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Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It owns Joscas Preparatory School in Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire and has connections with St Helen & St Katharine School in Abingdon. It is the eighth oldest school in England.

**Abingdon School**
File:Oxford abingdon02.jpg
Headmaster	Mark Turner
School type	Independent
Religious affiliation	Church of England
Founded	1100 (foundation), 1256 (endowment)
Location	Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Enrollment	First Year (11), Third Year (13), Lower Sixth (17)
Surroundings	Suburban
Sports	Rowing, rugby, cricket, fives, tennis
School Motto	MISERICORDIAS DOMINI IN AETERNUM CANTABO

History

Abingdon School was founded in about 1100 by the Benedictine monks of Abingdon Abbey, and the original school used a room in St. Nicholas's Church. In 1256 Abbot John de Bloseneville left money for the school to support poor students - the school had now moved to a couple of rooms in Stert St. In 1563 John Roysse was persuaded to re-endow the school which then moved to a site south of the abbey. The name John Roysse's Free Grammar School was still in use well into the 20th century. Roysse was a Mercer, and through this association the school has received substantial benefactions from the Worshipful Company of Mercers. Thomas Tesdale, who had been a pupil in 1563 improved the premises and provided support for 13 Abingdon students to study at Oxford - this eventually developed into Pembroke College in 1624. In 1854 the college used new legislation to separate itself from the school. The current site was developed from 1870.

Students and houses

The school currently has around 800 pupils aged 11-18 of which about 135 are boarders. The school is split into 10 houses, 3 of which are solely for boarders, 7 solely for day boys. These are:

School
Crescent

These houses have all the middle school boarders (aged 13-16) and the majority of the sixth form boarders (aged 17-18).

Waste Court

This house has the remainder of the sixth form boarders and all of the lower school boarders (aged 11-12).

Elliott's
Gooding's
Franklin's
Hamilton's
Olders'
Townsend's
Phelps'

These houses have middle and upper school day boys.

Day boys from 11-12 belong to the Lower School.

With the exceptions of School, Crescent, Waste Court and Lower School all the houses take their names from the name of the current housemaster.

Extracurricular activities

Abingdon is notable in the region for its extensive dedication to extracurricular activities, dubbed the "Other Half" (of the syllabus).

Abingdon has a strong sporting tradition, especially in rowing.

File:Balloon05 P7011374.jpg

W.H. Zawadzki, eminent Polish historian and master i/c Debating Society, with three small debaters, at the Balloon Debate, 1 July 2005.

The Debating Society is the school's oldest non-sporting society, founded in 1904. A wide range of motions is debated, from humorous to serious, dealing with the great issues of the day. There are dinner debates with girls schools such as The School of St Helen and St Katharine, Wycombe Abbey and St Mary's, Wantage.

Abingdon's Combined Cadet Force is nationally acclaimed, with the cadets in the contingent's Royal Air Force section winning the 2002 Ground Training Competition (South East) at RAF Uxbridge, Middlesex.

Academic

File:Ccfinspection04 11.jpg

The Royal Air Force Section of Abingdon School Combined Cadet Force on parade.

Abingdon is also academically a very strong school: the students regularly achieve good results and a significant number progress to such venerable universities as St Andrews, Cambridge and Oxford.

Subjects taught to GCSE and A-Level are English, History, Geography, French, Russian, German, Religious Education and Religious Studies, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, Drama, Music, Art and Design, Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation or Ancient History.

Subjects taught to GCSE only are Spanish and Italian.

Subjects taught for A-Level only are Government and Politics, Economics, Business Studies and Art History, often taught in conjunction with the neighbouring girls' school, The School of St Helen and St Katharine.

Its Russian department is notably strong and was determined the best in the country by a major national newspaper.

Headmasters

Richard the Pedagogue, ~1100, (unverified)
John Clyffe, ~1540
Thomas Godwyn, 1601-1625
Anthony Huish, 1625-1654
Robert Jennings, 1657-1683
Richard Playdell, 1684-1716
Thomas Woods, 1716-1753
John Abbot, 1753-1758
Henry Bright, 1758-1774
Andrew Portal, 1774-1775
William Kennedy, 1775-1792
John Lemprière, 1792-1809
Edward Nicholson, 1810-1827
Joseph Hewlett, 1827-39
William Strange, 1840-1868
Edmund Harper, 1868-70
Edgar Summers, 1870-1883
William Cam, 1883-1893
Thomas Layng, 1893-1913
William Grundy, 1913-1947
James Cobban, 1947-1970
Eric Anderson, 1970-1975
Michael St. John Parker, 1975-2001
Mark Turner, 2001-present

Notable Old Abingdonians

Thomas Tesdale (1547–1610), maltster and benefactor of Abingdon
Sir John Bennet (1552–1627), Chancellor of the Diocese of York, 1589–1624, Judge of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1604–1621, Master in Chancery, 1608–1621, and politician
Sir Thomas Smith (1556–1609), Chief Secretary to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, 1580s–1595, Clerk of the Privy Council, 1595–1609, and Clerk of Parliament, 1597–1609
Robert Payne (1596–1651), clergyman and natural philosopher
Henry Langley (1610–1679), nonconformist minister
Thomas Moor (1648–1713), religious controversialist
Francis Ayscough (1701–1763), courtier, and Dean of Bristol, 1761–1763
Richard Graves (1715–1804), clergyman, writer and translator
Philip Wenman, 6th Viscount Wenman (1719–1760), politician
James Dawkins (1722–1757), antiquary and Jacobite
John Tracy, 7th Viscount Tracy of Rathcoole (1722–1793), Warden of All Souls College, Oxford, 1766–1793
William Huddesford (1732–1772), Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, 1755–1772
William Bagshaw Stevens (1756–1800), clergyman, poet, diarist, and Headmaster of Repton School, 1779–1800
James Brooks (1825–1901), architect
Nigel Bruce (1895–1953), actor
Robert Hayward (born 1949), politician
Matthew Harding (1953–1996) businessmen and vice-president of Chelsea Football Club
Francis Maude (born 1953), Chairman of the Conservative Party
Tom Hollander (born 1967), actor
Toby Jones (born 1967), actor
Phil Selway (born 1967), member of Radiohead
Ed O'Brien (born 1968), member of Radiohead
Thom Yorke (born 1968), member of Radiohead
Colin Greenwood (born 1969), member of Radiohead
Jonny Greenwood (born 1971), member of Radiohead
David Mitchell (born 1973), comedian and actor

Notable current masters

W. H. Zawadzki, notable Polish historian
D. J. M. Carson, Territorial Army Major

External links

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 ==History==
-Abingdon School was founded in about [[1100]] by the [[Benedictine]] monks of [[Abingdon Abbey]], and the original school used a room in [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/churches/abingdon_stnics.html St. Nicholas's Church]. In [[1256]] Abbot John de Bloseneille left money for the school to support poor students - the school had now moved to a couple of rooms in Stert St. In [[1563]] John Roysse was persuaded to re-endow the school which then moved to a site south of the abbey.  The name '''John Roysse's Free Grammar School''' was still in use well into the 20th century. Roysse was a Mercer, and through this association the school has received substantial benefactions from the [[Worshipful Company of Mercers]]. Thomas Tesdale, who had been a pupil in 1563 improved the premises and provided support for 13 Abingdon students to study at [[Oxford University|Oxford]] - this eventually developed into [[Pembroke College, Oxford|Pembroke College]] in [[1624]]. In [[1854]] the college used new legislation to separate itself from the school after an abysmal headmastership. The current site was developed from [[1870]].
+Abingdon School was founded in about [[1100]] by the [[Benedictine]] monks of [[Abingdon Abbey]], and the original school used a room in [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/churches/abingdon_stnics.html St. Nicholas's Church]. In [[1256]] Abbot John de Bloseneville left money for the school to support poor students - the school had now moved to a couple of rooms in Stert St. In [[1563]] John Roysse was persuaded to re-endow the school which then moved to a site south of the abbey.  The name '''John Roysse's Free Grammar School''' was still in use well into the 20th century. Roysse was a Mercer, and through this association the school has received substantial benefactions from the [[Worshipful Company of Mercers]]. Thomas Tesdale, who had been a pupil in 1563 improved the premises and provided support for 13 Abingdon students to study at [[Oxford University|Oxford]] - this eventually developed into [[Pembroke College, Oxford|Pembroke College]] in [[1624]]. In [[1854]] the college used new legislation to separate itself from the school. The current site was developed from [[1870]].
 ==Students and houses==