Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
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Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys (also known as The Langton Grammar School for Boys and simply referred to as The Langton) is an 11–18
foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
for
boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...
and mixed
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 ...
in
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, England. It was established in 1881.


History


Foundation

The school was founded along with its sister school in 1881, succeeding the Blue Coat Boys' School housed at the Poor Priest's Hospital in order to provide better education for the lower proportion of the
Middle Class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
. The schools were originally called the Canterbury Middle Schools, but in order to dispel the impression that the schools were socially exclusive (the pair were often collectively known as the "middle class school"), they were renamed in 1887 after Simon Langton,
Archdeacon of Canterbury The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large (having oversight of ...
(previously the
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
, for a short period in 1215), who, after his death in 1248, had left behind endowments to the Poor Priest's Hospital (which were later bequeathed to the Simon Langton schools). The school was initially built on the site of what is now the Whitefriar's Shopping Centre in central Canterbury. The buildings were built of red brick, dressed with
Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...
, the construction of which cost approximately £3000, and the design was simple with little decoration.


Uniform and traditions

The first piece of uniform was introduced in 1887; a
straw hat A straw hat is a wide-brimmed hat woven out of straw or straw-like synthetic materials. Straw hats are a type of sun hat designed to shade the head and face from direct sunlight, but are also used in fashion as a decorative element or a ...
with a black and yellow band and a separate cap for the winter months. However, by 1927 the black and yellow design was fairly widely replicated by other schools and so was replaced by a red, blue and gold
blazer A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons ...
and hat with a coloured button on the crown to signify the wearer's
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. The current uniform is a maroon and blue
blazer A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons ...
, red, yellow and blue tie, and formal white shirt with black or grey trousers and black shoes. By 1900, the school had a range of traditions. On 24 May, Queen Victoria's birthday,
Empire Day Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, since 1977 often held on the second Monday in March. It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by the monarch as ...
was celebrated by a parade and the raising of the
Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
in the playground, a speech by the headmaster, and a holiday. At the end of each
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
term, boys would put on an "Entertainment", and over the Christmas holidays they would be expected to read a classic set by the headmaster. The first Annual Commemoration Service was held in July 1911, and has continued since, being interrupted only during wartime and the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.


Relation to religion

The fact that the school could not be
denominational A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition among other activities. The term refers to the various Christian denominations (for example, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and the many variet ...
was established as early as 1876 by George Blore, headmaster of The King's School, who reasoned that it was not part of the foundation of the
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
and had neither the original grant of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
nor the act of
George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...
. In a letter to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' in 1906, the school was described by David Dorrity, who was the rector of
St Ann's Church, Manchester St Ann's Church is a Church of England parish church in Manchester, England. Although named after St Anne, it also pays tribute to the patron of the church, Ann, Lady Bland. St Ann's Church is a Grade I listed building. Architecture and setting ...
, as a secondary school that "is made use of by all who can afford to pay the fees to the denominational schools". He also appears to quote from the school's prospectus of the time:
Religious instruction is given, but is restricted to lessons from the Bible, and exemption from this instruction or from attendance at prayers may be claimed on written notice being given to the head master.


First and Second World Wars

Around four hundred boys from the Boys' School served in the Great War and 98 were killed in action; an unusually high ratio given the national statistics. The school's
house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...
is in memory of those Langtonians who gave their lives on the Western and Eastern fronts and further afield. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Simon Langton schools were used by the military. The "New Wing" of Simon Langton Boys was adopted by the South East Mounted Rifles, who transformed the playground into a parade ground, and the playing fields were put to use by the army. In 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 opposin ...
, the school was at first used as a reception centre for evacuees from
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 ...
and the
Medway towns Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...
; both staff and senior students helped to billet and feed the influx of children. The school was badly damaged in an air raid on the night of 1 June 1942 but continued on the Whitefriars site until it was relocated at its current site at
Nackington Nackington is an English village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lower Hardres and Nackington, south of Canterbury in the Canterbury district, in the county of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home ...
in November 1959.


Recent developments

In 2006,
Simon Scarrow Simon Scarrow (born 3 October 1962) is a British author. Scarrow completed a master's degree at the University of East Anglia after working at the Inland Revenue, and then went into teaching as a lecturer, firstly at East Norfolk Sixth Form C ...
took up the newly formed position of writer in residence at SLBS, a position he said he was "honoured to accept". In 2011, the school became one of the first school sites to utilise the kinetic energy from the students' walking over pressure pads in a corridor with Pavegen systems technology that converts the energy from footsteps into electricity.


Academic performance

The school achieved dual specialisms in
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
and
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
. The
CERN Courier ''CERN Courier'' (or sometimes ''CERN Courier: International Journal of High Energy Physics'') is a monthly trade magazine covering current developments in high-energy physics and related fields worldwide. It was established in 1959. Since October ...
described the school as "one of the most active in implementing innovative ways of teaching science in the UK".


Langton Star Centre

The Langton Star Centre is an organisation led by Tim Lesworth that supports research groups of students involved in cutting-edge scientific research, the principal aim of which is to "increase interest in science and engineering amongst post-16 school students such that they move on to study these subjects at university and take up careers in science and engineering." Projects run by the centre include the CERN@school project, the
LUCID LUCID (Langton Ultimate Cosmic ray Intensity Detector) is a cosmic ray detector built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and designed at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, in Canterbury, England. Its main purpose is to monitor cosmic rays usi ...
project (both in collaboration with CERN), the
Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
plasma Plasma or plasm may refer to: Science * Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter * Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral * Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics Biology * Blood pla ...
physics project, the Faulkes Telescope Project, and MBP2 (
Myelin Basic Protein Myelin basic protein (MBP) is a protein believed to be important in the process of myelination of nerves in the nervous system. The myelin sheath is a multi-layered membrane, unique to the nervous system, that functions as an insulator to greatly ...
Project) with the help of the
University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...
in support of the
Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...
.
Channel 4 news ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...
stated that its "boys have gone well beyond the curriculum to take part in cutting-edge scientific experiments; plasma physics, space satellites and medical research", and had "outwitted NASA" with the LUCID project.


Notable alumni

The school has been linked with the music of the
Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) was a musical scene centred on the town of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisational styl ...
as founding members of
The Wilde Flowers The Wilde Flowers were an English psychedelic rock band from Canterbury, Kent. Formed in 1964, the group originally featured lead vocalist Kevin Ayers, lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Brian Hopper, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Richard Sincl ...
, Caravan and
Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...
were alumni.
Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both ''Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from a ...
was quoted in 1975 to have described the school as "an exclusive, private establishment for the sons of local intellectuals and artists. Very free, emphatically geared to the uninhibited development of self-expression. A hot-bed to teenage avant-garderie."


Headmasters

* G. H. Nelson (1881–1884) * W. P. Mann (1884–1908) * J. H. Sharp (1908–1925) * L. W. Myers (1926–1954) * D. C. H. Rieu (1955–1977) * J. M.K. Harris (1977–2001) * M. N. F. Baxter (2001–2017), executive headteacher (2017–2019) * K. A. Moffat (2017–present)


Controversies

In November 2016, the school was at the centre of a controversy after the right-wing political activist and alumnus of the school,
Milo Yiannopoulos Milo Yiannopoulos (; born Milo Hanrahan, 18 October 1984), who has also published as Milo Andreas Wagner and the mononym Milo, is a British alt-right political commentator. His speeches and writings often ridicule Islam, feminism, social justi ...
, was invited to speak to the school's Langton Liberal Arts Society on the election of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
as
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. On the advice of the
Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...
's Counter Extremism Unit, the school withdrew the invitation, resulting in Yiannopoulos stating the school had given in to bullying. Joanna Williams, education editor at libertarian online magazine ''Spiked,'' wrote on ''
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 ...
'' magazine website that "banning him sends the message to six-formers the way to deal with ideas they find politically distasteful 'is to howl in protest and insist they go away'". In November 2017, the school was involved in a new controversy over the promotion of right wing politics after the development of a course specifically designed as "an antidote to the poison of political correctness" by teaching "the most beautifully disturbed and disturbing ideas". After receiving criticisms from pupils, parents and the MP for Canterbury, headteacher Ken Moffat responded by saying: "There is no rightwing agenda in the school".


References


External links

* {{Authority control Schools in Canterbury Foundation schools in Kent Grammar schools in Kent Boys' schools in Kent Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed during World War II Educational institutions established in 1881 1881 establishments in England