Bridgnorth Endowed School

Bridgnorth Endowed School
File:Bridgnorth Endowed School Logo New.JPG
Address
Northgate Bridgnorth , Shropshire , WV16 4ER England
Information
Type	Voluntary controlled
Motto	Working Together For Success
Established	1503
Founder	Bridgnorth Town Council
Local authority	Shropshire County Council
Specialist	Technology College
Ofsted	Reports
Chair	Richard Stilwell
Headteacher	Harold Loveday
Gender	Co-educational
Age	11 to 18
Enrollment	1,009 (2008)
Houses	Hardwicke, Rowley and Washbrook
Website	http://www.bridgnorthendowed.co.uk/

Bridgnorth Endowed School is a co-educational secondary school in the market town of Bridgnorth in the rural county of Shropshire, England. The Endowed School is a state school and is a specialist Technology College. The age range of the School is 11-18 years. Bridgnorth Endowed School is one of the most ancient schools in England, and indeed the world, having been founded in 1503 by Bridgnorth Town Council. The Endowed celebrated the 500th anniversary of its foundation in 2003. Bridgnorth Endowed School's alumni includes one Nobel Prize winner.

History

Bridgnorth Endowed School was founded in the reign of Henry VII. The Endowed School owes its ultimate origin to a deliberate act of Bridgnorth Town Council in 1503, when a 'common school' was set up and the individual priests of the College forbidden to take pupils (the priests serving the Chantries and Church of St Leonard lodged at 'the College', on the site of the present College House in St Leonard's Close which now houses Bridgnorth Town Council's offices).

The 'Old Grammar School' in St Leonard's Close with the tower of St Leonard's Church in the background

The School appears to have been supported out of the revenues of the Chantries of St Leonard's Church, and when in 1548 during the reign of Edward VI, the Chantries throughout England were dissolved, an annual payment of £8 from the exchequer was assigned in perpetuity 'to a Schoolmaster keeping a grammar school' at Bridgnorth. The School's first home seems to have been the the former chapel of St John the Baptist, a barn (the new Bridgnorth Town Hall was also built in 1652 using material from a dismantled barn) on the north side of St Leonard's churchyard outside St Leonard's Church. This building was described as the 'old school-house' by the end of the sixteenth century. The present 'Old Grammar School' in St Leonard's Close was originally built in 1595, in the reign of Elizabeth I, to replace the former chapel of St John the Baptist. This building appears to have been erected by Sir Rowland Haywood, a sixteenth century inhabitant of Bridgnorth who made a name for himself in business in London and became Lord Mayor of London and a Member of Parliament for the City of London. Indeed, Sir John Haywood in his will of 1635 refers to the School as having been founded by his father, Sir Rowland. Sir Rowland appears to have charged a property at Bridgnorth with an annual payment of £20 to the School, a payment later rendered by the Apley estate after Sir William Whitmore's purchase of the land in question in 1623. In 1785, during the reign of George III, the 'Old Grammar School' was renovated with gifts of £200 each given by the town's Members of Parliament, Major Whitmore and Admiral Pigot. The 'Old Grammar School' building still stands in St Leonard's Close and is currently occupied by a firm of accountants.

Headmaster's House in St Leonard's Close

In 1639 during the reign of Charles I Sir William Whitmore had erected on the east side of St Leonard's Church a house of which part was to be occupied, at a nominal rent, by the Headmaster, and the remainder by the Minister of St Leonard's Church. Sir William Whitmore's building still stands in St Leonard's Close. It has been converted into three private town houses with Grade II* listed status. The School was named by Edward Careswell of Bobbington as one of the several free grammar schools in Shropshire, also including Shrewsbury, Newport, Wem, Shifnal and Donnington (the last appears to have had only a short existence) to benefit by his will, which in 1690, during the reign of William III and Mary II devoted certain local properties to the maintenance of eighteen, later reduced to ten, scholars from these schools at Christ Church College, Oxford. These Careswell Exhibitions were first awarded in 1746, during the reign of George II. For 160 years Bridgnorth shared in the resulting close connexion between Shropshire and Christ Church College, Oxford, until in 1905 the Exhibitions became tenable elsewhere.

Sir John Josiah Guest, 1st Baronet, MP

The School was kept clean by the labour of 'a poor boy of the said School' who was paid 4 pence annualy by each of his fellows; normal repairs were paid for by the town; the town also added a further £10 to the School's annual income, but when that income had to be divided between the Headmaster and the Usher (who took the younger boys) it was naturally difficult to find and still more so to keep good masters. In 1635, for instance, the School contained only six boys. The reason for the long Headmasterships of Richard Cornes from 1677 to 1726 and of Dr Hugh Stackhouse from 1726 to 1743 was that they were both also incumbents of St Mary's Church. Dr Stackhouse bequeathed to the Bridgnorth clergy his collection of books and his memory is preserved in the name of the Stackhouse Library, the octagonal building later erected on the northeast side of St Leonard's Church to house the collection of books which he had begun. After 1766 no Usher was appointed; but the emoluments could not now support even a single master unless he could attract boarders to the School. Alumni of the School from this period include Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore and author of Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Sir John Josiah Guest, the engineer, entrepreneur and Member of Parliament, Thomas Beddoes, the physician and scientific writer, and William Macmichael, physician to Kings George IV and William IV and author of The Gold-Headed Cane.

Statue of Bishop James Fraser

In 1817 the Town increased its subsidy to £30, but in 1821 there were only ten boys, when the Dean of Christ Church College, Oxford, who had been asked to recommend a candidate, proposed as Headmaster twentyfour year old Thomas Rowley of Middleton Scriven, who had himself studied at Christ Church College, Oxford. Under Dr Rowley's leadership the School's reputation increased. Dr Rowley's success as a teacher of the Classics soon attracted boarders (housed in the Headmaster's House in St Leonard's Close) from far and near. His pupils included not only Bridgnorth boys, but also those from further afield. The numbers rose to about 150. In 1841 Dr Rowley was attacked by some members of the Town Council who complained of the treatment of the day-boys by the boarders and of the School's concentration on the Classics; but the Borough Treasurer wrote in Rowley's defence that the day-boys can hardly not have benefited from the specialist teachers whom Rowley was able to engage.

General Sir Charles Warren, GCMG, KCB, FRS

Alumni of the School during this time include Bishop James Fraser, the reforming Bishop of Manchester, Lord Lingen, the influentual civil servant, Henry John Roby, the classical scholar, writer on Roman law and Member of Parliament, General Sir Charles Warren, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police during the period of the Jack the Ripper murders and later a (less than successful) General in the Second Boer War, and Reverand Robert William Eyton, Rector of Ryton and author of The Antiquities of Shropshire. The East Window of the St Leonard's Church was replaced in memory of Dr Rowley, subcribed for by old scholars of the School and dedicated by Bishop James Fraser. Dr Rowley's successors after 1850 had not his ability, and accordingly the School's numbers and reputation, and their own enoluments, declined. Unsuccessful attempts were made to acquire some of the funds of the Careswell trust for the improvement of the School's buildings and endowments.

Sir Cedric Hardwicke, KBE

In 1909 the School passed into the control of the County Council, the new Grammar School building at Northgate having been built in 1908. (This building still forms the core of present day School and in 2003 a clock was placed on the outside of the building to mark the School's 500th anniversary.) In the years immediately previous to 1908 classes were held in three places - the Headmaster's House in St Leonard's Close, the Foster Memorial Institute in the High Street, and the 'Old Grammar School' building in St Leonard's Close. Until 1929 the Bridgnorth Girl's Public High School led an independent existence in the new Grammar School building at Northgate. The Grammar School and the Bridgnorth Girl's Public High School were finally combined in 1929. The mixed School was 'transitionally aided' under the Education Act 1944; in 1955 it become voluntary controlled. Alumni from this period of the School's history include Sir Cedric Hardwicke, the Hollywood character actor, Cyril Washbrook, the cricketer who played for Lancashire and England and who gained a famous record as batsman, and Professor Peter Bullock, the inspirational soil scientist who as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shared in the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

1908 New Grammar School Building at Northgate

The School's name was changed from Bridgnorth Grammar School to Bridgnorth Endowed School in 1974 when it began the transition from a selective to a comprehensive intake. The new name reflected the School's history, referring to the endowments it had received. In the nineteenth century the terms endowed school and grammar school were used interchangably as in the Endowed Schools Act 1869. In the second half of the twentieth century the School's buildings and sporting facilities were greatly expanded.

The Contemporary School

The School's three houses are named Rowley (red), Hardwicke (gold) and Washbrooke (green), after Dr Thomas Rowley, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Cyril Washbrook, CBE. There are inter-house sporting and other activities with prizes. The School offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Pupils can partake in modern, classical and musical drama productions. Instumental lessons are also available to pupils. Pupils can take part in aerobics, athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, cross-country running, dance, gymnastics, hockey, netball, rounders, rugby, soccer, softball, squash, swimming and tennis. Several pupils have been recently selected for County Cricket and Athletics. There are school trips abroad. Students also take part in charity activities.

Bridgnorth Endowed School 500th Anniversary Clock.

The curriculum followed throughout years 7, 8 and 9 (Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum) includes the full range of National Curriculum subjects plus a second foreign language and PHSE. In years 10 and 11 (Key Stage 4 of the National Curriculum) all pupils follow an extended core curriculum allowing all pupils to experience a broad range of subject areas up to the age of 16 as well as reflecting the requirements of the National Curriculum. All pupils in years seven to eleven are expected to wear the school uniform which includes a navy blue blazer with school badge and a House tie.

The School has around 150 students in the sixth form. AS and A2 subjects offered to Sixth formers in years 12 and 13 include Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Design, Drama, and Theatre Studies, English Language, English Literature, French, Further Maths, Geography, History, Information Technology, Maths, Music, Music Technology, PE, Physics, Psychology, RE, and Spanish. Year 12 students take four subjects at AS, and continue with three subjects at A2 in year 13. Sixth formers however do not wear school uniform.

Notable staff of recent times includes history teacher Ms Joan Lawrence who is now chairperson of Bridgnorth Historical Society.

The School was inspected by OFSTED in 2008 and the inspectors agreed with the School's own self-evaluatuion that the School is providing 'a satisfactory standard of education' and that 'many elements are good'. The 2003 OFSTED inspection had identified modern foreign languages as unsatisfactory, however in 2008 the inspectors noted that there had been a 'great improvement in the leadership of modern foreign languages since the last inspection.'

Notable alumni

Former pupils are known as 'Old Bridgnorthians'.

• Thomas Beddoes (1760–1808), physician and scientific writer.
• Professor Peter Bullock (1937-2008), Nobel Prize winning soil scientist.
• Reverand Robert William Eyton (1815-1881), Rector of Ryton and author of The Antiquities of Shropshire (1853-60).
• Bishop James Fraser (1818–1885), reforming Bishop of Manchester.
• Sir John Josiah Guest, 1st Baronet, MP (1785–1852), engineer, entrepreneur, and Member of Parliament.
• Sir Cedric Hardwicke, KBE (1893-1964), Hollywood character actor.
• Lord Lingen 1st Baron Lingen of Lingen KCB (1819–1905), influentual civil servant.
• William Macmichael (1783–1839), physician to Kings George IV and William IV and author of The Gold-Headed Cane (1827).
• Bishop Thomas Percy (1729-1811), Bishop of Dromore and author of Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765).
• Henry John Roby, MP (1830–1915), classical scholar, writer on Roman law, and Member of Parliament.
• General Sir Charles Warren, GCMG, KCB, FRS (1840–1927), Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and General in the Second Boer War.
• Cyril Washbrook, CBE (1914–1999), cricketer who played for Lancashire and England.

Further reading

• Maureen Jones (ed), Bridgnorth grammar and endowed schools : five hundred years of change 1503-2003 (Oxford, 2003)
• J. F. A. Mason, The Borough of Bridgnorth 1157-1957 (Bridgnorth, 1957)

See also

• List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom
• List of the oldest schools in the world
• List of Old Bridgnorthians

External links

• Official site
• Bridgnorth Endowed School General School Prospectus for Entry 2008-2009
• Bridgnorth Endowed School Sixth Form Prospectus for Entry 2008-2009
• OFSTED Inspection Report 2008
• OFSTED Inspection Report 2003