84-536: Harrow School ( / ˈ h ær oʊ / ) is a public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill , Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon , a local landowner and farmer, under a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth I . The school has an enrolment of about 820 boys, all of whom board full-time, in twelve boarding houses. It was one of the seven public schools selected for reform in
168-612: A Committee on Public Schools under the leadership of David Fleming . The committee was tasked to "consider means whereby the association between the Public Schools and the general educational system of the country could be developed and extended". The Fleming Report (1944) entitled The Public Schools and the General Education System defined a public school as a member of the Governing Bodies Association or
252-640: A charity is defined as an institution established for a charitable purpose and providing a public benefit. The "advancement of education" is a long-standing charitable purpose. The UK's oldest charity is the King's School Canterbury . Charitable status for schools outside of the state maintained sector confers various tax benefits. This means schools are not liable for corporation tax or capital gains tax and receive an 80% reduction in business rates (a local property tax). Donations by individuals to such schools are considered "tax free". Fee-charging schools having
336-412: A Manger founder Julian Metcalfe ) and the big game hunter and artist General Douglas Hamilton , as well as Island Records founder Chris Blackwell . In sports, the school produced the first two Wimbledon champions ( Spencer Gore and Frank Hadow ) as well as FA Cup founder C. W. Alcock and current England rugby international players Billy Vunipola , Maro Itoje and Henry Arundell . Alumni in
420-493: A boy shares his room for the first three to six terms and thereafter has a room to himself. The School has a book of songs, of which the best known is Forty Years On . In the 19th century, most schools had a school song, usually in Latin, which they sang at the beginning and end of term. Harrow had a master, Edward Bowen , who was a poet and a music teacher, and John Farmer , who was a composer. Between 1870 and 1885, these two wrote
504-486: A fag is part of the routine that is the essence of the English Public School system... the wonder of other countries". In 2005, the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel , exposed by The Times , which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents, although the schools said that they had not realised that
588-537: A grant from central government. The direct grant grammar schools would henceforth receive partial state funding (a "direct grant") in return for taking between 25 and 50 percent of its pupils from state primary schools. Other grammar schools were funded by Local Education Authorities . The Labour government in 1965 made major changes to the organisation of state maintained schools issuing Circular 10/65 which directed local authorities to phase out selection at eleven years of age. It also fulfilled its pledge to examine
672-640: A great want in Cork—namely, a good public school, and with the object of inducing persons who had been sending their children to England, to educate them at home'. In 2020 6.7% of the school population in the Republic of Ireland attended 'elite' fee charging schools. In 1892 Haileybury alumnus Charles Rendall, founded Haileybury "altera terra" in Melbourne, Australia. In the 20th and 21st centuries, several public schools opened affiliates in other countries, especially
756-544: A new model for the nineteenth and early twentieth century public school. Arnold developed the praepostor (or prefect ) system, in which a group of senior boys were given disciplinary powers of other pupils. This became a standard method to establish good order in the public schools, which had developed a reputation for rowdiness and on occasion, serious disorder. King's College School was founded in 1829 and University College School in 1830. Separate preparatory schools (or "prep schools") for younger boys developed from
840-449: A number of songs about school life. The inspiring, wistful, amusing and thought-provoking words and the attractive tunes, made the songs very popular. Successors to Bowen and Farmer have added to the collection. The songs are sung in House and School concerts several times a term. Winston Churchill was a great lover of Harrow songs and when he returned for a concert as Prime Minister in 1940, it
924-451: A re-endowment, and there is some evidence of a grammar school at Harrow in the mid-16th century, but its location and connection with Lyon's foundation are unclear. Evidence for earlier schools, possibly connected with the chantry of St Mary (established in 1324), is weak. In the original charter six governors were named, including two members of the Gerard family of Flambards, and two members of
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#17328592529491008-550: A response to the perceived need to modernise such a curriculum in line with commercial needs, the Grammar School Act 1840 was passed. This allowed schools to make an application to a court of law (rather than Parliament) to deviate from the wishes of the original founder and teach "other branches of literature and science". The new public schools established in the early and mid-19th century were not constrained by early endowments and therefore were able from foundation to offer
1092-568: A sot or dunce, Lascivious, headstrong, or all these at once; That in good time the stripling's finish'd taste For loose expense and fashionable waste Should prove your ruin, and his own at last; Train him in public with a mob of boys, Childish in mischief only and in noise, Else of a mannish growth, and five in ten In infidelity and lewdness men. ..." —Extract from William Cowper 's 1784 Tirocinium or A Review of Schools In 1801 William Vincent , headmaster of Westminster published A Defence of Public Education . It contains
1176-417: A straw hat with a dark blue band similar to a boater , but shallower in crown and broader in brim. The School blue-and-white woollen scarf and dark blue woollen overcoat may be worn in cold weather. Variations include boys who are monitors ( prefects ) who are allowed to wear a jumper of their choice of colour, and members of certain societies who may earn the right to replace the standard school tie with one of
1260-596: A variety of scarves, cravats , neck and bow ties of their society. Sunday dress, which is worn every Sunday up to lunch and on special occasions such as Speech Day and songs, consists of a black tailcoat , a black single-breasted waistcoat and striped trousers, worn with a white shirt and black tie. Boys with sports colours may wear a grey double-breasted waistcoat; members of the Guild (a society for boys who have achieved distinction in art, music or drama) may wear maroon double-breasted waistcoats with maroon bow ties; members of
1344-430: A wider range of taught subjects. From the 1850s organised games became prominent in the curriculum, based on the precedent set at Rugby by Thomas Arnold , forming a keystone of character development through teamwork, sportsmanship and self-sacrifice. Hely Almond headmaster at Loretto 1862–1903, in stating 'Games in which success depends on the united efforts of many, and which also foster courage and endurance are
1428-424: Is considered to be the longest-running cricket fixture in the world and is the oldest fixture at Lord's (see: Eton v Harrow ). Eton won the match in 2013, and Harrow in 2014 and 2015. Harrow has its own unique style of football called Harrow Football . Currently, the school offers around 30 sports activities for students such as archery, badminton, hockey and judo. As in most boarding schools, for many years there
1512-574: Is defined in Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable as "a somewhat demeaning term dating from the 1930s for an English public school that is not one of the ancient foundations, such as Eton, Harrow, Rugby or Winchester". Public school rivalry is a factor in the perception of a "great" (or "major") versus "minor" distinction. The perception of a top tier of public schools is long standing but with some debate on membership. Howard Staunton 's book of 1865 entitled The Great Schools of England considered
1596-462: Is independent of the State and of local government, yet it is not privately owned or run for profit." Oxford Dictionary of English: 'In England, originally, a grammar-school founded or endowed for use or benefit of the public, either generally, or of a particular locality, and carried on under some kind of public management or control; often contrasted with a "private school" carried on at the risk and for
1680-649: Is rarely used in Scotland , with "public school" often being used to refer to state schools . There is no single or absolute definition of public school , and the use of the term has varied over time and according to context. The starting point was the contrast between a public school and private teaching (eg., provided by a hired tutor). In England and Wales schools that are called public schools are not funded from public taxation . Sydney Smith in an 1810 article published in The Edinburgh Review suggested
1764-822: The Clarendon schools . The Headmasters' Conference (HMC), now the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, has grown steadily and by 2021 had 298 British and Irish schools as members. Many new schools were established in the mid-part of the nineteenth century including the day schools City of London School (1837) and Liverpool College (1840). New boarding schools included Cheltenham (1841), Marlborough (1843), Rossall (1844), Radley (1847), Taunton (1847), Lancing (1848), Hurstpierpoint (1849), Bradfield (1850), Wellington (1852), Epsom (1855), Ardingly (1858), Clifton (1862), Malvern (1862), Haileybury (1862), Framlingham (1864) and Cranleigh (1865). In 1887
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#17328592529491848-605: The Endowed Schools Act 1869 . In that year Edward Thring , headmaster of Uppingham School , wrote to 37 of his fellow headmasters of what he considered the leading boys' schools, not covered by the Public Schools Act of 1868, inviting them to meet annually to address the threat posed by the Endowed Schools Act of 1869. In the first year 12 headmasters attended; the following year 34 attended, including heads from
1932-557: The Girls' Schools Association . The majority of public schools are affiliated with, or were established by, a Christian denomination , principally the Church of England , but in some cases the Roman Catholic and Methodist churches. A small number are non-denominational or inherently secular, including Oswestry School , Bedales and University College School . A minor public school
2016-515: The Headmasters' Conference . The Fleming Committee recommended that one-quarter of the places at the public schools should be assigned to a national bursary scheme for children who would benefit from boarding. A key advocate was the post-war Minister of Education Ellen Wilkinson , but the proposed national bursary scheme never got into legislation in that post-war age of severe budget constraints. The Conservative government elected in 1951 did not adopt
2100-898: The Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904; John Galsworthy , winner of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature ; and Winston Churchill , who also received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. Other alumni include writers Lord Byron , Anthony Trollope , Sir Terence Rattigan , Simon Sebag-Montefiore , and Richard Curtis , the Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster and prominent reformist Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury , military commanders such as Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis and Sir Peter de la Billiere , and business people (including DeBeers chairman Nicky Oppenheimer , Pret
2184-468: The Public Schools Act of 1868 . Harrow's uniform includes morning suits , straw boater hats , top hats and canes . Its list of distinguished alumni includes seven former British prime ministers : Aberdeen , Perceval , Goderich , Peel , Palmerston , Baldwin and Churchill , as well as the former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ; numerous former and current members of both Houses of
2268-566: The UK Parliament , several members of various royal families , three Nobel Prize winners, twenty Victoria Cross holders, and many prominent figures in the arts and sciences . The school was founded in February 1572 under a royal charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I to John Lyon , a wealthy local farmer. The school's formal name is still 'The Free Grammar School of John Lyon within the town of Harrow-on-the-Hill'. The charter described this as
2352-728: The "principal schools of England", entitled The History of the Colleges of Winchester, Eton, and Westminster; with the Charter-House, the Schools of St. Paul's, Merchant Taylors, Harrow, and Rugby, and the Free-School of Christ's Hospital . In 1818 Nicholas Carlisle published a two-volume survey entitled A Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools in England and Wales . The survey
2436-526: The (then) United Kingdom. The 1895 Public School Yearbook included Loretto School (1827), Glenalmond College (1847) and Fettes College (1870). In Ireland, of the Royal Schools, The Royal School, Armagh 1608 was described as offering an excellent public school education and being the equal of any school in the British Isles. Cork Grammar School 1881 was established for 'the purpose of supplying
2520-684: The 1830s, with entry to the senior schools becoming limited to boys of at least 12 or 13 years old. The first of these was Windlesham House School , established with support from Thomas Arnold , the headmaster of Rugby School between 1828 and 1841. A Royal Commission , the Clarendon Commission (1861–1864), investigated nine of the more established schools, including seven boarding schools ( Charterhouse , Eton , Harrow , Rugby , Shrewsbury , Westminster and Winchester ) and two day schools ( St Paul's and Merchant Taylors' ). The Public Schools Act 1868 subsequently regulated and reformed
2604-492: The 1965 Public Schools Commission took in scope of its work and also considered 22 maintained and 152 direct grant grammar schools . In 2023, using the 1965 Public Schools Commission definition or the 1944 Fleming Committee definition, there are 302 independent secondary schools belonging to the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (78% of HMC schools are co-educational, 9% are boys only and 13% are girls only), and 152 independent girls' secondary schools belonging to
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2688-590: The Act: Eton , Shrewsbury , Harrow , Winchester , Rugby , Westminster , and Charterhouse . Public schools are elite institutions and are associated with the ruling class . Historically, public schools produced many of the military officers and administrators of the British Empire . In 2019, two-thirds of cabinet ministers of the United Kingdom had been educated at such fee-charging schools. The term
2772-508: The Clarendon nine, four are (or are soon to be, in the case of Westminster) fully co-educational ( Rugby , Charterhouse , Shrewsbury and Westminster ), two remain as boys-only day schools ( St Paul's and Merchant Taylors' ) and two retain the full-boarding, boys-only tradition ( Eton and Harrow ). Winchester was formerly part of the last group. By the end of the 19th century the "public school movement", had extended to all parts of
2856-661: The Crown , the established church , or the government. Henceforth each of these schools was to be managed by a board of governors . St Paul's School and the Merchant Taylors' School claimed successfully that their constitutions made them "private" schools, and were excluded from the requirements of this legislation. The Taunton Commission was appointed in 1864 to examine the remaining 782 endowed grammar schools , and in 1868 produced recommendations to restructure their endowments; these recommendations were included, in modified form, in
2940-607: The Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal determined that the City of London School was a public school. The Public Schools Yearbook was published for the first time in 1889, listing 30 schools, mostly boarding schools. The day school exceptions were St Paul's School and Merchant Taylors' School . By 1895 there were entries for 64 schools. Frederick William Sanderson , Headmaster of Oundle School , initiated educational reforms at
3024-779: The Ely Cathedral Grammar School, then the King's School Ely when refounded in 1541 by Henry VIII , subsequently adopting the current name in 2012) and St Albans School c. 948 . Until the Late Middle Ages most schools were controlled by the Church; and had specific entrance criteria; others were restricted to the sons of members of guilds, trades, or livery companies . In 1382 William of Wykeham , Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England , founded Winchester College . In 1440 Henry VI founded Eton College. These schools had significantly larger foundations than
3108-566: The HMC. State funding was however revived between 1981 and 1997 with the introduction of the Assisted Places Scheme , which provided support for 80,000 pupils attending schools not part of the state maintained sector. Many boarding schools started to admit day pupils for the first time, and others abolished boarding completely. Some started accepting girls in the sixth form , while others became fully co-educational . Corporal punishment ,
3192-573: The Headmaster's House (1843) by Decimus Burton ; the Museum Schools [Butler Museum] (1886) by Basil Champneys ; and the Music Schools (1890) by Edward Prior. Everyday dress for boys at Harrow consists of a dark blue jacket known as a "bluer" with light grey trousers known as "greyers". With these are worn a white shirt, black tie, black shoes and an optional blue jumper. Boys also wear a Harrow hat,
3276-604: The Labour government to separate the independent and state sectors. The direct grant scheme was abolished in 1975 and the HMC schools within the scheme became fully independent. Local authorities were ordered to cease funding places at independent schools. This accounted for over a quarter of places at 56 schools, and over half the places at 22 schools. Between 1975 and 1983 funding was also withdrawn from 11 voluntary-aided grammar schools, which became independent schools and full members of
3360-470: The Middle and Far East. The schools are typically founded in partnership with a local business person or organisation with the "home" school maintaining control of curriculum and staffing. The almost exclusive teaching of grammar ( Latin and to a lesser extent ancient Greek ) prevailed until well into the 19th century. Most schools were legally obliged to do so by the terms of their original endowment. As
3444-594: The Page family of Wembley and Sudbury Court. The founder John Lyon died in 1592, bequeathing his estate to two beneficiaries: the school and the maintenance of two roads, the Harrow Road and the Edgware Road, both going to London, 10 miles (16 km) away. The Road Trust received by far the greater share, the school's share providing just for the salary of The School Master and some minor provisions. This situation, reasonable at
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3528-565: The Philathletic Club (a society for boys with achievements in sport) may wear black bow ties alongside grey double-breasted waistcoats. School monitors (prefects) may wear black double-breasted waistcoats and a top hat, and carry canes. Harrow School divides its pupils, who are all boarders , into twelve Houses , each of about seventy boys, with a thirteenth house, Gayton, used as an overflow. Each House has its own facilities, customs and traditions, and each competes in sporting events against
3612-460: The Royal Commission on Secondary Education ) described the schools reformed by the 1868 Act as the "seven 'great endowed schools'". Public schools emerged from grammar schools established to educate pupils, usually destined for clerical orders, in Latin grammar. Thus, concerned with educating boys. The term "public" came into use because over time access to such schools was not restricted on
3696-545: The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found that 50 prominent public schools were in breach of the Competition Act 1998 through their exchange of details of planned fee increases over three academic years 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04. The Independent Schools Council claimed that the investigation had been "a scandalous waste of public money". Three-quarters of HMC schools are now either partially or fully co-educational. Of
3780-661: The UK government to levy VAT on school fees, a commitment (re)made in the 1983 Labour Party election manifesto under Neil Kinnock 's leadership, and revived in 2017 by Jeremy Corbyn . In support of the case for maintaining the status quo , the Independent Schools Council published in 2022 a report which stated that the independent education sector contributed in 2021 £16.5 billion to the UK economy and generated £5.1 billion of tax revenue. The 2019 UK Conservative Party election manifesto made no mention of education outside of
3864-471: The arts and media industry include actors Edward Fox , Benedict Cumberbatch and Cary Elwes , photographer Nikolai von Bismarck , singers David Dundas and James Blunt , pianist James Rhodes , horse racing pundit John McCririck , and Mark Thatcher , son of Margaret Thatcher . Fictional characters who have attended Harrow include Brett Sinclair of the TV series The Persuaders! , Withnail and Uncle Monty from
3948-495: The basis of home location, paternal occupation or status, and that they were subject to an element of public management or control, in contrast to private schools which were run for the personal profit of the owner(s). The origins of schools in England were primarily religious, although in 1640 the House of Commons invited the reformer and promoter of universal education Comenius to England to establish and participate in an agency for
4032-404: The case of Harrow, political sponsorship by aristocratic Whig politician James Brydges (later Duke of Chandos) played a significant role, but also, as was the case too with Rugby, an exemplary headmaster was a key factor in raising the status of the school. This phenomenon was also seen at Shrewsbury , where Samuel Butler was headmaster between 1798 and 1836. "Would you your son should be
4116-402: The change to the law (which had happened only a few months earlier) about the sharing of information had subsequently made it an offence. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling £3,000,000 into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. Harrow
4200-482: The children—nay, the eldest sons—of some of the best families in England have been educated." By the end of the 17th century, the London day schools St Paul's and Merchant Taylors', together with the charitable foundations of Christ's Hospital and Charterhouse, had developed an elevated "standing in popular regard". By the end of the 18th century, two local grammar schools, Harrow and Rugby, had achieved national fame. In
4284-717: The existing local grammar schools, had high level political patronage, and also accepted "non-local" pupils. This was "the start of a new kind of school". Elizabeth I refounded Westminster School in 1560, with new statutes, to select forty Queen's Scholars . This created a "triad" of privileged schools—Winchester, Eton and Westminster. From the 16th century onward, boys' boarding schools continued to be founded or endowed for public use. Daniel Defoe in The Compleat English Gentleman of 1728, writes of "the great schools of Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Felsted , Bishop Stortford (sic), Canterbury and others, where
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#17328592529494368-506: The film Withnail & I , Herbert Pocket from Charles Dickens 's novel, Great Expectations , and Geoffrey Charles Poldark from Poldark . Public school (United Kingdom) A public school in England and Wales is a type of fee-charging private school originally for older boys. They are "public" in the sense of being open to pupils irrespective of locality, denomination or paternal trade or profession ; nor are they run for
4452-683: The first Prime Minister of India , Jawaharlal Nehru . Twenty Old Harrovians have been awarded the Victoria Cross and one the George Cross . Five monarchs have attended the school: King Hussein of Jordan ; both Kings of Iraq, Ghazi I and his son Faisal II ; the current Emir of Qatar , Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani ; and Ali bin Hamud of Zanzibar . Harrow has educated several Nobel laureates: John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh , who received
4536-445: The following. "By a public school, we mean an endowed place of education of old standing, to which the sons of gentlemen resort in considerable numbers, and where they continue to reside, from eight or nine, to eighteen years of age. We do not give this as a definition which would have satisfied Porphyry or Duns-Scotus , but as one sufficiently accurate for our purpose. The characteristic features of these schools are, their antiquity,
4620-562: The game!" from Henry Newbolt 's 1892 poem Vitaï Lampada and "the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton", the latter popularly attributed to the Duke of Wellington . Many ex-pupils, like those from other schools, had, and still have, a nostalgic affection for their old schools ( George Orwell remembered being "interested and happy" at Eton, ) and a public school tie and an " old boy network " of former pupils were useful in advancing
4704-469: The languages and culture of the ancient civilisations of Rome and Greece. As the reputation of the school grew through the 19th century, the number of foreigners increased, but the local families became increasingly reluctant to impose on their children a classical education and the number of free scholars declined. In 1825 there were 17 free scholars and 219 foreigners. In 1876 the Lower School of John Lyon
4788-430: The nine Clarendon schools had a combined asset value of almost £2bn. Eton College is the school with the largest endowment of over £500m. Charitable status is politically controversial. The UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in 2021 pledged to remove charitable status for fee-charging schools, a policy also of Harold Wilson , stated in the 1974 Labour election manifesto. Removal of charitable status would enable
4872-555: The nine Clarendon schools plus Cheltenham College , Christ's Hospital , and Dulwich College . In 1881 C.Kegan Paul & Co published Our Public Schools with chapters on seven schools: Eton , Harrow , Winchester , Rugby , Westminster , Marlborough , and Charterhouse . In 1893 Edward Arnold published a book entitled Great Public Schools with a chapter on each of Eton , Harrow , Charterhouse , Cheltenham , Rugby , Clifton , Westminster , Marlborough , Haileybury , and Winchester . The Bryce Report of 1895 ( Report of
4956-411: The numbers, and the ages of the young people who are educated at them ...". Arthur Leach , in his History of Winchester College (1899), stated: "The only working definition of a Public School...is that it is an aristocratic or plutocratic school which is wholly or almost wholly a Boarding School, is under some form of more or less public control, and is ... non-local". Edward C. Mack in 1938 proposed
5040-424: The others. Until the 1950s there existed what was known as 'small houses' where only 5–10 boys stayed at one time while they waited for a space in a large house to become available (hence the use of the term large house in this article). A twelfth large house, Lyon's, was built in 2010. House Masters, Assistant House Masters and their families live in the boarding Houses and are assisted by House Tutors appointed from
5124-407: The profit of a private owner. Although the term "public school" has been in use since at least the 18th century, its usage was formalised by the Public Schools Act 1868 , which put into law most recommendations of the 1864 Clarendon Report . Nine prestigious schools were investigated by Clarendon (including two day schools , Merchant Taylors' and St Paul's ) and seven subsequently reformed by
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#17328592529495208-631: The profit of its master or proprietors.' In November 1965, the UK Cabinet considered the definition of a public school for the purpose of the Public Schools Commission set up that year. It started with the 1944 Fleming Committee definition of Public Schools, which consisted of schools which were members of the then Headmasters' Conference , the Governing Bodies Association or the Girls' Schools Association . At that time, there were 276 such independent schools (134 boys and 142 girls), which
5292-558: The promotion of learning. It was intended that by-products of this would be the publication of "universal" books and the setting up of schools for boys and girls. The English Civil War prevented any such reform. Some schools are particularly old, such as The King's School, Canterbury c. 597 , The King's School, Rochester c. 604 , St Peter's School, York c. 627 , Sherborne School c. 710 , (refounded 1550 by Edward VI ), Warwick School c. 914 , King's Ely c. 970 (once
5376-613: The proposal. It failed because it was not a high priority for either party, money was tight, there was wavering support from both public schools and local education authorities, and no consensus was reached on how to select the pupils to participate. Based on the recommendations of the Fleming Report, the Education Act 1944 , also known as "the Butler Act", did, however, establish an enhanced status for endowed grammar schools receiving
5460-770: The role of public schools, setting up a Royal commission "to advise on the best way of integrating the public schools with the State system". The commission used a wider definition than that of the Fleming Committee. The Public Schools Commission produced two reports: the Newsom Report of 1968 entitled The Public Schools Commission: First Report covering boarding schools and the Donnison Report of 1970 entitled The Public Schools Commission: Second Report covering day schools, including also direct grant and maintained grammar schools. The report presented by John Newsom in 1968
5544-625: The school's boarding houses were constructed in Victorian times, when the number of boys increased dramatically. The Speech Room by William Burges (1877), the chapel (1855) and Vaughan Library (1863), both by George Gilbert Scott , and the War Memorial building (1926), designed by Herbert Baker to mark the loss of former pupils in the First World War , are all Grade II* listed buildings . A total of 27 school buildings are Grade II listed, including
5628-467: The seven boarding schools investigated by Clarendon, and in summary established and granted autonomy to new governing bodies for the seven schools and as part of that, released them from previous obligations under their founding charters to educate "boys on the Foundation" ie scholarship boys who paid nominal or no fees. The Act gave the seven schools independence from direct jurisdiction or responsibility of
5712-479: The simple definition of "a non-local endowed boarding school for the upper classes". Vivian Ogilvie in The English Public School (1957) suggests five "characteristics commonly associated with a public school" (while allowing that these are not absolute or definitive): "it is a class school, catering for a well-to-do clientèle; it is expensive; it is non-local; it is a predominantly boarding school; it
5796-500: The state maintained sector. In September 2023 the UK Labour party announced that, if elected, it planned to allow public schools to retain their charitable status (and some associated tax benefits) but did plan to charge VAT on fees and remove concessions on business rates paid to local authorities. The 19th-century public school ethos promoted ideas of service to Crown and Empire, exemplified in tropes such as "Play up! Play up! And play
5880-498: The status of charities are not totally tax exempt as they pay some business rates, VAT on procured goods and services and staff pay income tax on earnings. The public benefit that a charity is obliged to provide is not defined in law. Typically schools provide this public benefit by offering bursaries to pupils of families with limited financial means and supporting local state maintained school(s) and institutions, including allowing public access to school facilities. As of 2020
5964-461: The teaching staff. The House Master oversees the welfare of every boy in his care; for parents, he is the main point of contact with the School. Each House has a resident matron and sick room. The matrons are supported by the School's Medical Centre where trained nursing staff offer round-the-clock care. The medical centre is under the direct supervision of the school doctor who is available on the Hill every day for consultation. There are no dormitories:
6048-539: The text "...comprize under the expression of Public Schools? Are we to understand only Winchester, Eton and Westminster? or are we to extend our notion, as we ought to do, to the other three great schools in the Metropolis; to Harrow, Rugby, Manchester , Wakefield and many more of equal magnitude in the North?" In 1816 Rudolph Ackermann published a book which used the term "History of the Public Schools" of what he described as
6132-525: The time because of the need to transport merchandise to market, continued until 1991 when the considerable assets of the Road Trust were reassigned to John Lyon's Charity, a charity to provide educational benefits for the inhabitants of the boroughs through which the roads pass. It was only after the death of Lyon's wife in 1608 that the construction of the first school building began. Known as the Old Schools, it
6216-485: The turn of the century. Oundle became the first school to create an engineering curriculum as well as teaching biochemistry and agriculture. There was a further expansion in public school education in the interwar years. New schools such as Rendcomb (1920), Stowe (1923), Canford (1923), Bryanston (1928) and Millfield (1935) were established. In 1942 the then President of the Board of Education Rab Butler appointed
6300-546: The very lifeblood of the public school system', encapsulated the thinking of the era. The prominence of team sports prevails to the current day and is a feature by which public schools still distinguish themselves from state maintained schools. By the latter part of the 19th century 'modern' subjects such as mathematics and science featured in many schools listings in The Public Schools Yearbook . Within English law
6384-464: Was a system of 'fagging' whereby younger boys carried out duties for the seniors. At Harrow this was phased out in the 1970s and completely banned by 1990. In his detailed history of the school, Christopher Tyerman recorded that in 1796 fagging was compulsory for boys up to the fourth form, and that 50 out of 139 boys were then fags. In 1928, Harrow Master C. H. P. Mayo said of fagging: "Those who hope to rule must first learn to obey... to learn to obey as
6468-544: Was abolished in state schools in 1986, and had been abandoned in most public schools by the time it was formally banned in independent schools in 1999 in England and Wales, (2000 in Scotland and 2003 in Northern Ireland). The system of fagging , whereby younger pupils in some schools were required to act to some extent as personal servants to the most senior boys, was phased out during the 1970s and 1980s. In September 2005
6552-459: Was completed in 1615. John Lyon's school was founded to provide free education for 30 (later extended to 40) poor boys of the parish. However, the School Master was permitted to accept "foreigners" (boys from outside the parish) from whom he received fees. It was the need for foreigners to find accommodation that led to the concept of boarding. As in all schools of the time, education was based on
6636-443: Was conducted by means of a questionnaire sent to the schools. The description of 475 schools range from one or two paragraphs to many pages of detail. Included in the survey are the renowned nine schools which forty three years later became the subject of the 1861 Clarendon Commission . In 1828 Thomas Arnold became headmaster of Rugby School. The reforming actions he took during his fourteen years (1828–1842) of tenure established
6720-439: Was featured in a Sky 1 documentary series entitled Harrow: A Very British School in 2013. In February 2016, the actor Laurence Fox claimed Harrow threatened legal action to prevent him discussing the racism, homophobia and bullying he said he encountered as a pupil at the school. Harrow alumni are known as Old Harrovians, among seven British prime ministers were Winston Churchill , Stanley Baldwin and Robert Peel , and
6804-549: Was founded under the authority of the Governors of Harrow School to provide a modern education for local boys. It is now known as The John Lyon School and is a prominent independent school; it remains part of the Harrow School Foundation. The Old Schools remains largely the building of 1615, although it was extended and re-designed by Charles Robert Cockerell in 1818. It is a Grade I listed building . The majority of
6888-441: Was supportive of boarding school education and made 52 recommendations, including state funding of up to 45,000 places. No action was taken by the then Labour government (or successive administrations). The report presented by David Donnison in 1970 made 25 recommendations for England and Wales and 22 for Scotland. The commission was divided on many issues so several of the recommendations were not made with full consensus. No action
6972-399: Was taken by the incoming (1970) Conservative government but five years later the direct grant scheme was terminated by Labour. The social changes of the 1960s were felt in the public schools; the new headmaster at Oundle School noted that "student protests and intellectual ferment were challenging the status quo". These challenges later coincided with the mid-1970s recession and moves by
7056-615: Was the first of many annual visits. Churchill Songs is still celebrated in Speech Room each year, and every five years at the Royal Albert Hall . The sport squash (originally called 'Squasher') was invented in Harrow out of the game rackets around 1830. It spread to other schools, eventually becoming an international sport. An annual cricket match has taken place between Harrow and Eton College at Lord's Cricket Ground since 1805. It
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