St Paul's Cathedral School is an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

associated with

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and is located in New Change in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. The school has around 220 pupils, most of whom are day pupils, both boys and girls, including up to 40 boy choristers who are all boarders and who sing the daily services in St Paul's Cathedral. The school became co-educational in 2002.

History

Originally the school was set up to provide education solely for the choristers and dates from about 1123, when eight needy children were given a home and education in return for singing in the cathedral. The Choir School and a

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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

co-existed under the aegis of the cathedral for many years, until the Grammar School was moved and re-established in 1511 by the humanist Dean

John Colet John Colet (January 1467 – 16 September 1519) was an English Catholic priest and educational pioneer. Colet was an English scholar, Renaissance humanist, theologian, member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and Dean of St Paul's Cathedr ...

to become St Paul's School. The Cathedral School and St Paul's School (now a public school) are now distinct and separate institutions. The original Choir School, which stood in St Paul's Churchyard, was destroyed with the cathedral in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666. The school has had several incarnations being re-built in 1670, in 1822 (in Cheapside) and 1875 (in Carter Lane). The building of 1875 is now a

Youth Hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

. The current buildings date from the 1960s and were designed by the Architects' Co-Partnership. File:YHA London St Pauls-8758399791.jpg, The Cathedral School of 1874, now a

; frontage to Carter Lane File:YHA London St Pauls 11.jpg, The Cathedral School of 1874, frontage to Dean's Court File:St Paul's Cathedral School.jpg, The present site of St Paul's Cathedral School, from the south-east. The tower is all that remains of St Augustine, Watling Street

Activities

In addition to the daily Evensong, the choristers of St. Paul's Cathedral, have taken part in a number of important recordings and tours and have performed at a number of important state occasions, including the funerals of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

and

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

, as well as the wedding of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

Child-abuse controversy

In December 2007 Stephen Douglas-Hogg, a former Classics and house master of the school, was arrested and charged with the abuse of a number of choristers during the 1980s. Following his attempted suicide during the initial stages of proceedings in October 2008, the 50-year-old Douglas-Hogg changed his plea halfway through the trial and admitted to 13 counts of indecent assault on five boys aged under 14. On 11 May 2009 Douglas-Hogg was sentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court.

Former pupils

Notable former pupils include: * Jonathan Battishill, composer *

Simon Russell Beale Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He has been described by ''The Independent'' as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awar ...

, actor * William Boyce, composer * Elwin Cockett, archdeacon *

Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English former cricketer and former captain (cricket), captain of the England Test Cricket, Test and One-Day International, ODI teams. He is considered one of the greatest opening batsmen ...

, cricketer * Charles Dixon, politician * William Cummings, musician and organist * Jimmy Edwards, script writer and actor *

Richard Gibson Richard Gibson (born 1 January 1954) is an Ugandan-born British actor, best known for his role as the archetypal Gestapo Officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC hit sitcom series, Allo 'Allo!''. Early life and education Gibson was born in Kamp ...

, actor * Maurice Greene, composer * Charles Groves, orchestral conductor *

Robin Holloway Robin Greville Holloway (born 19 October 1943) is an English composer, academic and writer. Early life Holloway was born in Leamington Spa. From 1953 to 1957, he was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was educated at King's College School, ...

, composer * Neil Howlett, opera singer * James Lancelot, organist *

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fi ...

, poet and novelist * Stephen Oliver, composer *

Julian Ovenden Julian Mark Ovenden (born 29 November 1976) is an English actor and singer. He has starred on Broadway and West End stages, in television series in both the United Kingdom and United States, in films, and performed internationally as a concert ...

, actor and singer * Peter Philips, composer and organist * Percy Sillitoe, policeman, Director General of MI5 1946–1953
Jonathan Sorrell
composer *

John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion (Stainer), The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some Angli ...

, composer and organist * Anthony Way, chorister and classical singer *

Marius de Vries Marius de Vries (born 1961) is an English record producer and composer. He has won a Grammy Award from four nominations, two BAFTA Awards, and an Ivor Novello Award. Education Marius de Vries was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, Bedfor ...

, composer and music producer *

Henry Jackman Henry Pryce Jackman (born 1 June 1974) is an English film and television music composer, music conductor and music arranger. He composed music for films such as '' Kong: Skull Island'', '' X-Men: First Class'', ''Puss in Boots'', ''Monsters vs ...

, composer

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul's Cathedral School 1123 establishments in England Cathedral schools Choir schools in England Church of England private schools in the Diocese of London Private co-educational schools in London Private schools in the City of London Preparatory schools in London