The Minster School was an independent preparatory school for children aged 3–13 in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was founded to educate choristers at

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

and continued to do so, although no longer exclusively, until in June 2020 it was announced that the school would close at the end of that term. The building is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

and has since been redeveloped as a restaurant, the York Minster Refectory. The Choir School moved to

St Peter's School, York St Peter's School is a mixed-sex education, co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school (also referred to as a Public school (United Kingdom), public school), in the English City of York, with extensive ...

in September 2020.

Location

The school occupied today's 8

Minster Yard Minster Yard is a street in the city centre of York, England. It runs along the southern, eastern and northeastern sides of York Minster, for which it is named. History The street may have originated as the courtyard of the headquarters buildi ...

, part of a complex of buildings in York, directly across from the

. The building was converted into the York Minster Refectory after the school's closure, and was opened by King Charles on Maundy Thursday 2023.

History

The school traced its origins to a "song school" founded in 627 by

Paulinus of York Paulinus (died 10 October 644) was a Roman missionary and the first Bishop of York. A member of the Gregorian mission sent in 601 by Pope Gregory I to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, Paulinus arrived in E ...

, the first Archbishop of York, however the current school was re-founded in 1903. The Minster School had a strong focus on music and, of the 180 pupils, 40 were

chorister A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

s at

. Buildings used by the school have been awarded listed status, among them the school house built 1830–1833, two houses dating back to 1837, and a Georgian building of 1755. The school buildings were used to depict the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in the 2016 TV series '' Victoria''.

Suspension of staff in 2018

In May 2018, the school attracted national press attention when the headmaster and two other senior members of staff were suspended after three ‘unsecured’

air rifles An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contr ...

were found on school premises. The

Dean of York The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral. As well as being the head of the cathedral church of the diocese and the metropolitical church of the province, the Dean of York holds ...

faced protests by parents supportive of the staff and angry at the manner of the suspension.

Closure

The school had relied upon income from York Minster. However the Minster's budget for 2020 had been based on expected tourist income in the coming year. In June 2020, the Minster announced that due to the shortfall caused by the lack of visitors during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

it was unable to continue assisting the school. The school closed at the end of the Summer Term that year, and new places were found elsewhere for their existing pupils.

Location

History

Suspension of staff in 2018

Closure

References

External links