St Philip's Grammar School, in Hagley Road,

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, was a Roman Catholic state

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. It was closed in 1976, but continued as a Sixth Form College until 1995.

History

St Philip's was founded when two priests of the

Birmingham Oratory The Birmingham Oratory is an English Catholic religious community of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. The community was founded in 1849 by St. John Henry Newman, Cong.Orat., the f ...

took over an existing Catholic Grammar School in 1887. It should not be confused with the Oratory School founded by

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and ...

in 1859 and which later moved to

Pangbourne Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has its own shops, schools, a railway station on the Great Western main line and a village hall. Outside its grouped developed area is an ...

, near

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. The school started in the Little Oratory on 19 September 1887 until the main building was completed on 13 December 1887. The longest-serving teacher in the school's history was Francis Thomas Leighton, who served as "Second Master" (Deputy Head) from 1911 until 1945, having served as Headmaster when the School was evacuated to Ludlow in 1941. His two sons, and later, grandson, also attended the school. FT Leighton finally left to found an independent Preparatory School, Leighton House School, serving as a "feeder" school for St Philip's. The school ceased to accept new entrants as a boys' Grammar School in 1976, while the 1975 cohort progressed through to 1980.

Sixth form college

It became St Philip's Roman Catholic

Sixth Form College A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate ...

in 1976, with around 800 sixth formers. In October 1992, due to only 30% of the intake being Catholic, the board of governors unsuccessfully attempted to change it to an 11-16 boys' secondary school, resulting in the ''Hagley Road'' site closing in August 1995. It temporarily became a site of

South Birmingham College South & City College Birmingham is a further education and higher education college in Birmingham, England, providing full-time and part-time courses. It was previously known as South Birmingham College and City College Birmingham before the m ...

from 1995 but was vacated in 2005. The main school buildings were demolished in the early months of 2012.

Notable alumni

Eamon Duffy Eamon Duffy (born 1947) is an Irish historian. He is a professor of the history of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow and former president of Magdalene College. Early life Duffy was born on 9 February 1947, in Dundalk, ...

, Professor of the History of Christianity at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

* Patrick Gallaher CBE, Chairman of North West Gas from 1974–82, and of Wales Gas Board from 1970–74, and President of the IGasE from 1977–78 *Sir Francis Griffin, Director of the

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

from 1970–74, 1976–80 * John Jenkins,

Ambassador to Iraq This is a list of United States ambassadors, or lower-ranking heads of a diplomatic mission to Iraq. * Alexander K. Sloan (1931) – ''Chargé d'Affaires'' * Paul Knabenshue (1932–1942) – ''Minister'' * Thomas M. Wilson (1942) – ''Minister ...

since 2009 * Paul Keenan, composer * Alfred Knight VC, OBE served in WW1 and later at Ministry of Labour *

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

Peter Latham, later

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

,''A History of St Philips, from Beginning to Beginning'', Margaret Worsley, Wine Press, Tamworth, 1997; Station Commander of

RAF Tengah ''Tengah'' is an Indonesian and Malay word meaning "Central". It can be found in topography, e.g. * Kalimantan Tengah * Tengah Islands or Central Archipelago. *Tengah, Singapore Tengah is a planning area and future HDB town located within the ...

from 1969–71 * Paul Francis Leighton, Broadcaster and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

Newsreader, 1981-2000.''A History of St Philips, from Beginning to Beginning'' by Margaret Worsley, Wine Press, Tamworth 1997, * Jim McCarthy, CEO of

Poundland Poundland is a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including clearance items and proprietary brands. The first pilot store opened in December 1990 following numerous rejections by ...

Don Maclean Don Maclean (born 1942/1943) MBE KSS is an English actor and comedian, who appeared on the BBC television series ''Crackerjack'' with Michael Aspel, Peter Glaze and Jan Hunt in the 1970s. Born in Birmingham, he attended Clifton Road Schoo ...

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers * Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Athlete * Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Circus performer * Clown * Club Hostess/Host * Com ...

and presenter of ''

Crackerjack Cracker Jack is a snack consisting of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts. Cracker Jack or Crackerjack may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Cracker Jack (''Street Fighter''), a character exclusive in ''Street ...

''. * Daniel Moylan, banker and Conservative politician * Stephen Nash, swimmer *

Anthony E. Pratt Anthony Ernest Pratt (10 August 1903 – 9 April 1994) was the inventor of the English detective-themed board game Cluedo, currently owned and marketed by American entertainment company Hasbro. In the lead-up to the 150 millionth sale of Cluedo ...

, inventor of the board game

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddingt ...

Terence Rigby Terence Christopher Gerald Rigby (2 January 1937 – 10 August 2008) was an English actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. In the 1970s he was well known as police dog-handler PC Snow in the long-running series '' Soft ...

, actor * Francis Farrell, Musician (Supertramp) *

William Slim William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

- Between 1903 and 1910, William Slim attended St Phillip's and King Edward's. As Field Marshal Slim, he served as the British commander-in-chief in Southeast Asia during World War II. * Joseph Spence, Master of Dulwich College *

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

and his brother Hilary Tolkien: In 1902, the Tolkien family moved to a house in Edgbaston next door to the Birmingham Oratory and the school. Tolkien had been attending King Edward's School but was moved to St Philip's. Later, he won a Foundation Scholarship to King Edwards and returned to his former school. *

John Warnaby John Warnaby is a British actor who has appeared extensively in film and television. Career In 1996, Warnaby appeared at the National Theatre in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's ''War and Peace''. In 2006, he appeared in ''The L ...

, Actor * Lawrence Holder - CEO of Cathedral Capital and Member of the Council of Lloyds *

Gerard Tracey Gerard David Tracey (9 March 1954 – 20 January 2003) was archivist at the Birmingham Oratory, and writer, editor and Newman Newman is a surname of English origin and may refer to many people: The surname Newman is widespread in the core Angl ...

, archivist, writer, editor and scholar. * Paul Crawford, Professor of Health Humanities,

The University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. * Sir

Simon Campbell Sir Simon Fraser Campbell, (born 27 March 1941) is a British chemist. Early life and education Campbell was born on 27 March 1941 in Lapal, England. He obtained a first-class BSc degree in Chemistry in 1962, a PhD degree in 1965, and an honorar ...

, CBE, FRS, FMedSci, International Director of Research Pfizer, Signatory to patent of Viagra; Past President of the Royal Society of Chemistry; Visiting Professor at the Universities of Bristol and São Paulo, board of advisors Universities of Leeds and Kent; Consultant FAO

References

External links

Tolkien Trail
*
Discussed in Parliament in October 1993
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Philip's School Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) Defunct schools in Birmingham, West Midlands Boys' schools in the West Midlands (county) Defunct grammar schools in England Defunct Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham Educational institutions established in 1887 Educational institutions disestablished in 1976 1887 establishments in England 1976 disestablishments in England Edgbaston

History

Sixth form college

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links