Worksop College

Worksop College (Originally St Cuthbert's College)

Motto	Semper ad coelestia
Established	1890
Type	Independent school Day and boarding school
Headmaster	Roy A. Collard
Chairman of the Governors	T. D. Fremantle, M.B.A.
Founder	Canon Nathaniel Woodard
Location	Worksop Nottinghamshire England
Staff	57
Students	458
Gender	Co-educational
Ages	13–18
Houses	8
Colours	Navy blue, black and gold
Former pupils	Old Worksopians
Affiliation	Woodard Corporation
Website	www.worksopcollege.notts.sch.uk

Worksop College is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils aged 13 to 18, in Worksop, a large town on the River Ryton, at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is around 19 miles from the City of Sheffield.

Origins

Construction began in 1890 on St Cuthbert's College (changed to Worksop College in the 1930s) and was the last school to be personally opened by Woodard himself, on September 5, 1895. The land on which the school was built and the tree-lined drive were donated by the Duke of Portland. In the beginning space was scarce, with only the Great Hall and East Wing complete - a temporary chapel was also erected. St Cuthberts chapel which stands today was opened in 1906 after Lord Mountgarret made funds available. Mountgarret did not live to see the finished building; the new building was opened by Lady Mountgarret in 1906. Legend has it that a ghost haunts the grounds of Worksop College, thought to be that of Nathaniel Woodard himself.

The House system

As with many similar independent schools, Worksop is split into houses. There are eight in total at the School.

Boys' houses:

• Mason House (formerly Cross, opened in 1895)
• Pelham House (formerly Fleur de Leys, opened in 1895)
• Talbot House (formerly Crown, opened in 1895)
• Portland House (opened in 1948 when Prep moved to Ranby)
• Shirley House (opened in 1934)

Girls' houses:

• Derry House (opened in 1978)
• Gibbs House (opened in 1986)
• School House (opened in 1930, closed in 1986, re-opened in 2007)

Closed house:

• Mountgarret (formerly Lion, opened 1895, closed 1993)

Talbot House

Talbot is one of the original houses of Worksop and was known as Crown until the 1930s when all house names were changed by the then headmaster Reverend Shirley (Crown is still the house crest). Current housemaster is Peter Richardson who took over from Colin Paton who had been at the helm since 1994 when he took over from A.J.A. Beal. Other Talbot housemasters have included: N.M Simmonds, E.E. Peters, J.S.B George, J. Dronfield, H.A. Cartledge, R. Sowerbutts, F.C.M. Richards, E.T. Weddell and R. Browning.

Talbot remains the only boys house to have been located away from the main buildings (it was located in the current location of School House from the mid 1960s until the mid 1980s). Talbot is currently housed in the former Scholae quarters where it moved when Scholae was closed in the mid 1980s.

Talbot was home to Jack Buckner and Tom Buckner in the 1970s and early 1980s, both went on to become international athletes. Another athletics international from Talbot was P.R. Brunyee (1952–1956) who competed in Cardiff's Empire Games of 1958 (Brunyee's 14.9 for the high hurdles is the oldest College record on the books). More recently Talbot was the home of Samit Patel (1998–2003) who represented England at various agegroups at cricket and is now a full time Nottinghamshire professional.

The McKay brothers, Andy and Mike who were pupils in Talbot in the 1980s are probably the best known non-sporting alumni. The brothers are the owners of Manumission, Ibiza, the largest nightclub in the world. They also played a large part in the first series of Ibiza Uncovered. Sam Farmer, who was a pupil in Talbot at the same time as the McKay's, is currently married to TV's Caroline Quentin and has been featured widely in the press.

In the late 90's and early 00's Talbot House saw a group of housemates build an undying and relentless spirit of camaraderie, during the period the house adopted a new unofficial mascot, a Beaver, there are many rumors as to the origin of the name. However, all that can be independently confirmed is that the name does not derive from any of the obvious beaver connotations. The Talbot Beavers' crowning achievement was in 2003 when they became the only house for several years to hold all three major boys house trophies - Rugby, Hockey and Cricket

Mason House

Mason, along with Talbot and Pelham House, is one of the original houses of Worksop and was called Cross previously. The House is situated next to the Headmaster's house and the School Library. The current head of Mason is W.G. Robinson. The emblem of the house is a golden cross, kept from the original name and crest.

Pelham House

The shape of Pelham House is slightly reminiscent of a letter 'L', if you can imagine a large version of that letter laid out on the ground and then walls being constructed along its perimeter. Its two arms, as it were, set at right angles to each other comprise the junior and senior wings of the House. Over the last few years Pelham was the strongest for house sports. The current housemaster of Pelham is T.P. Larkman

Portland House

Portland house is the newest boys house at Worksop and is one of the most popular amongst those pupils entering the school from Ranby House. Portland has a strong sporting tradition. Portland has produced a number of very strong sporting pupils over the last number of years, most recently Steve Lawrence who captained the England under 19 hockey team in 2003. Others include Simon Heggie who was an international 400m runner, Henry Straw who represented England at under 15 level at cricket in 1996 and Joe Root who scored a century for England under 15s in 2006. The current housemaster is Mr T J Franse.

Shirley house (Motto: Loyal je Suis)

Founded in 1930s after Rev Shirley, a keen collector of peeled pickled pears, this house was unique amongst the houses as it moved to become the first co-educational house in 1991 up until 2007 at the same time it also became a day house with boarding phased out with the last intake of boarders in 1990. Shirley is currently for day pupils only (although since Housemaster Chad Hamlet took over in 2007, there have been several weekly boarders in Shirley who spend the night in a boarding house). Alumni of Shirley house include N.M. Hall who captained the England Rugby Union team in the 1950s and Phillip Sharpe who scored a century for England at cricket in the 1960s.

School house (Motto: Semper ad Coelestia)

School house is an all girl house. It was reopened in 2007 after being closed since the mid 1980s and is situated in the old Gibbs building north-west of the main school.

Derry house

Derry is an all girl house. It is situated near the Great Hall and usually holds around 50-60 girls.

Gibbs house

Gibbs House is one of the girls houses of the college. It's the house with the most boarders and fullboarders. Gibbs House is a very strong community, a big family. "If it's not purple, it's not good enough!" (quote: a former deputy house captain) Gibbs House has recently been refurbished and now occupies a purpose build facility on the former site of the 1st XV rugby pitch. The new facility cost in excess of £2 million and boasts its own computer suite and laundry.

Mountgarret House

When Mountgarret house was closed in the 1992 there was uproar amongst Old Worksopiand and current house members. The dwindling numbers at the College led to the closure, along with School House. The Mountgarret name was brought back to Worksop when the current Headmaster created the Mountgarret Music Centre in 2000, although this was seen by many as a cop out, as Mountgarret was a house rather than a music school.

College buildings

Worksop has many fine buildings including:

• The Great Hall, the centrepiece to Worksop and the first building to be completed. One of the largest rooms in Nottinghamshire, its hammerbeams are spectacular; the original design was based upon Westminster Abbey. With the eyes of all the former headmasters looking down, it is a most imposing structure. Mouse Man furniture was acquired in the 1930s and remains to this day. On the wall facing the 1st XI cricket square can be found many carvings of Old Boys from the time Worksop was opened.
• The Chapel, opened in 1906. The structure was based upon that of Westminster Abbey and the ceiling contains many passages of Latin verse. Worksop is also the owner of a newly refurbished organ which stands nearly the height of the Chapel.
• The East Wing, the first wing of Worksop to be opened, was blessed in 1895 by the Bishop of Southwell. The East Wing is a huge building standing five floors high and contains many quirky floors, which can be entered through trap doors in some very odd places.
• The Squash Courts were once lit by natural light, but the former roof has now been replaced by a lowered ceiling. The courts are an excellent example of early squash courts. The balcony is particularly noteworthy as the courts were designed in back to back format which is quite rare.

The Dorm Run

One of the original sporting events at Worksop was the Dorm Run and was first coined in the late 19th century (so called as people ran for their dorm, Fluer de Leys, Cross, Crown or Lion). The Dorm Run is still a large part of life at Worksop and despite a number of course alterations is still run this day. Well known past winners include:

• David Griffiths (Mason) Commonwealth Games competitor. Winner in 1958, 1959 & 1960.
• Bill Foster (Pelham) International marathon runner. Winner in 1976.
• Jack Buckner (Talbot) European 5000m champion and Olympian. Winner in 1977, 1979 & 1980.
• Tom Buckner (Talbot) AAA steeplechase champion and Olympian. Winner in 1981.
• Simon Lewis (Shirley) Wales international steeplechase runner. Winner in 1991, 1992 & 1993.
• Simon Heggie (Portland) England international 400m runner. Winner 1994.
• Graham Anderson (Pelham) England international hockey player. Winner in 2000.
• Steve Lawrence (Portland) England U21 hockey captain. Winner in 2001.
• Sam Dixon (Shirley) England U18 hockey player. Winner in 2007 and 2008.

Jack Buckner would have been the only pupil to have won the Dorm Run four years in succession had it not been for the cancellation of the race in 1978 due to snow and flu epidemic, thus he become one of the 3 time winners of the race (others being Simon Lewis (Shirley) 1991, 1992 & 1993 and Marcus Smith (Pelham) 1995, 1996 & 1997). Buckner holds the course record of 18:35, Tom Buckner is second on the list with 19:58 (1981) and Simon Lewis is third and fourth with 19:59 (in 1992) and 20:00 (1993). On the pre 1968 course (using Windmill Lane rather than the Golf Course route) David Griffiths held the record of 19:20 in 1959. A year later Griffiths finished 5th at the England School's Cross Country Championships and recorded 19:48 in snowy conditions.

The Dorm Run course was temporarily changed in 2004 due to logging on Fred's Hill. The course has now been restored to its original length.

Rugby

Rugby was first introduced to the College in 1921 and the College quickly found its feet. From 1929 - 1942 the College played exactly 100 games, winning 76, drawing 5 and losing only 19, a quite excellent record for such a comparatively small school. In the early days many College players were capped by the England Public Schools XV - the first being G Laing in 1930. Laing was also 'invited' to play for Blackheath upon completing his studies at Worksop.

The finest seasons of rugby were enjoyed in the late 1930s and early 1940s where the college remained unbeaten for a number of years. In 1941 the XV notched up some impressive victories en route to their first unbeaten season: Ampleforth College 6-3, Denstone College 16-3, St Peters School, York 28-0 and Sedbergh School 30-0. N.M Hall who captained the 1943 XV (which was also unbeaten) captained the North of Thames XV in the same year and would later captain England a record 19 times. Anderson, Millar, Carmichael, Ewart and Jennison were all capped by the North of Thames Public Schools during this season.

The appointment of England and British Lion Jeff Butterfield in 1954 as a master at the College quickly led to a surge in success. In 1960 the College rugby sevens team captained by D.E. Tarbatt and coached by Butterfield reached the final of the Roslyn Park competition, narrowly losing out to Edinburgh Academy in the final.

In 2007 the 1st XV recorded their first unbeaten season since 1943 with victories over The Manor School, Trent College, Ratcliffe College, Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Nottingham High School, Pocklington School, Loughborough Grammar School, Ashville College, Denstone College, Lady Manners School, Bryanstone School (on tour South African tourists) and Silcoates School amongst others. The team scored 477 points and conceded only 47, which gives them the best points difference in the UK for their age group.

2009 was another highly successful season for Worksop College rugby. Had it not been for an outbreak of Swine Flu mid-way through the season it is likely that the two 1st XV games lost would have been reversed. Of particular frustration was the third round Under-18 Daily Mail Cup loss to Oakham School. However this loss did mean that Worksop were entered into the Daily Mail Vase, where they have progressed with relative ease to the latter stages and must be amongst the favorites to take the title. The one other loss (to old rivals Denstone College) was also a blow as Denstone went on to record an unbeaten season, albeit with a slightly less intense fixture schedule. Over the course of the season the 2nd XV were unbeaten and the 3rd and under 14 XV's recorded only one loss each. George Barnes and Jack Bradford were called up to the Scotland under 17 team, the latter has also progressed to the Midlands Under 18 team.

Hockey

Hockey has been in existence at Worksop since the late 1920s, it was probably originally introduced due to the sandy nature of the soil on Sparken Hill which led to superbly drained pitches. Like cricket, hockey has always been a strong sport at the College and fixtures are regularly played against some of the strongest schools in the Midlands including Repton School, QEGS Wakefield, Solihull School, Uppingham School and Trent College. In 2005 the College XI reached the semi-finals of the National Schools Competition having beaten Repton School and Trent College en route. In 2008 Worksop have once again reached the last four, losing 1-0 to Kingston Grammar School in the semi-final. Kingston went on to beat Millfield School in the final.

During the 2007/2008 season the College played 18 matches winning 17. During the course of the season the team scored 110 goals with only 18 scored in reply. Some notable results included two 6-1 wins over Repton School, a 6-0 win over Oundle School, Trent College were beaten twice (3-1 and 3-2) and QEGS Wakefield were beaten twice 5-0 and 8-0.

Over the course of the 2008/2009 Worksop College played 29 matches against other schools and clubs, winning 28. The one loss came in the final of the National School's Championships to Dean Close School (Gloucestershire). En route to the final, the College had beaten Queen Mary's Grammar School, Solihull School, Loughborough Grammar School, Egglescliffe School and Tonbridge School.

Worksop has produced many international hockey players over the years, the earliest coming in the form of F.T. Hopkinson (Mason 1929-1934) who went on to be capped by England in 1939. In 2003 Stephen Lawrence (Portland 1998-2003) captained the England under-18 team and in 2005 Adam Dixon (Shirley 2003-2005) achieved the same feat. Dixon is now a current member of the Great Britain hockey team. Other international hockey players in recent times have included: John Grice (Pelham 1994-1999) who played for Great Britain at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Graham Anderson (Pelham 1996-2001), Sam Dixon (Shirley 2004-2009), Dave Jones (Mason 2006-2008) Matt Parker (Pelham - current), Rob Trem (Shirley - current), Joe Morrison (Mason - current) and David Overton (Pelham - current). The only female international produced thus far has been Holly Brown (Gibbs - current) who has played for England at under 16 and under 18 levels.

History

The Shirley years

Worksop was known as St Cuthbert's College until Shirley himself decided to change its name in the mid 1930s, Shirley College was his preferred choice. Under Shirley the school prospered and a huge building programme was undertaken - the Sanatorium, Squash courts, Eton Fives courts (replaced in the 1960s by the chemistry department), staff houses, Old Theatre, Art School, West Wing and the top proportion of the North Wing were all completed, as was a state-of-the-art latrine block. Shirley's plan was to turn Worksop into the Eton of the Midlands. School numbers had risen to 500 and the school had created a brilliant reputation amongst English Public Schools with many sixth-formers achieving scholarships to Oxbridge and when Shirley left he took with him many staff and prefects, something that was frowned upon at the time and prompted Shirley to be struck off the HMC register.^{[citation needed]}

The 1950s & 1960s

The 50s and 60s were another period of growth for the College. New buildings that appeared at this time included the gym (now demolished), swimming bath (opened in 1954), Churchill Hall Theatre, Chemistry Department and Talbot House (now School House and language department). A new rugby pitch was leveled in 1954; Jeff Butterfield led a Worksop College XV to victory against Worksop RFC in the opening match.

1980 - present

The 1980s and early 1990s were difficult years for Worksop with school numbers falling (as in most public schools in the UK) and little school development took place. An extension to the Churchill Hall was made in 1981 and would form the newly established Craft and Design Centre, with a young Brian Biddulph at the helm. Roger Knight was appointed head in the early 1990s and the school's reputation fell^{[citation needed]}. This all changed however when the current headmaster Roy Collard took over, and began his impressive working partnership with Carl Bilson. One promise made when he took up the role was to bring back the name 'Mountgarret' to Worksop (Old Boys from Mountgarret apparently donate most to the school). Not long after Collard took over as head, Worksop celebrated its centenary and HRH The Princess Royal opened the new school ICT centre. Collard did indeed bring back the Mountgarret name to Worksop by renovating the latrine block of the 1930s into a new music school. Other recent developments include the increased provision of ICT facilities, refurbishment of dated boarding accommodation, new teaching facilities and the new Sports Hall (opened 2003). The new Gibbs Boarding house was opened in early 2007.

Notable Old Worksopians

Former students of Worksop College are referred to as Old Worksopians. See also Category:Old Worksopians.

• George Able (Mountgarret) - Master of Dulwich College and educationalist.
• Major William Barnsley Allen VC DSO MC (Mason) - recipient of the Victoria Cross.
• John Austin - Bishop of Aston (1992–2005).
• Christopher Awdry (Mountgarret) - Children's author famous for writing The Railway Series of books including Thomas the Tank Engine
• Richard Bacon (Mason) - broadcaster.
• Jack Buckner (Talbot) - European 5000m champion 1986, Commonwealth Silver Medallist 1986, World Championship Bronze Medallist 1987 and double Olympian (Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992).
• Tom Buckner (Talbot) - AAA steeplechase champion and Olympian (Barcelona 1992).
• Simon Corlett (Portland) - former president of the Irish Cricket Board.
• Neil Dickson (School House) - actor
• Adam Dixon (Shirley) - current member of the England and GB hockey team
• Bill Foster (Portland) - International marathon runner and World Masters Indoor 3000m Champion 2010.
• Vivian Hollowday (School House & Shirley) - the first member of the RAF to be awarded the George Cross.
• John Grice (Pelham) - Former member of the Great Britain hockey team.
• Norman (Nim) Hall (Shirley) - England fly half and captain in the late 1940s and 1950s.
• Matthew Lambley (Shirley) - Great Britain hammer thrower.
• Samit Patel (Talbot) - Nottinghamshire and England cricketer.
• Judge James Pickles (Mountgarret) - Judge, tabloid columnist and occasional TV personality.
• Ivor Roberts-Jones (Pelham) - sculptor who produced amongst other works the statue of Winston Churchill which currently stands in Parliament Square, London.
• Joe Root (Portland) - Yorkshire cricketer.
• Phil Sharpe (Shirley) - England cricketer and Wisden Cricketer of the year 1966.
• Rupert Sheldrake (Pelham) - scientist, author and television personality.
• Mark Simmonds (Portland) - Conservative Member of Parliament for Boston and Skegness.
• Chad Varah CH CBE (Fleur de Lys) - Founder of The Samaritans.
• Marcus Vere (Pelham) - musician, composer and keyboard player in the 80s group Living In A Box.

Notable staff

• Jeff Butterfield - Captain of England rugby team in the 1950s
• Frank Dick OBE - Former British Athletics Fedaration Director of Coaching and motivational speaker
• Herbert Jacob - Engand rugby wing 1924-1930
• Alan Old - England rugby fly half 1972-1978
• Roger Knight - Former secretary to the MCC
• Ken Farnes - England fast bowler in the 1930s
• Nick Gaywood - England Minor Counties cricketer

External links

• Worksop College homepage
• Old Worksopian Society
• Woodard Schools website