Abingdon School is an English, day and boarding
public school for boys situated in
Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, previously known as
Roysse's School. In 1998 a formal merger took place between Abingdon School and Josca’s, a preparatory school four miles to the west at Frilford. Since September 2007 Josca’s has been known as
Abingdon Preparatory School with both schools becoming part of the
Abingdon Foundation. There are strong connections with the nearby
School of St Helen and St Katharine in Abingdon. It is at least the thirteenth
oldest independent school in the UK (possibly the sixth) and celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006.
The
Good Schools Guide called it "An impressive school which does what it sets out to do well," also noting that it was "Likely to increase in popularity because of its location and increasingly sparkly achievements."
History
Abingdon School is believed to have been founded prior to 1100 by the
Benedictine monks of
Abingdon Abbey. It may date from as early as the 950s when
King Edgar is recorded as having been educated at the abbey. From its early years, the school used a room in , which itself was built between 1121 and 1184.
The school now takes its anniversary from the earliest surviving reference to the school - 1256 - a charter of Abingdon Abbey recording an endowment by Abbot John de Blosneville for the support of thirteen poor scholars. In the past though, the school considered itself as having been founded by
John Roysse in 1563. This led to the unusual circumstance whereby the school celebrated its 400th anniversary in 1963 (at which HRH
Princess Margaret was guest of honour), and then its 750th in 2006. The focus on 1256 facilitated extensive anniversarial fundraising in 2006.
By the time of de Blosneville's endowment in 1256, the school had moved to a couple of rooms in Stert Street with a house for boarders at 3 Stert Street under the charge of a Dionysia Mundy. With John Roysse's re-endowment of 1563, the school moved to a site south of the Abbey gateway. Roysse was a prosperous mercer in the City of London, and through this association the school has received substantial benefactions from the
Worshipful Company of Mercers. The name
Roysse's School was used until the 1960s and many older Abingdon residents still use the term.
After the dissolution of Abingdon Abbey in 1538, the school passed through a difficult phase: the sixteenth century endowments by Old Abingdonians attempted to overcome the loss of monastic support.
Thomas Tesdale, who had been a pupil in 1563
, made provision for an Usher to teach six poor scholars from the Borough of Abingdon and offered support for thirteen Abingdon students to study at
Oxford. This benefaction eventually developed into
Pembroke College in 1624 by the re-foundation of Broadgates Hall.
The original school building on the current site, which houses the chapel, library, and School House, along with several dayboy houses and classrooms. The bell tower is still in use, and the fields in the foreground are used for playing
rugby union and
cricket. Most of the school's buildings are to the right of the photographer.
The six poor scholars, known as Bennett Boys, or colloquially as the Gown Boys due to their dress, were financed by another Old Abingdonian, William Bennett. Between 1609 and 1870 the school maintained a dual management: the Headmaster, appointed by the Mayor and Corporation, and the Tesdale Usher and Bennett Scholars appointed by the Master and Governors of Christ's Hospital, Abingdon. The Old Abingdonian Club was inaugurated in 1743 during the Headship of Thomas Woods, and is consequently one of the oldest such organisations in the country.
In 1854, Pembroke College distanced itself from the school.
The current school site in the Victorian quarter of Abingdon adjacent to Albert Park was designed by
Edwin Dolby and was developed from 1870. Extensions to the 1870 buildings were added in 1880. In 1901, a chapel and gymnasium were built. The adjacent Waste Court property was acquired in 1928. The Science School came in 1952. In 1963, to mark the Quatercentenary of the school's re-foundation, the big schoolroom was re-ordered as the Grundy Library (opened by HRH
Princess Margaret), together with erection of further buildings east of the Science Wing, the whole becoming known as Big School. In 1980, the Amey Theatre and Arts' Centre was opened and the Sports' Centre opened in 1984. Mercers' Court was opened in 1994 by the Chancellor of
Oxford University and Visitor of
Pembroke College,
Baron Jenkins of Hillhead. In 2003, the new Arts' Department was opened (adjacent to the Amey Theatre) and the Sports Complex is due to be completed for September 2008, having been formally commenced by HRH
Princess Anne in 2006.
Sports Centre collage of a changing room, sports hall, swimming pool, gym and exterior
On 4 October 2008, the newly completed Sports Centre was opened by MP
Kate Hoey, with assistance from footballer
Martin Keown, swimmer
Robin Brew and pentathlete
Kate Allenby. This multi-million pound project took 5 years to complete and has increased the floorspace of the school by 40%
Students and Houses
The school currently has 872 pupils aged 11-18, of whom 111 are boarders. The school is split into 9
houses, 3 of which are for boarders and
dayboys, 6 for day boys only. These are:
- School - 76 boys (35 dayboys, 41 boarders) (Head of House 07/08 - Michael Chan, Gus Bartholomew, 08/09 George Bone)
- Crescent - 81 boys (35 dayboys, 46 boarders) (Head of House 08/09 - Lewis Davis-Poynter)
- *These two houses have all the middle school boarders (aged 13-16) and the majority of the sixth form boarders (aged 16-18).
- Boyd's - 82 boys (Head of House 09/10 - Sam Newman, Deputy Head of House - Jonathan Barrow)
- O'Doherty's - 83 dayboys (Head of House 07/08 - Pete Statham, 08/09 - Tom Green)
- Franklin's - 81 dayboys (Head of House 08/09 - Rex Carter, Co-Head - Dan Harris)
- Christodoulou's - 83 dayboys (Head of House 08/09 - James Manasseh)
- Southwell-Sander's - 84 dayboys (Head of House 08/09 - Alexander Campbell, Andy Cook)
- Phelps' (Situated on the same site as Waste Court) - 101 boys (77 dayboys, 25 boarders - Head of House 08/09 - Jamie Wilder, Tudor Plapcianu)
- *This house has the remainder of the sixth form boarders.
- Webb's - 83 dayboys (Head of House 08/09 - Ross Muir)
Day boys from 11-13 belong to the Lower School which has 118 boys.
The day houses (with the exception of Lower School) take their names from their current Housemasters and are thus prone to change.
In the 20th century, the school owned another upper school boarding house, Larkhill, to the north of the Faringdon Road. Various smaller buildings have also been used for boarders at various times, with the pupils being
part of one of the larger houses. The Bath Street house, Lacies Court (rare) and Glyndowr come into this category, see .
There are many Inter-House competitions at Abingdon, both sporting and academic. These include
Cricket,
Singing and
Public Speaking. The competitions themselves are held every year, and each house has its traditional strengths. Elliot's (which holds the record of most 'tag-rugby' titles held at once, 4 of 5), School House and Crescent House, for example, are known to be particularly strong in the sports competitions, while Phelp's (which holds the record of the most public speaking titles held at one time, 3 of 5), Boyd's and Franklin's are better known for debating. There is also an annual inter-house singing competition, usually judged by a music department head from another school and by the Headmaster of Abingdon School.
Extracurricular activities
Abingdon is notable in the region for its dedication to extracurricular activities, dubbed the "Other Half" (of the syllabus).
Abingdon has a strong sporting tradition, especially in
rowing,
rugby and
cricket. Sports currently offered include: Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Cross-Country, Fencing, Golf, Hockey, Karate, Kayaking, Real Tennis, Rowing, Rugby, Sailing, Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Triathlon and Water Polo . Documentary evidence indicates rowing was a school activity in 1830. Roysse's School Rowing Club (1840) became Abingdon School Boat Club. The 1st VIII won the "triple" in 2002: the Schools' Head of the River, the Queen Mother's Cup at the
National School's Regatta and the
Princess Elizabeth Cup at
Henley Royal Regatta. This was masterminded by Mike Martin, the Head of Rowing until 2008. 2006's J14's A and B squads, coached by Mr.
Athol Hundermark (now senior coach), both became National School Champions. Athol also coached the 2007 J16's to victory in the junior Inter-Regionals, and took a J16 4+ crew to the GB 8 in the GB-France race.
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 including 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. The team consisted of 15 cadets of all ranks and became the overall winner by coming first in trim-trail, shooting and Aircraft Recognition. The shooting team went on to become the top team at the National final that same year.
Sport is compulsory at Abingdon School and each student must do at least two sessions per week.
Academic
Abingdon is academically a strong school: the students regularly achieve good results and a significant number progress to the most prestigious universities, including a yearly average of more than 25 to
Cambridge and
Oxford.
Subjects taught to GCSE and A-Level include
English,
History,
Design Technology,
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
Italian, Chinese and Cooking.
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.
Abingdon's
Russian classroom is notably strong and was determined the best in the country by a leading national newspaper.
Headmasters
The list is as published on a display in the school's main entrance hall.
- Richard the Pedagogue, 1100 (unverified)
- Chaplain of St. Nicholas, 1184
- William de Coleshill, 1310-1316
- John Tesdale (Clyffe), 1504-1540
- Thomas Orpwood, 1571-1573
- Anthony Lancaster, 1573-1574
- John Chamberlen, 1574-1577
- Richard Williams, 1577-1578
- Anthony Appletree, 1597-1599
- Robert Payne, 1654-1655. Tesdale Usher-in-Charge
- Robert Jennings, 1657-1683
- Thomas Woods, 1716-1753. Formerly Tesdale Usher (1711-1716)
- William Kennedy, 1775-1792
- Edward Nicholson, 1810-1827
- *(b. 1834, d. 1907) Formerly second master at King's School, Ely and King Edward's Grammar School, Bury St Edmund's, and a master at Brighton College. After retirement from teaching, Summers became vicar of Brading, Isle of Wight, (1884-1906) and rural dean of East Wight. He died at Radley House, Winchester. There is a memorial window to him at Brading church.
Tesdale Ushers
- Christopher Capper, 1619-20
- James Barefoote, 1686-1692
- Thomas Woods, 1711-1716. Afterwards headmaster
- Daniell Darrell, 1716-1718
- Josiah Bennett, 1720-1750
- Joseph Bennett, 1750-1751
- Matthew Armstrong, 1783-92. Deputy Usher, George Anderson, 1784-85
- Henry Day, 1851-1855. Afterwards headmaster, Burton-on-Trent Grammar School
- John Whitmore Black (second master 1868-70). Afterwards, vicar, Launcells, Cornwall (1873-1914)
Notable Old Abingdonians including former Masters
Prominent Conservative politician
Francis Maude attended the school in the 1960s.
The members of
Radiohead attended Abingdon in the 1980s. Their song 'Bishop's Robes' reputedly refers to a former headmaster of Abingdon, Michael St John Parker ('the beak'), who was known for wearing academic gowns.
[Tim Footman, Welcome to the Machine: OK Computer and the Death of the Classic Album (Chrome Dreams, 2007), p. 18]David Mitchell, most famously known for being one half of the double comedy act 'Mitchell and Webb', attended Abingdon School from 1987-1992.
Musician
Thomas Dolby (then known as Thomas Robertson) was at Abingdon in 1975-76, completing his A levels while in attendance.
Robin Bourne-Taylor, a two-time Olympic rower, three-time
Boat Race winner (2002, 2003 and 2005) and the president of the
Oxford University Boat Club (2004 to 2005), went to Abingdon School.
Another notable Old Abingdonian was the Oxford cox, Nicholas Brodie, who went on to cox both the Isis boat and the Blues, leading Oxford to victory as the OUBC President in the 2008
Boat Race. This was the first time since the 1970s that a cox had been President of either club.
Actors
Toby Jones, best known for his award-winning role in
Infamous, and
Tom Hollander, of
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End fame, were in the same year at Abingdon in the early 1980s.
Two members of the band
Foals were at Abingdon School.
Abingdon School in Books and in the Press
Former schoolmaster Donald Willis published several books of autobiography, one of which ("Eggshells and Tea Leaves", Robert Dugdale, 1981) recounted the story of his life as a master at Abingdon School.
"Waste Court House and Lacies Court Abingdon School Misc. Finds 1997-1998" by Evans, R.T.J and Excell, P.P is available from the Abingdon Archaeological Society http://www.aaahs.org.uk/booklist.html
In 1995, the school received publicity in the national press after three pupils were charged with an armed hold-up in a local
off-licence.
It was also reported that the event took place in
Unwins and two of the accused were aged 16 and the third, 15.
Abingdon School attracted further unwanted attention in the press in May 1999, when the resident matron, Christine Barrington
was asked to step down after an affair with a boarder.
Footnotes and references
- St Nicholas Abingdon and Other Papers, Arthur E Preston (1929 and 1971)
- Abingdon School 1870-1970 (1970)
- A History of Rowing at Abingdon School 1840-1990, R G Mortimer (1990)
- The Martlet and the Griffen, Thomas Hinde and Michael St John Parker (1997)
- A Record of Tesdale Ushers & Bennett Scholars 1609-1870, Nigel Hammond (2004)
