Nottingham High School
Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Multiple issues Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Infobox school Nottingham High School is a private fee-charging day school for boys and girls in Nottingham, England, with an infant and junior school (ages 4–11) and senior school (ages 11–18).<ref name="Nottingham High School - Fees">Template:Cite web</ref> There were 1177 students enrolled as at January 2022, of whom 262 were in the sixth form, studying for advanced certificate examinations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Foundation
In 1513, the "Free School" was founded by Dame Agnes Mellers, after the death of her husband Richard, partly in his memory, but also as atonement for wrongdoings against the people of Nottingham.<ref name=adam>Adam W. Thomas, A History of Nottingham High School, 1513–1953 Nottingham: J. and H. Bell Ltd, 1957.</ref><ref name=sb>Stuart Brocklehurst, Nottingham High School: A Brief History, Nottingham, 1989.</ref> To do so she enlisted help from Sir Thomas Lovell as governor of Nottingham Castle and Secretary to the Treasury. Through their combined efforts, Henry VIII sealed the school's foundation deed on the 22 November that year. It is unclear whether this was a new institution or an endowment of an existing school, of which records exist back to 1289.<ref name=adam/> Almost 20,000 boys are estimated to have attended between 1513 and 2013.<ref name="Picture500">Template:Cite web</ref>
In the foundation deed, Mellers provided for a commemoration service in St Mary's Church in the Lace Market "on the Feast of the Translation of St Richard of Chichester, namely 16 June" each year,<ref name=adam/> although the service "is now held on the nearest Saturday to that date."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With the exception of Nottingham Goose Fair, this is the most ancient ceremonial event still held in the city of Nottingham,<ref>Founder's Day Programme of Events, Annual Publication, Nottingham High School Archives</ref> and the oldest still largely in its original form (the Goose Fair now being a funfair rather than a livestock fair), although there seems to be no record of it being held between the mid-16th century and its revival in 1923.<ref name=adam/> The formal procession seeks to symbolise the ancient links the school has with the Crown, the city and the church. The foundation deed also provides for distributing (out of a total sum of 20 shillings) certain monies to the lord mayor of Nottingham, vicar and others. and for the purchase of bread, cheese and ale for consumption by officials attending the service. Any balance remaining is required to be given to the poorest scholar, but now is given to a representative scholar of the school.Template:Citation needed Template:Clear left
Coat of arms
The College of Arms granted the school a coat of arms in 1949,<ref name="adam"/> the full blazon being: Template:Blockquote
The motto, Lauda finem, is Latin for "praise [to] the end".<ref name="Motto Telegraph"/>
The arms incorporate those of the founder: the arms of the Mellers family were three blackbirds (or merles – an example of canting arms) – on a white field; Dame Agnes, being a woman, would have displayed them on a lozenge, not a shield. In 2007 the school unofficially introduced a new logo for more general use, a modified version of the shield that omits the lozenge and ermine field.
Remembrance Day service
An annual Remembrance Day service on 11 November is attended by the whole school with the headmaster, president of the Old Nottinghamians and the school captain placing wreaths at the war memorial. Scholars attend a morning special assembly usually in the Player Hall, at which a minute's silence is observed. Representatives of the school's Combined Cadet Force mark their respect with a parade around the main school building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Premises
Location
Since 1868 the school has stood high on Waverley Mount to the north of the city centre,<ref name=reynolds>Cedric L. Reynolds, "The Buildings of Nottingham High School", Transactions of the Thoroton Society Vol. 57 (1953) pp. 33–42.</ref> looking down towards its foundation site in St Mary's Church and later building in Stoney Street. The present site has undergone a long programme of building and development.
- Main building
An example of Gothic Revival architecture, the first school building on the present site, built between 1866 and 1867, was designed by Thomas Simpson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It consists of a tower and three wings: West Wing, Middle Corridor, and East Wing. West Wing houses classrooms for mathematics, English and geography. Housed in Middle Corridor are the learning support department, two ICT centres, two language laboratories, religious studies classrooms, two multi-purpose lecture theatres, the school library, and staff offices. East Wing contains the old gymnasium, the Player assembly hall and classrooms for modern languages, history, and classics. The school front and other features are Grade II listed.
- Tower
Overlooking the city centre is the school tower, now used as a staff office. A school standard and the Union Flag are raised on it on special occasions, such as Founder's Day and the King's Official Birthday, and when a member of the school community has died.
- Additions
To the west, the Founder Hall building was built in 1963 to mark the school's 450th anniversary. It includes the school's swimming pool and the Founder Hall itself, and acts as a performing venue to supplement the Player Hall. A drama studio was added in 2013 to mark the school's 500th anniversary.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Simon Djanogly Science Building from 1984 is situated to the south west with 13 laboratories for all three sciences. A 25-yard CCF shooting range remains in the basement.<ref name="nottinghamhigh.co.uk">Template:Cite web</ref> The building was opened on 2 March 1984 by the Duke of Edinburgh.<ref name="sb"/>
In front of the science building is the music school, completed in 1997. This houses the Lady Carol Djanogly Recital Hall, the Jones Trust Music Room, a music technology studio, a resources centre, seven instrumental teaching rooms, and a larger brass teaching room, a percussion studio and a classroom for Infant and Junior School pupils.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1989 a sports hall was built on land to the north-east of the site formerly occupied by fives court and a shooting range.<ref name=clarketie/> It contains an multi-purpose exercise hall and a fitness room for older pupils.
In the north-west corner is the Sir Harry Djanogly Art, Design and Technology Centre. The ground floor was built in the mid-1990s, and a first floor was added in the 2003/2004 academic year to accommodate modern facilities for the Art Department.
A new dining hall and sixth form centre were constructed in the West Quad in 2009.
- Lovell House Building
Waverley House School, to the west of the main site, was purchased in 2008. Its buildings were refurbished and renamed the Lovell House Infant School. In 2013, this single-sex establishment was combined with the Junior School to form Nottingham High Infant and Junior School.
Playing field
The school's games field is not on the main site but at Valley Road, approximately Template:Convert to the north. Historically farmland<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> from as early as 1878, namely Harvey's Farm; then briefly Hucknall Road Farm<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in 1920, it was converted to use as a playing field around 1960.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It features a number of rugby pitches and posts during winter, which are converted for athletics in the spring, with a running track and areas for shot put, javelin, discus, pole vault, hurdles and high jump. During the summer, the ground is used for cricket, with nets put up and squares re-established for the season. Tennis courts, netball courts, and an archery range are also located there. The pavilion has several changing rooms on the ground and first floors, and a refreshment area for staff and guests.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Until 1897, boys played sports and had their PE lessons at the Forest Recreation Ground.<ref name="Picture500"/>
School organisation
The junior and senior schools both have four houses, each named after a person connected with the school. The house system plays an integral role in school life. House tutors provide pastoral care and support.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Junior school houses
The junior school's four houses are named after former pupils or staff who served with distinction in the First World War and were killed in action or died of their wounds.<ref name="jshi">[1] Template:Webarchive</ref> Ball's House recalls Albert Ball, a fighter pilot in the RFC and pupil at the school in 1907–1909, Hardy's House Theodore Hardy, an assistant master in 1891–1907 and a British Army chaplain in 1916–1918, Tonkin's House FC Tonkin, a former pupil who served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps, and Trease's House Reginald Trease, a pupil at the school in 1898–1905. The houses compete annually for a General Efficiency Cup donated in 1927 by William Crane.<ref name="jshi"/>
Senior school houses
The four houses in the senior school are Mellers', named after the school's founder, Cooper's, named after Frederick Cooper, an artist who in 1872 donated almost Template:Convert of land to the school, Maples', named after Samuel Maples, a former pupil who bequeathed £3,000 to fund scholarships in 1892, and White's, after Sir Thomas White, who endowed a charity to provide interest-free loans to "young men of good name and thrift" in the Midlands, some money from which was lent to the school in slightly questionable circumstances in the mid-19th century).<ref name=adam/>
- Wheeler Cup
Houses compete for the Wheeler Cup, which is awarded on the cumulative performance in competitions throughout the school year. These cover athletics, chess, hockey, cross country, rugby, bridge, shooting, swimming, cricket, general knowledge, verse recitation, singing, and individual music.
Curriculum
Nottingham High School offers a wide range of GCSE, Advanced Subsidiary-Level (AS-level) and General Certificate of Education Advanced-Level (GCE A-level) subjects. Many are also studied by younger pupils at the school in years seven and nine.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sixth-form subjects include Ancient Greek, art, biology, chemistry, classical civilization, computer science, design and technology, drama, economics, English language, English literature, Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), French, further mathematics, geography, government and politics, German, history, Latin, mathematics, music, music technology, physical education, physics, psychology, religious studies, statistics, and Spanish.
All sixth-form students were expected to undertake the EPQ from 2010, but for students entering sixth form from 2019 it is optional.
Uniform
In years 7 to 11, the uniform consists of a black blazer with a badge bearing the arms of Dame Agnes Mellers (displayed on a lozenge), black trousers or a black skirt, a white shirt, black leather shoes, a house tie, and black or white socks. It is also possible to wear a jumper under the blazer. This is black with the school crest on the right chest. For those who have represented the school in sport, it may be black and red and bear the school coat of arms.
In the sixth form, students wear a black, grey or navy blue suit with a shirt of any colour but black.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ties are a feature of the school uniform and used to signify pupils' status within the school.<ref name=clarketie/>
Special ties include:
- Foundation – A black tie bearing a red squirrel holding a ducal coronet (the crest from the school's coat of arms), presented on Founder's Day to pupils who have performed well in public examinations (at least ten grade As at GCSE or three As at A-Level), and to teachers on completing ten years' service
- Lovell Order – Black, bearing the arms of Sir Thomas Lovell, for those who have performed a special service, such as librarians, the choir, orchestra and band secretaries, society officials and the stage staff, and teachers completing twenty years' service
- Sports Colours – White with narrow diagonal black and yellow stripes, for high sporting achievement, such as first-team level (usually for sports, and occasionally chess, bridge and general knowledge teams)
- Music Colours – Similar to sports colours, first awarded in 2007 to mark outstanding contributions to school music
- Third XV – Black with orange stripes to members of the school rugby third XV
- Prefects – no longer awarded
- Officers – Black with red stripes, bordered by white bands with the school coat-of-arms at top, presented since 2005 to Officers of the School (School Captain, School Vice-Captains and House Captains)
- Quincentenary – Black with diagonal stripes and school coat-of-arms, designed by Young Enterprise Team Sterling, sold to pupils and Old Nottinghamians to mark the 500th anniversary of the School
Fees
The school charges admission fees. About a tenth of pupils are supported by bursaries or scholarships giving a reduction of between 10 and 100 per cent, depending on family income.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Media
Some of a 1990 episode of the TV series "Boon", starring Michael Elphick, was filmed at the school, with some pupils as extras. The story was entitled "Bully Boys", the sixth episode of the fifth series, broadcast on 30 October 1990. The main playground, the Bridge Library (now the library reception), and the Valley Road playing fields were shown.
Kevin Fear (the then school's headmaster) and certain boys, were filmed by ITV for a news story shown as part of the news programme "ITV News Central".<ref name="ITV">Template:Cite web</ref> Filming took place at several school locations, including the headmaster's office, various classrooms and the Lower School Library. The news was that the school had announced it would admit girls – for the first time in its 500-year history – from 2015/2016.<ref name="ITV"/>
List of masters
| Date | Name | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1513–1528 | John Smith | BCanL (Cambridge) | |
| 1528–1539 | Robert Calton | ||
| 1539–1563 | George Somer | ||
| 1563–1565 | Henry Cockrame | BCanL (Oxford) | |
| 1565–1575 | Brian Garnet | ||
| 1575–1584 | John Depup | MA (Trinity College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1584–1587 | Robert Ableson | BA (Queens' College, Cambridge) | |
| 1587–1592 | Christopher Heylowe | MA (St John's College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1592–1607 | John Lowe | BA (Caius College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1607–1616 | Thomas Soresbie | MA (Queen's College, Oxford) | † |
| 1616–1628 | Robert Theobald | MA (Trinity College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1628–1657 | Thomas Leake | MA (St John's College, Cambridge) | † |
| 1657–1664 | Henry Pitts | MA (Pembroke College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1664 | Henry Watkinson | (St John's College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1664–1672 | Samuel Birch | MA (Emmanuel College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1672–1688 | Jeremiah Cudworth | MA (Christ's College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1688–1691 | Gowin Knight | MA (Christ Church, Oxford) | † |
| 1691–1707 | Edward Griffith | MA (Queens' College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1707–1720 | Richard Johnson | BA (St John's College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1718–1719 | William Smeaton | MA (Queens' College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1719 | William Saunders | MA (Trinity Hall, Cambridge) | * |
| N/A | Thomas Miles | MA (Clare College, Cambridge) | ‡ |
| 1720–1722 | John Womack | BA (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge) | † |
| 1722–1731 | John Swaile | MA (Cambridge) | † |
| 1731 | Edward Chappell | MA (Jesus College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1731–1758 | John Henson | (Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge) | † |
| 1758–1793 | Timothy Wylde | * | |
| 1793–1806 | John Challand Forrest | MA (Queens' College, Cambridge) | † |
| 1806–1819 | John Toplis | MA, BD (Queens' College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1819–1833 | Robert Wood | MA, DD (St John's College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1833–1860 | William Butler | MA (Queen's College, Oxford) | * |
| 1861–1868 | Frederick Teeling Cusins | MA (St John's College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1868–1884 | Robert Dixon | MA, LLD (St John's College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1884–1901 | James Gow | MA, LittD (Trinity College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1901–1925 | George Sherbrooke Turpin | MA (St John's College, Cambridge); DSc (London) | * |
| 1925–1953 | Cedric Lawton Reynolds | MA (Clare College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1954–1970 | Kenneth Robert Imeson | MA (Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge) | * |
| 1970–1995 | Dennis Trevor Witcombe | OBE; MA, BLitt (St John's College, Oxford); PhD (Manchester) | * |
| 1995–2007 | Christopher Stuart Parker | CBE; BA (Bristol); FRSA | * |
| 2007–2025 | Kevin David Fear | BA (Southampton) | *<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
* Resigned or retired
† Died in office
‡ Never assumed post<ref name=adam/>Template:Rp
Brian Garnet (headmaster 1565 – c. 1575) is notable as the father of the Jesuit priest Henry Garnet, who was executed for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot.<ref name=adam/>Template:Rp
Notable alumni
Template:See also Template:More citations needed section
All former pupils and staff members are granted the title "Old Nottinghamian".<ref name=oldn/><ref name="ON">Template:Cite web</ref> For more than a century, the Old Nottinghamians' Society has existed continuously, with its origins dating back to 1897, at which time it was called the NHS Dinner Committee.<ref name="ON"/> Between 1902 and 1961 it was known as the Nottingham High School Old Boys' Society.<ref name="ON"/>
Arts
- Michael Eaton (b. 1954), writer
- Christopher Hogwood (1941–2014),<ref name=alumni-music>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> classical musician, harpsichordist, scholar and conductor
- Thomas Cecil Howitt (1889–1968),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> architect responsible for the design of the Nottingham Council House
- D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> writer and publisher
- Nicholas McGegan (b. 1950),<ref name="alumni-music"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> classical musician, conductor
- Geoffrey Trease (1909–1998), author
Academia and religion
- Eric Abbott (1906–1984), Warden of Keble College, Oxford; Dean of Westminster
- Michael Argyle (1925-2002), social psychologist
- Samuel Ayscough (1745–1804), index compiler<ref>Henry Richard Tedder (1885), "Ayscough, Samuel", Leslie Stephen, ed., Dictionary of National Biography. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.</ref>
- Ben G. Davis (b. 1970), chemist and fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Henry Garnet (1555–1606),<ref name="nottinghampost1">Template:Cite web</ref> Jesuit priest executed 1606 for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot
- John K. Inglis (died 2011), biologist, writer and lecturer
- Frank Byron Jevons (1858–1936), Vice-Chancellor of the University of Durham
- Robert Mcfarlane (b. 1976), travel writer and fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
- Victor Mundella (1866–1939), Physicist and Principal of Sunderland Technical College
- Thomas Wingate Todd (1885–1938), anthropologist, orthodontist
- R. M. W. Dixon (b. 1939),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> linguist
Armed forces
- Albert Ball (1896–1917), the first Royal Flying Corps to be awarded the Victoria Cross
- Theodore Hardy (1863–1918), NHS schoolmaster, non-combatant chaplain in the Great War, awarded the Victoria Cross
Media and entertainment
- Kenneth Adam (1908–1978), Controller of the BBC
- Malcolm Balen (living),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> author and broadcaster
- Raymond Buckland (1934–2017),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> author and occultist
- Michael Bywater (b. 1953), writer and broadcaster
- Jonathan Charles (b.1964), BBC Foreign Correspondent
- Leslie Crowther (1933–1996),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> comedian and quiz show host
- Trevor Dann (b. 1951), broadcaster and producer of the 1985 Live Aid concert
- David Leigh (b. 1946), investigative journalist and investigative executive editor for The Guardian
- Arun Maini (b. 1995), technology YouTuber 'Mrwhosetheboss'
- Keith Mansfield (b. 1965), writer
- Simon Miller (living), writer/director
- Chris Moncrieff (1931–2019),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Press Association political journalist
- Andrew Nickolds (1949–2022), writer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Tim Royes (1964–2007), music video director and editor
- Daniel Storey (living), writer and broadcaster
- Jonny Sweet (b. 1985), comedian and actor
- Michael Watts (1938–2018), journalist and broadcaster
Civil and diplomatic service
- Alan Charlton (b. 1952), British ambassador to Brazil
- Peter Gregson (1936–2015), permanent secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry
- Richard Lloyd-Jones (b. 1933), permanent secretary of the Welsh Office
- Lord Richardson of Duntisborne, governor of the Bank of England from 1973 until 1983
- Douglas Wass (1923–2017), sometime permanent secretary of the Treasury and Head of the Home Civil Service
- Geoffrey Owen Whittaker (1932–2015), governor of Anguilla 1987–1989
Commerce
- Jesse Boot later Lord Trent (1850–1931), founder of the chemist chain Boots (now the Boots Group)
- Roger Carr (b. 1946), knight, businessman
- John Player (d. 1884), tobacconist (John Player & Sons), after whom the school's Player Hall is named
Law
- Sir Roderic Wood (b. 1951),<ref>'Wood, Hon. Sir Roderic (Lionel James)', Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014</ref> High Court judge
Politics
- Ed Balls (born 1967), former Labour MP, secretary of state for children, schools and families, economic secretary to the treasury and shadow chancellor of the exchequer
- Jonathan Bullock (born 1963), former Brexit Party member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands constituency<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Kenneth Clarke (born 1940), independent Member of Parliament, former Conservative Lord Chancellor and justice secretary, chancellor of the exchequer and home secretary<ref name=clarketie>Tom Baldwin et al. Major caught out by Clarke's school Template:Webarchive Daily Telegraph 13 October 1996. Accessed 11 August 2007.</ref>
- Ed Davey (born 1965), MP,<ref name="libdems.org.uk">[2] Template:Webarchive</ref> Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and leader of the Liberal Democrats<ref name="libdems.org.uk"/>
- David Frost (b. 1965), British politician, diplomat and civil servant
- Geoff Hoon (born 1953), former Member of Parliament, secretary of state for Transport, minister of state for Europe, secretary of state for defence and leader of the House of Commons<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Sir James Lester (1932–2021), Conservative politician
- Piers Merchant (1951–2009), former Conservative Member of Parliament and former general secretary of UKIP<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- James Morris (born 1967), MP, Conservative Member of Parliament
Science and technology
- Ben G. Davis (b. 1970), University of Oxford<ref name=whoswho>Template:Who's Who</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Thomas Hawksley (1807–1893),<ref name=nottinghampost1/> civil engineer and chief engineer at the Nottingham Waterworks Company
- J. P. Knight (1828–1886), inventor of the traffic light
- Frank Nabarro (1916–2006), solid-state physicist<ref name=nabarro>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Sport
- Patrick Bamford (b. 1993),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> footballer
- Charles Caborn (b. 1856, death date unknown), footballer for Nottingham Forest who appeared in their first FA Cup match.
- Anuj Dal (b. 1996), professional cricketer
- Anthony Douglas (b. 1985), Olympic short track speed skater
- Henry Groves (1896–1992), cricketer
- Graham Harding (b. 1966), cricketer
- David Haywood (b. 1945), cricketer
- Sam King (b. 2003), professional cricketer
- Tom Threlfall (b. 2005), Leicester tigers rugby player
- Alex Lewington (b. 1991),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> rugby union player
- Leonard Lindley (1861–1915), footballer and cricketer, brother of Tinsley
- Tinsley Lindley (1865–1940), international footballer and cricketer, brother of Leonard
- Henry Nwume (b. 1977), professional rugby union player and bobsleigh Olympian
- Anthony Palfreman (b. 1946), cricketer and cricket administrator
- Reg Simpson (1920–2013), England cricketer
- Greig Tonks (b. 1989),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> rugby union player
- Andy Turner (b. 1980),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> professional Olympic sprint hurdler
See also
References
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