Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of t ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

, England. The school 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 Un ...

and the

Rugby Group The Rugby Group is a group of 18 British public schools. The group was formed in the 1960s as an association of major boarding schools within the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. As with the Eton Group, which was formed a few years ...

. The school was founded in 1690 by a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

granted to the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers to establish a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...

for 20 boarders with £32,000 from the legacy of Robert Aske (equivalent to approximately £5M in 2019). The school relocated in 1903 and currently occupies 104 acres of green belt countryside in

. At its centre is

Aldenham House Aldenham House is a former country house in Elstree, just south-east of Aldenham village and west of Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, which was the seat of the Gibbs family, who were the Barons Aldenham. The site today accommodates the Hilfi ...

, a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

, that was formerly the seat of the Lords Aldenham and home to Vicary Gibbs MP. While the school once offered boarding to some students, it has since become an all-day school, with the boarding quarters having been converted to offices. In 2017, it was the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

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 En ...

of the year. In 2012 and 2016, it was the top independent boys' school in the country. Approximately 20% of its students go on to study at the universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, putting the school at 10th place in the country in terms of

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

admissions. It has also sent boys to top US universities, including

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...

. Haberdashers' Boys' School frequently tops the league tables and rarely falls out of the top 10. In 2014, ''The Telegraph'' placed the school at 8th in the country for A-Levels – with 80.87% of students achieving the A*–A grades. In 2015, the ''Sunday Times'' named Haberdashers' the best school in England owing to its results and resources.Top 100 schools by Oxford admissions hit rate
''

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 ...

History

1690–1738

Following a bequest of approximately £20,000 made by the merchant Robert Aske to the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers on his death in 1689, an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

for twenty needy members of the

Haberdashers' Company The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient merchant guild of London, England associated with the silk and velvet trades. History and functions The Haberdashers' Company follows the M ...

was established in 1690 just outside the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It l ...

. Designed by

Robert Hooke Robert Hooke FRS (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath active as a scientist, natural philosopher and architect, who is credited to be one of two scientists to discover microorganisms in 1665 using a compound microscope that ...

, the almshouse comprised a chapel and, at its centre, the school, which provided education for 20 sons of poor freemen between the ages of nine and fifteen. However, the chaplain, Thomas Wright, was then made master of Bunhill School and was thus unable to teach the boys at Aske's. In 1697, therefore, John Pridie was appointed to teach the boys English, the catechism, and basic grammar at a salary of £40 a month. Soon afterward, Pridie secured the right to admit pupils from paying parents, allowing him to increase the amount of money spent on the boys' education. However, this right did not last for long. In 1701, the school instituted new rules that introduced a cap and gown as the school uniform. The school created the position of a master to teach arithmetic and writing. The school continued to cater to poor pupils, requiring any boy who inherited £100 or more to leave to make way for a less lucky individual. However, the school began to run into financial difficulties; by 1714, the school had reduced itself to only eight pupils. Hardship continued until 1738 when the Court of Assistants, the senior governing body of the

, decided that the favourable condition of the company justified restoring the school. At the same time, caps and gowns ceased to be the school uniform, and the school removed Latin from the curriculum.

1738–1825

In 1818, the Charities Commission announced that the school's buildings required repairs that were too expensive for the company's allotted allowance. However, errors in bookkeeping reveal that, whereas it was thought that the school was £7,000 in debt to the company, they were in fact £900 in credit. By 1820 the schoolmaster's basic salary was still fixed at £15. However, the master at this time, William Webb, received gratuities of £20 in both 1818 and 1819. By contrast, the chaplain, matron, and nurse received £50, £16, and £12 respectively, and each of the two maidservants received a salary of £8. The pupil body continued to comprise 20 poor sons of freedmen, and the curriculum consisted of

the three Rs The three Rs (as in the letter ''R'') are three basic skills taught in schools: reading, writing and arithmetic (usually said as "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic"). The phrase appears to have been coined at the beginning of the 19th century. Th ...

(reading, writing, and arithmetic) and the

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adul ...

1825–1874

In 1825, the school erected new buildings on the site. The schoolmaster at this time was himself a former pupil of the school and a liveryman of the company. The company increased the school's allowance by £4 and expanded the school's collection of books. Regular examinations were conducted, with prizes provided for exceptional performance. In the early days of the school, the chaplain and the schoolmaster both taught but had separate roles. However, in 1830, the school chaplain was dismissed following scandalous behavior with a servant-girl. The school was temporarily closed, and when it re-opened in 1831, J. L. Turner was elected to take both roles and given a salary of £700, from which he had to pay for all costs of the school's management. He was forbidden to take pupils from paying parents. The school replaced the former reading, writing, and arithmetic curriculum with Latin (having removed it in 1738), geography, grammar, accounting, and mathematics. By the end of the year, Turner revealed he had spent £748, which exceeded his salary. However, the company committee was satisfied that the significant improvement in the boys' education merited an increase in funding to £800 per year. At this point, the school conducted examinations on a biannual basis. In 1849, F. W. Mortimer, headmaster of the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , special ...

, criticized some of the textbooks used and the teaching of Latin, which he thought would be better replaced by French. In 1858, Thomas Grose, who conducted the school's examinations, echoed Mortimer's earlier criticisms of the study of Latin and repeated his suggestion that the school should teach French instead. In addition, he also recommended the introduction of geometry, business studies, trigonometry, mechanics, and natural philosophy to the curriculum. The schoolmaster at this time, Mr. Carterfield, resisted these suggestions. However, growing dissatisfaction among the school's older pupils led to his resignation later that year. A. Jones became headmaster, as the title had become known. In 1868, inhabitants of the surrounding area petitioned the school to accept the sons of parishioners as pupils. In 1874, though not directly related to this school, two new schools, one for boys and one for girls, were set up in

Hatcham Hatcham was a manor and later a chapelry in what is now London, England. It largely corresponds to the area around New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham. The ancient parish of Deptford straddled the counties of Surrey and Kent and there c ...

, South London. They were known as the Haberdashers' Hatcham Schools until 1991, when the two were combined as Haberdashers' Hatcham College, now a state-funded

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

1874–1961

In 1874, the almshouse, which had housed the school since 1690, closed to give the developing school more space. The school was divided into two halves, one for boys and one, for the first time, for girls. Each half admitted 300 pupils, a significant increase on previous pupil numbers; £5,000 was spent on renovating the Hoxton buildings; and the chaplain, schoolmaster, matron, and almsmen were pensioned. The foundationers were moved to another boarding school. In 1883, the school increased the leaving age for pupils to 18. In 1898, the school moved the two-halves—the Girls' School to Acton and the boys' to a site just within Hampstead borough, in north-west London – but much closer to

Cricklewood Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north ...

. Its formal name was the Haberdashers' Hampstead School. A preparatory section for boys up to 11 years of age was located at Chase Lodge,

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,4 ...

. In the 1950s, the closure of Mercers School led to transferring a substantial number of boys to the Hampstead site.

1961–1974

In 1961, the Boys' School moved to its present site at Elstree, Hertfordshire, and was renamed Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree. In 1974, the Girls' School at Acton was reunited with its Boys' School counterpart on an adjacent site at Elstree. Starting with the move to Elstree, like most public schools, Haberdashers' took several boarding pupils. In 1964, these numbered 75 pupils out of a total of 680 in the senior school. Since then, the school has reverted to being a

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...

with all pupils traveling in each day, mainly via an extensive school coach service.

1974–present

''See

Present day The present (or here'' and ''now) is the time that is associated with the events perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is a period of ...

More recently, several buildings on the Elstree campus have been opened, including the new Aske Building (2004), a multi-million-pound science and geography complex, and the Bourne Building, a classics series, information technology, history, and politics classrooms. The Bourne Building also houses the school's largest hall (the Bourne Hall) and the library. Another significant building in Haberdashers' is the T. W. Taylor Music School (named after a former headmaster), containing at its centre the Seldon Hall (a concert hall), several classrooms used for class music lessons, and smaller tuition rooms used for individual (or small group) tuition in musical instruments. Every two to four years, the school hosts a concert at the Barbican in central London. The school has occasionally organised the concert in collaboration with the Girls' School next door. The director of performance music, Tom Taylor, is in charge of the concert. The Bourne Building also features an assembly hall inherited from the building that previously stood there. This hall is home to a fine

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...

, built-in 1897 by

Henry Willis & Sons Henry Willis & Sons is a British firm of pipe organ builders founded in 1845. Although most of their installations have been in the UK, examples can be found in other countries. Five generations of the Willis family served as principals of th ...

for Hove Town Hall and brought to Elstree in 1962. The instrument retains its original specification of 36 stops on four manuals and pedals and is maintained by the Willis firm. For a more detailed account of the school's history, see the relevant section in Cockburn et al. (1969), referred to below; or in John Wigley's official history of the school, ''Serve and Obey''.

Present day

Buildings and grounds

Haberdashers' is located on the grounds of

, a stately home, which became the boarding house in 1961, with accommodation for 80 main school pupils, three staff, and their spouses. The Headmaster and his secretary have offices on the ground floor. Other administrative areas were housed there after boarding ended. Although the school uses the house for various purposes, teaching takes place in several buildings that have been built on the grounds, most built around the Quad. The school has named a majority of the school's facilities after persons in the school's history. Habsfrontcricket

The Bourne Building, home to the largest of the school's assembly halls, the library, along with several

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, ICT and

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

classrooms, is next to Aldenham House at the top of the Quadrangle. The library was quite recently refurbished by the school and now contains various open and screened seating areas, as well as desktop and laptop computers. A team of qualified librarians supervises the library, which serves as pupils' principal work area. The Bourne hall hosts music events throughout the year, including musical performances from students across both schools every term. On the opposite side of the Quad is the old Maths and MFL block, containing the Bates Dining Room and sixth form common room. To the left side of the Bourne Building is the Seldon (formerly TW Taylor) Music School which houses classrooms for the music department, instrumental lessons and a performance hall in the centre called the Seldon Hall which is also used for assemblies. Opposite the music school is the Aske Building, a complex of

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 ...

and

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

classrooms which also contains the Aske Hall used primarily for lectures given by visiting speakers. Behind the Aske Building and slightly on the left you can find the very recently constructed multi-purpose sports complex which was opened in 2016 and formally called the Medburn Centre, the complex boasts a 24.96m swimming pool, climbing wall, gymnasium, the Medburn Hall, squash courts, new changing rooms and Joe's Café in the lobby area. The complex was connected to the older McGowan Hall which is a large sports halls used for various activities as well as exams. In June of 2022, the school opened their 2 new buildings on site for core subjects, the Taylor and Hinton buildings, named after former headmasters of the school. The new buildings have state-of-the art classrooms and house the subjects:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

and Modern Foreign Languages (in the Taylor) and Maths and

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

(in the Hinton). As part of the construction a new drama studio was constructed between the Taylor and Bourne buildings acting as a "bridge" and the grounds around these buildings have been uplifted from being an empty playground space with spaces like the "Lime Walk" and "Rain Garden". Behind the new buildings is the oldest building on site: the Design and Art Centre housing the DT and Art subjects. The lower floor has 3 distinct DT workshops and 2 DT computer labs for classes to use and the upper floor has four studios for drawing, painting, printing, sculpture, digital design, textiles and ceramics on top of a dedicated Sixth Form studio and Art and Design library. On the other side of the school is the Prep School which was extended and renovated in 2019, the newly constructed Pre-Prep school which is set to be complete for October 2022, the Penne's Changing Rooms (which are for Rugby and Cricket players who are playing on the school fields). To the right side of the Penne's is the North Drive Car Park for teachers and support staff and to the left is the Coach Park, but in front of the Penne's is the main field area. The school remains moderately religious; it has a chaplain who takes assemblies as well as teaching. Assemblies are regular and mandatory, following a theme for each term. The school hosts an annual carol service at nearby

St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

. The chaplain leads the services, which take place at the end of the autumn term. Sports are organised well also, sports days being hosted at the StoneX Stadium alongside the Haberdashers' Schools for Girls every year. Within the school, cricket is played at the indoor nets (in the McGowan Hall) or outdoor nets or on the Croquet Lawn, rugby and football are played on the main field, hockey and tennis are played on the Astroturf, badminton is played indoors in the McGowan and squash is played on the indoor squash courts.

Academics

The school admits pupils based upon a school-specific competitive examination (not the Common Entrance Paper) at either 11+ or 13+ (with entry into the preparatory school at 4+, 5+, or 7+).

offers statistics are as follows: Older averages (2001–2006) placed the school at nineteenth in the country. The school was ranked 15th by ''The Sunday Times'' in their 2006 Parent Power feature on the best independent schools, down from 12 in the previous year. According to the ''Times'' rankings, Habs came 12th (out of 1,150 schools) in GCSE rankings and 72nd (out of 939) at A-level, though this is largely because most boys at Habs only took three A-levels, and so received a lower total score than other comparable schools. In the same year, the ''Telegraph'' placed Habs in 15th place based on A- and AS-level results, and 8th (out of 2703) in their full list ranked by average score per A-level entry. In the 2015 private school League tables, ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' placed the School 10th in the country for GCSE and achieved a 74% overall A* grade. Similarly, at A-Level, the school gained several places and was listed at 7th in the country having received 83% A*-A grades. For the main academic subjects taken by boys to GCSE (which consist of mathematics, the sciences, and English), IGCSE papers are written. Mathematics and the sciences use Edexcel IGCSE papers; English use AQA papers and the humanities – the school offers history, geography, and theology and philosophy – write the Cambridge International Examinations. The modern foreign languages department (MFL) also uses Cambridge International Examinations. Those pupils in the higher sets may sit an additional paper from the Institute of Linguistics. The head of Maths is currently Andy Ward, the head of English is Ian Wheeler, and the head of science is Dr Hobbs.

Houses

The school sorts the boys into one of six school houses, each house having their own 'house colour' used on the standard and house ties worn by pupils: *Calverts (orange, previously dark blue) *Hendersons (red) *Joblings (green) *Meadows (purple) *Russells (light blue) *Strouts (yellow) The names for these houses derive from the names of their original housemasters. While the school places pupils in tutor groups, these are purely for pastoral purposes and are taught in mixed, or streamed, sets. The school awards several shields at the end of the academic year for competitions between the houses. These shields include: *Junior Work and Conduct *Middle-School Work and Conduct *Senior Work and Conduct *The Crossman Shield, awarded for success in inter-house sporting competitions *The Dunton Shield, awarded to the house with the highest number of points in the above four categories combined Throughout the year, there are numerous inter-house events, including sporting and non-sporting competitions such as inter-house debating, inter-house chess, inter-house scrabble, inter-house backgammon, and inter-house bridge, inter-house MasterChef, and inter-house target shooting. The school expects each boy to represent their house in at least one activity. However, many boys represent their houses in multiple activities. In the preparatory and pre-preparatory schools, the houses are the following: *Andrews (blue) *Davids (yellow) *Georges (red) *Patricks (green) The house names represent the patron saints of the four states of the United Kingdom (

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

). Bands on students' ties reflect these house colours.

Ties

Several ties are available for participation in extra-curricular activities and contributions to specific areas of school life (such as art). These ties include: *House tie (awarded to boys who have made exceptional contributions to their house, in inter-house events, or through reports and tracking grades) *Art tie (awarded to boys who have made an outstanding contribution to art) *Rugby tie (awarded to boys who are selected for and attend the rugby tour of the year) *Aske tie (awarded to boys who have made an outstanding all-round contribution to the school) *Senior Honours Tie *Prefects' tie (awarded to 50 boys selected as prefects in their U6th year)

Fees

The total cost of attending the main school (years 7–13) in 2021-2022 is £21,477.00 (£7,159.00 per term). The prep school's (also located on the same site) fees are the same as the main school. The termly cost excludes extras such as coach fare, lunch, and instrumental lessons.

Co-curricular

Societies

There are many pupil-run societies at Haberdashers', usually presided over by a teacher.

Debating, public speaking

The school has a strong reputation for debating. In 2010, two out of the four members of the England Worlds Competition Team were pupils at Haberdashers', while two out of the four teams in the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

finals were from the school. In April 2012, the school's public speaking team won the East England Public Speaking competition, and in the national final, the team became national runners-up.

HabsMUN and Model United Nations

The school participates in

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

, partaking in several international conferences. In December 2014, twelve boys from the lower sixth attended the Paris International Model United Nations Conference held at the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Chambers in Paris. The conference awarded five boys the 'best delegate' award, and Habs won the (only three-times awarded) 'best school' accolade. The school also hosts its own MUN conference, HabsMUN, which over 450 delegates attend. The school held the first HabsMUN in 2009, and in 2017 the conference received THIMUN accreditation (one of only four conferences in the UK). Previous attendees have included several American and international schools that travel solely for the conference. HabsMUN boasts a standalone website, the MyHabsMUN online portal, and a mobile app for delegates and advisors.

Combined Cadet Force

Pupils in year 10 and above may take part in the Haberdashers' detachment of the

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...

(CCF). The CCF comprises Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force sections. The corps takes cadets on a field day each term to participate in section-specific activities.

Outdoor Education

Pupils in year 10 have the option to partake in Outdoor Leadership instead of CCF, or SCS (school community service). It is run by James Dunlop, and activities consist of

Scuba Diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

Rock Climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically a ...

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a ...

, as well as others. Previous field days have included trips to Wales, as well as Scuba Diving trips to Lanzarote.

School community service

Students who do not participate in the Combined Cadet Force or Outdoor Leadership are required to do school community service (SCS) once a week. This can range from helping out in local nursing homes to teaching skills such as debating to younger pupils. As with CCF, SCS is designed to encourage a sense of responsibility within a community and benefit other people both within and outside the school.

Other co-curricular activities

Sport is a significant activity at the school, with a plethora of different teams and a wide array of sports, including cricket, rugby,

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

and squash. A new multi-million-pound sports complex was completed in January 2016, named the Medburn Centre.

Links to the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers

The school retains strong links with the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, members of which sit on the school's governing body. All new school members are also invited to visit Haberdashers' Hall in the

in the first year of the senior school.

Coat of arms

The school's coat of arms and motto is lent by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers. The arms are

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...

ed: ''Barry wavy of six argent and azure on a bend gules a lion passant guardant Or, on a wreath argent and azure colours issuing from clouds two naked arms embowed holding a laurel wreath all proper, on either side a goat of India argent flecked gules and membered Or'' Motto: ''Serve and Obey'' These armorial bearings, including the crest of two arms holding a wreath, were granted to the Haberdashers' Company on 8 November 1570 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux.

Other Haberdashers' Schools

Haberdashers' School for Girls Haberdashers' Girls' School is an independent day school in Elstree, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as "Habs" (or "Habs Girls" to distinguish it from the neighbouring Haberdashers' Boys' School). The school was founded in 1875 by the Wor ...

was established in

. It moved to Acton in 1898 and, in 1974, to its current location next to the Boys' School in

. *

Haberdashers' Hatcham College Haberdashers' Hatcham College (formerly Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College) is a state secondary school with academy status and a music specialism located in New Cross. The school was formerly a grammar school, then a comprehensive City Tech ...

, formerly Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Boys' & Girls' schools, based in New Cross, SE London. *The Haberdashers' Company was also involved in the foundation of other schools such as the boarding Monmouth School. However, these are not associated with Robert Aske. * Haberdashers' Crayford Academy, formerly Barnes Cray Primary School, based in

Crayford Crayford is a town and electoral ward in South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the historic county of Kent until 1965. The settlement de ...

, SE London. *Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy, Bromley Kent

School magazines

''Skylark'' and ''Skylight'' are the official school magazines. Pupils at the school edit both. Other school magazines, including ''SCOPE'' (Scientific and Technical Journal), ''The Change'' (Literary Journal), ''Timeline'' (History), ''The Key'' (Economics), ''Habs Geographical'' (Geography), ''Enigma'' (Computer Science) ''Magasinh'' (Mathematics), ''Veritas'' (Theology and Philosophy) and ''The Score'' (Music), are published regularly.

Notable former pupils

See List of Old Haberdashers

Notable teachers

* Laurence Broderick, sculptor, former head of Art * John Dudderidge, Olympic canoeist, taught chemistry * Julian Hails, former footballer, taught mathematics * Jamie Hewitt, cricketer, teaches PE * John Knight, former footballer, taught chemistry * Clive Rees, former rugby player, taught PE * David Thomas, Olympic hockey player, was director of PE * Doug Yeabsley, former cricketer and rugby player, taught chemistry * Wayne Thomas, former footballer, teaches PE

Controversies

In 2020, the former caretaker Justin Terry, 45, mixed cocaine with chemicals before pressing it inside his on-site lodge at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, and was found by police with two kilo (2.2lb) blocks of the drug along with £37,000 cash hidden underneath his bed. He was jailed for 8 years. As a result of discussion in 2021, Robert Aske's name was dropped from the boys' and girls' Haberdashers' Schools in Elstree, due to his previous links with the slave trade; although it was retained by their governing body. At the same time, the school's motto was changed, from "Serve and Obey" to "Together, boundless". The motto reflected the Christian values of the school, not its links with slavery, but was seen to be inappropriate following the discovery.

References

Other references

*J. S. Cockburn, H. P. F. King, K. G. T. McDonnell (1969)
A History of the County of Middlesex. Volume 1
Physique, Archaeology, Domesday, Ecclesiastical Organization, The Jews, Religious Houses, Education of Working Classes to 1870, Private Education from Sixteenth Century''. Boydell & Brewer () *J. W. Wigley ''Serve and Obey, a History of the School''

External links

Tatler Schools Guide page on HABS
{{Authority control Boys' schools in Hertfordshire Haberdashers' Schools Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Independent schools in Hertfordshire Educational institutions established in the 1690s Preparatory schools in Hertfordshire Relocated schools 1690 establishments in England Schools with a royal charter Aldenham