The Skinners' School

The Skinners' School
Address
St. John's Road Tunbridge Wells , Kent , TN4 9PG England
Information
Type	Voluntary aided grammar school
Motto	"To God Only Be All Glory" and "In Christo Fratres"
Established	1887
Local authority	Kent
Ofsted	Reports
Chair	Major-General J Moore-Bick CBE DL
Head teacher	Simon Everson
Gender	Boys
Age	11 to 18
Enrollment	768
Houses	Sebastian, Atwell, Hunt, and Knott
Colour(s)	Red and black
Publication	The Leopard

The Skinners' School (formally The Skinners' Company's School for Boys), established in 1887, is a grammar school in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. It was founded by the Worshipful Company of Skinners, a London Livery Company, in response to the demand for education in the region. The School today remains an all-boys grammar school, recently awarded specialist status in Science in recognition of its excellent science teaching. The current roll is 768 pupils, of whom around 210 are in the Sixth Form.

History

The Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells was the second school to be founded by The Worshipful Company of Skinners. The first Skinners' Company school, founded in Tonbridge, was called the Sir Andrew Judd's free school (now called Tonbridge School) which, by the late Victorian era, started to accept a greater majority of fee paying borders, leaving the locals of Tonbridge without an education (a situation made worse by the 1870 Forster Education Act). As a result the Skinners' Company decided to found another school - Skinners', and after a prolonged row between towns, Tunbridge Wells was picked as the location. The school opened to 53 boys, many of which had to walk long distances (in excess of six miles) to reach class. The citizens of Tonbridge, again angry at the neglect of their sons, encouraged the Company to found a third school - Sir Andrew Judd's Commercial School in 1888, which is now The Judd School. Finally, in the 1890s, the Company opened a girls school in Hackney, London, called The Skinners' Company's School for Girls.

The School has expanded and evolved over the years. On 1 April 1992, the school (formerly a Voluntary-Aided grammar school for Boys) became a Grant-Maintained School, reverting to Voluntary-Aided status again in 1998, following the Education Act of that year. Recently, additional accommodation has been provided for purpose-designed Design and Technology facilities and classrooms; a Modern Languages Centre was completed in 2002 and a new Music and Performing Arts Centre opened in 2003. Ongoing development of the latter will provide further valuable provision for both curricular and extracurricular activities. Recent refurbishments have included new facilities for the Sixth Form. Specialist Science Status was awarded in 2005, which resulted in refurbishment of the Science block. A full programme of team games is maintained throughout the year with notable successes, particularly in rugby, cricket and athletics. The school enjoys a deep rivalry with Judd and to a lesser extent, with Tonbridge School and Tunbridge Wells Grammar School For Boys.

Buildings and Property

The school consists of a range of buildings built at various stages of the school history. While each building services specific departments, these have changed as new building/facilities became available,

• The Main Building and School House are the oldest buildings on site and were the only buildings of the school when it opened in 1888 (built 1887). These buildings contain administrative offices including School reception, Head and Deputy Head offices and the Staff Room. It also houses the school library and the armoury containing CCF weapons but not the ammunition which is stored in a bunker near the stores.

Until recently it was home to the music department and biology department, but these moved to other buildings with better facilities. The large rooms left behind have become home to some English lessons providing room for drama and acting.

• The New Wing was built in 1960. Due to the stark architecture, the concrete building is the most out of place within the school. The wing contains the Physics and Chemistry laboratories and more recently now serves the Biology laboratories. The laboratories were completely renovated on the school being awarded Special Science Status in 2005 which prompted the biology department's move. The New Wing also contains the sixth form facilities and the Main Hall, which contains the canteen and is where whole school assembly is held every Monday.

• The Knox Wing (built in 1980) contains 8 class rooms each of very similar appearance. These rooms serve as form rooms and also class rooms for Geography, History and Religious Studies.

• The Leopard building (built 1994) contains dedicated rooms for Art and Design/Technology. Recently it has become home to IT rooms and the other class rooms serve as form rooms and rooms for Mathematics instruction.

• The Beeby Building is the newest building on the school grounds built in 2002. This provides dedicated resources for Language and also provides form rooms. It was built on the site of two old cabins where German used to be taught.

• The sports hall is contains a large hall used during PE lessons and a multi-gym available for use by all boys and staff.

Byng Hall

In 2003 the school acquired Byng Hall. Originally the St John's Church Institute and later part of St John's Primary School, the governors of Skinners' had been hoping to purchase it for many years. It is stylistically very similar to the Main Building and School House and is viable from the front of the school plot.

Skinners' received grants from Central Government and ran an appeal in school and through the Old Boys network to raise the funds for the buildings purchase and renovation. The final building received a conservation award from the Tunbridge Wells Civic Society for the sensitive restoration which now enables Byng Hall to be used by the Music and Drama department. The building contains two stage areas.

Southfields

Skinners' owns a large set of playing fields just along the main road that runs outside the school on the border of Tunbridge Wells and Southborough. Called Southfields it was originally intended to be the site for the new school when plans were drafted in the 1930s. World War II prevented the move from occurring, but the foundations for the buildings are still present in one corner.

The fields are home to 6 rugby pitches (though not all full sized), various athletics facilities and the pavilion, where all the houses have to share three changing rooms. In the wooded area near the south entrance there is an eco-pond, which was established by the Biology department with the aim of creating a self-sustained ecology for study by pupils.

Form System

Each year group at the school is divided into forms. In years 7 and 8 there are four forms, organised into Blue, Green, Red and Yellow. In years 9-11 the forms are reorganised by house as assigned to the pupils on entering the school. In years 10 and 11 there are separate teaching groups from the forms. In the sixth form there are five forms in each year.

Houses

All students are assigned a House on entering the school. The four houses of Skinners' are named after notable contributors to the school, each designated a colour which determines the colour of the trim on the school blazers worn by the pupils. While the house only initially determines which form the student is in, it forms the basis of sport teams throughout each pupil's career at the school. As such, friendly rivalries exist between each house especially amongst cricket hockey and rugby teams. Matches occasionally become heated, particularly during house rugby, sometime resulting in players removal from the game.

These houses are:

• Atwell (green) - donated money to help fund the school
• Hunt (yellow) - donated money to help fund the school
• Knott (blue) - the first Headmaster of the school
• Sebastian (white) - the first Chairman of the school Governors

Sixth Form

The sixth form are provided with their own common room and study centre. The head of Sixth Form is Mr C. Fleming. There is also a common room for prefects. The current head boy is Sam Barker.

Academic Performance

The Skinners' School performs consistently above average and was awarded a "1 or outstanding", from Ofsted inspectors, on 6 June 2007.

In 2006

A-Level

• 71% of students achieved A and B grades (excluding General Studies).

GCSE

• The vast majority of candidates achieved excellent grades, with 52.6% of grades being at A* or A.
• The overall GCSE pass rate (5 A*-C) was 100%.

Headmasters

The current Headmaster is Simon Everson.

Notable past headmasters have included:

• The Reverend Frederick Knott, after whom the school house Knott is named
• Cecil Beeby, after whom the Modern Languages school block is named
• Gerald Taylor
• Peter Braggins

Student Leadership

In the summer term of Year 12 school prefects are selected. Leadership roles amongst the prefects now include the Head Boy, three Deputy Head Boys, the Chairman of the School Council, the PA liaison prefect, two Senior Prefects and four House Captains. Other school prefects are divided between the roles of Duty Prefect and Form Prefect.

There are usually approximately sixteen form prefects, who take responsibility for a year eight or year seven form, two to a form.

Alumni

Notable former pupils include:

• Marcus Dillistone Royal Premiered Film Director (music producer Athens 2004 Olympic Opening & Closing Ceremonies)
• Phil Edmonds England Cricketer
• Neil Faulkner Archaeologist
• Nick Knowles TV personality
• Alec McCowen Actor
• Colin Smart England Rugby Prop Forward
• Jamie Spence Golfer
• Bob Woolmer The late international cricketer and coach

Other Skinners’ boys have achieved many distinctions over the years – in classical music, on the West End stage, even in warship design – the flight decks of modern aircraft carriers follow the plans of Douglas Taylor, MBE, an Old Skinner. Recently there has been a member of the National Youth Ballet, two members of the National Youth Orchestra, a member of the National Youth Theatre, the England Under 18 Rugby Captain, an Oxford Rugby Blue, and a Commonwealth Games athlete.

The Leopard song

The Skinners' School, like many schools started by London livery companies, has a school song. The lyrics are by P Shaw-Jeffrey and appeared in the school magazine December 1894, and are as follows:

1

Now hands about, good Leopards all,

And sing a rousing chorus,

In praise of all our comrades here

And those who went before us;

For to this lay all hearts beat true,

The gallant hearts that love us,

So fortune 'fend each absent friend

While there's a sun above us.

Chorus

Sing Leopards Sing (Breathe)

Floreat Sodalitas.

Little matter, well or ill,

Sentiment is more than skill,

Sing together with a will

Floreat Sodalitas,

'dalitas Pardorum.

2

The ivy climbs by brick and stone

About the buttressed Hall;

So memory weaves a charm to keep

Her servitors in thrall.

And whiskered leopards think with awe

Of Bab-el-Mandeb's Straits

Where in the days of long ago

They wrestled with the fates.

(Chorus)

3

Then here's a toast before we part,

"The School House By The Lew"

And may its friends be stout of heart,

Its enemies be few

So we will pledge our noble selves

To use our best endeavour,

That while the merry world goes round

The School may stand forever!

(Chorus)

Meaning

The song contains two lines in Latin: Floreat Sodalitas and 'dalitas Pardorum.

• Floreat can be translated as "let [it] flourish"
• Sodalitas as "fellowship" or "companionship", the second 'dalitas is a contraction of the same word (in the same way as fortune 'fend is a contraction of fortune defend).
• Pardorum is the genitive plural of Pardus, meaning "Leopard" (the school emblem).

Floreat Sodalitas is therefore "Let fellowship flourish" and 'dalitas Pardorum is "the fellowship of the leopards".

" Bab-el-Mandeb's Straits" is the name former students used to call the passageway to the old Headmaster's office (originally in Main Building). The apostrophe and the "s" may be anachronistic (a grocer's apostrophe) or may refer to the nickname of the first headmaster (Mr Knott) being Bab-el-mandeb. The name comes from the Arabic for the "Gates of Grief". The office is now used by the librarian.

Variations

A long standing tradition at the school is to elongate the s sound in the word "whiskered" to create a hissing sound. Over time, enthusiastic boys, partially spurred on by the semi-disapproval of the staff, extended the tradition to all words within the second verse. While the students are never encouraged or told of this tradition, it is passed down through the years by the older boys to those starting at the school, during renditions of the song.

In recent years (starting in the late 1990s) it became customary (at least at Skinners' Day rehearsals) to loudly and deeply shout the word 'breathe' after the first line of each chorus, as a tribute to a much-loved retired music teacher, Mr Tony Starr, who shouted the word during rehearsals to remind the student body to breathe at that point.

The song has another version written by Shaw who adapted its lyrics for his new school when he became headmaster for the Royal Colchester Grammar School.

Old Skinners' Society

Founded in 1890 by the Old Boys of the time, the Old Skinners' Society has four main aims:

1. To promote, preserve and strengthen the ties of sentiment which exist between Old Boys and the School and to encourage the closest liaison between the Society and the School.
2. To provide opportunities for Old Boys to keep in touch with their former school friends and with the School.
3. To encourage the formation and activities of branches of the Society.
4. To provide and promote financial and/or material assistance to the School.

On leaving the school the majority of leavers sign up to the society for life, making them eligible to attend the many social events the society organizes.

The current president of the society is Roger Fitzwater who taught at the school between 1970 and 2005.

See also

• The Judd School
• Tonbridge School
• Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School

External links

• The Skinners' School official website
• Old Skinners Society
• The Skinners' School Science Department website
• The Skinners' School Biology Department website
• The Skinners' Company website