Senior Optime in Mathematics (1873) *

Thomas William Worsdell Thomas William Worsdell (14 January 1838 – 28 June 1916) was an English locomotive engineer. He was born in Liverpool into a Quaker family. Family T. W. Worsdell – normally known as William – was the eldest son of Nathaniel Worsdell (180 ...

(1838–1916), steam-locomotive engineer * Wilson Worsdell (1850–1920), railway engineer

Arms

References

External links

ackworthschool.com
Ackworth School's official website * * Internet archive: List of boys and girls admitted to Ackworth School: during the 100 years from 18th of 10th month, 1779, to the centenary celebration on the 27th of 6th month, 1879, published 1879 {{Authority control People educated at Ackworth School Co-educational boarding schools Educational institutions established in 1779 Private schools in the City of Wakefield Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Organizations established in 1779 Quaker schools in England 1779 establishments in England