Repton School

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Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox school Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England.

Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was then established at the Repton Priory. For its first 400 years, the school accepted only boys; girls were admitted from the 1970s, and the school was fully co-educational by the 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable alumni, also known as "Old Reptonians", include C. B. Fry, Harold Abrahams, Christopher Isherwood, Jeremy Clarkson, Andy Wilman, Roald Dahl, Adrian Newey and Archbishop Lord Ramsey of Canterbury.

History

Brass of founder Sir John Port on his tomb in St Helen's parish church, Etwall, Derbyshire

The school was founded by a 1557 legacy in the will of Sir John Port of Etwall, leaving funds for a grammar school at Etwall or Repton, conditional on the students praying daily for the souls of his family:<ref name="JP">Template:Cite ODNB</ref> Template:Blockquote

Through this private endowment, Repton School was set up as a charity, with early boarding pupils coming from Repton and the neighbouring villages.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The school was founded within the remains of Repton Priory, which were granted for the school in 1559 by Gilbert Thacker. The religious site had been founded in the 12th-century by the Augustinian order and had been in existence until it was dissolved in 1538 by Henry VIII. After dissolution, the Thacker family had lived at the priory until 1553. Gilbert Thacker destroyed the church, almost entirely in a day, during the time of Queen Mary fearing the priory would be recommissioned as part of the Counter-Reformation.<ref name="Page">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Rep">Template:Cite web</ref>

The School Arch, formerly part of Repton Priory, was moved to its current site in 1906.<ref name="PS" />

Only parts of the original buildings remained when the school was established. These comprised:<ref name="PS">Template:PastScape</ref><ref name="list">Template:Cite web</ref> the footings of areas of the priory remain in some areas, uncovered during construction work in 1922; the bases of a cluster of columns of the former chancel and chapels; fragments of an arch belonging to the former pulpitum, moved to their current position in 1906;<ref name="PS" /> fragments of the door surrounds of both the chapter house and warming room.<ref name="list" /><ref name="pastc">Template:PastScape</ref> and largest surviving portion of the priory known as "Prior Overton's Tower", which is post-1437; largely altered, it has been incorporated into a 19th-century building.<ref>Template:NHLE</ref>

However, following the bequeathment of the former religious buildings relations between the school and the Thacker family began to deteriorate due to a conflict of interest in accessibility. Almost eighty years later in 1642, the school commenced legal action against the Thacker family. In 1670, a wall was built to keep the two parties apart.<ref name="Records">Template:Cite web</ref>

Within the first hundred years, student body numbers rose to 200, but they had fallen by 1681 to twenty-eight boys.<ref name="educationengland" />

The social mix of the early school was very broad. Among the first twenty-two names on the register of Repton there are five gentlemen, four husbandmen, nine yeomen, two websters, or weavers, a carpenter and a tanner. During the 17th century, the school educated the sons of Earl of Chesterfield and Earl of Ardglass, Samuel Shaw and John Woodward, who was apprenticed as a linen draper before he took up medicine, eventually being appointed Gresham Professor of Physic.<ref name="educationengland">Template:Cite web</ref>

18th and 19th centuries

Repton Grammar School, Repton, Derbyshire: gateway. Tinted lithograph by Hullmandel & Walton
Repton Grammar School gateway: tinted lithograph by Hullmandel & Walton

In a letter from George Denman in the 1830s, there was a pupil-conferred role called "Cock of the School". A boy would be identified as the holder of this office after competing against likely candidates; once a boy was incumbent in this role, the younger boys deferred to him to do his work; writing in 1907, G. S. Messiter described the practice as an "ancient custom."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1858, a chapel was constructed on campus and later opened in 1859.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1865, a commission presided over by Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton investigated all endowed secondary schools in England, including Repton. The Schools Inquiry Commission published its findings in 1868.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The research compiled helped aid the Endowed Schools Act 1869.

When public schools were attempting to reform, Repton's headmaster at the time lamented the shared tensions from all schools between local boys and boarders, stating that despite a sincere attempt to break down the barriers between them, he had had little success, and a substantial number of applications from "persons of good standing... and good fortune" had been withdrawn when told the boys were "of all classes down to the sons of blacksmiths and washerwomen". Due to this conflict, local village boys stopped attending Repton, which the headmaster at the time said was "mainly for the sake of the village boys... [to mitigate a] constant fear of their being ill-treated."<ref name="educationengland" /><ref name="Brogan, Hugh">Template:Cite book</ref>

Repton School Chapel

The first Committee of the Headmasters' Conference, appointed in December 1870, included the headmaster of Repton.<ref name="educationengland"/>

20th century

In 1907, a gymnasium was added, which is now grade II listed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In this decade, the chapel was enlarged, the Science Block, Armoury, Shooting Range and Swimming Bath were built, and the Priory 'Tithe' Barn turned into the Art School.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Geoffrey Fisher (later to become Archbishop of Canterbury) became headmaster in 1914.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the early 1900s, a reforming master, Victor Gollancz, established classes in political education for the boys. The classes were open to Upper School members and enlistment was voluntary. Gollancz and D. C. Somervell conducted the lessons on “topics of parliamentary reform, the position of women, the future of the Empire, trade unions, individualism and co-operation in industry, the organisation of peace and a League of Nations, conservatism, liberalism, modern Ireland, Alsace-Lorraine and the Russian Revolution.” Repton was considered one of the first schools to offer civics classes in its curriculum. However, certain staff members opposed these classes, considering them as being radical. When H. J. Snape was invited to address the Civics Class on conservatism, the tension between Gollancz and Snape's opposing beliefs led to a “flaming row between them.” As a result of the affair, the War Office considered withdrawing its recognition of Repton's school Corps. This led to Fisher dismissing Gollancz and retaining Snape; yet, Fisher blamed Snape's misconduct as “a very discreditable campaign of personal abuse and violent language…against Mr. Gollancz.”<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

1,912 former pupils of the school served in the First World War, of whom 355 died in service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A war memorial was unveiled on major general Sir John Burnett-Stuart, director of military operations and intelligence, and dedicated by Edwyn Hoskyns, Bishop of Southwell on 1 November 1922.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Repton School – WW1 and WW2">Template:Cite web</ref>

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Harold Abrahams, pictured here at the 1924 Olympics, joined the school in 1914

Harold Abrahams, winner of the 100m sprint in the 1924 Paris Olympics, joined the school in 1914. Recalling his time at the school, Abrahams said he encountered antisemitism from other boys, often feeling bullied and alone.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1917, the writers Christopher Isherwood and Edward Upward began their time at Repton. They formed a friendship which continued when they both attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Around the same time, Arnold Cooke, Bunny Austin and David Cochrane also attended Repton.

In September 1920, the poet Vernon Watkins was sent to Repton. His gentle character initially provoked bullying in his early years; yet, in a 1923 letter sent from Watkins to Eric Falk, he expressed his fondness for Repton as well as a school crush on poet Rupert Brooke: “I can’t think of anyone except Rupert Brooke.” Upward reflected that “everyone was homosexual, up to a point, at Repton.” While at the school, Watkins was granted the Howe Verse Prize, the Lancelot Sayes Prizes for French & German, and the Schreiber Prize for his writing. Upon his departure, Watkins stated: “Leaving Repton was what I had expected it to be; - a ghastly affair which left me in tears.” The school has claimed him as "perhaps the best poet Repton has had".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1924, George Gilbert Stocks, a director of music at the school, set the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind to the tune Repton for use in the school's chapel. He took the melody from Hubert Parry's 1888 contralto aria "Long since in Egypt's plenteous land" in his oratorio Judith.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Roald Dahl gives accounts of his time at Repton in his book 'Boy'
Roald Dahl gives accounts of his time at Repton in his autobiography

The writer Roald Dahl attended in the 1930s.He later stated that he "couldn't get over it" and has "never got over it."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His semi-autobiographical Boy describes his negative experience with physical altercations between students, and of a pupil by headmaster Fisher.Template:NoteTag But Dahl's biographer, Jeremy Treglown, has pointed out he was mistaken: the beating was in May 1933, a year after Fisher had left Repton, and the headmaster concerned was John Christie, Fisher's successor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In his 1984 autobiography, Dahl states that when he was a young fag, he was instructed to warm toilet seats for older boys at the school.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was also, along with other boys at the school, used as a product tester for Cadbury chocolate bars. Dahl claims that this was the inspiration for his book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Second World War and after

The headmaster from 1937 to 1943 was H. G. Michael Clarke, who left the school to pursue an ecclesiastical career and became Provost of Birmingham Cathedral.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He led the school during one of the most difficult periods of its history, when mounting debts and falling numbers, together with the effects of the war, led to questions as to the continuing viability of the institution; Clarke was obliged to close departments and two houses (The Cross and Latham).<ref name="auto1">Template:Cite journal</ref> The school owed £50,000 (around £3.5 million at today's prices) and, in 1941, the Board of Education said its "future is doubtful".<ref name="auto1"/>

In the Second World War, 188 former members of the school died serving in the armed forces.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Airmen were billeted in Mitre House during the war.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1948, a tablet extension was commissioned for the Derbyshire WWI Memorial in order to include WWII casualties. The extension was inaugurated in a ceremony led on 10 July 1949, unveiled by lieutenant general Sir Charles Gairdner and dedicated by former Geoffrey Fisher, by then Archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name="Repton School – WW1 and WW2"/>

Numbers attending the school recovered in the late 1940s, such that The Cross was able to reopen in 1945 and Latham House in 1947. By 1957, the school was in better health: full with 470 pupils.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

1957 saw the 400 year centenary of the school, celebrated with a royal visit from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. A new chemistry block and workshops were added within the precinct, as well as extensive alterations to the science block. John Gammell took office as headmaster in 1968 and during his tenure girls began to be educated at Repton. It started with the arrival of two girls in 1970. By 1979, the first purpose-built girls' boarding house was opened.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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Jeremy Clarkson attended Repton in the 1970s.

Hazing is recorded as having taken place at Repton into the late 20th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jeremy Clarkson attended the school, later noting that he had suffered extreme hazing by other students, including being plunged into an ice pool and having his trousers cut in half.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was later expelled for "drinking, smoking and generally making a nuisance" of himself.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has stated that this conduct included doing car stunts on the sports pitches, smoking in the chapel, filling all the locks on the premises with Polyfilla, and attending lessons naked from the waist down.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Likewise, fagging continued in the 1980s when cricketer Chris Adams was at the school; he subsequently observed, "The ingrained hierarchy whereby the older boys would subject the younger pupils to a lot of misery through the system of fagging. It was basically a system of slavery and I hated seeing the young lads literally trembling with fear".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In the early 1980s, the old Sanatorium was converted into a Music School.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Due to increasing numbers of female pupils in the 1990s, headmaster Graham Jones spearheaded the construction of girls' houses. Two boys boarding houses (Brook House and The Hall) were closed and their occupants were reconfigured into a single new house, School House.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

21st century

File:Repton School Business Centre and Gallery. - geograph.org.uk - 898867.jpg
Repton School Business Centre and Gallery, in a former shop

The school marked its 450th anniversary in 2007 with a royal visit from Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. Celebrations also included concerts featuring Michael Ball and Bryan Ferry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2011, the 400 Hall theatre (originally built in 1957) was remodelled by Avery Associates Architects,<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> following a £3.3 million upgrade.<ref name="bbc">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2013, a £9 million science block was built. During the preparations for the building work, archaeological digs were undertaken which indicated the site had been occupied in the Roman period.<ref>Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite news Template:Dead link</ref> Around this time, the old Squash Courts were made into a new gallery and textiles studio for the Art department.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

A new teaching block, the Lynam Thomas Building, in the precinct and a major refurbishment programme was being undertaken. In November 2019, Adam Peaty opened a newly redeveloped £6 million sports centre at the school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The sport centre building has since been nominated for Excellence in Design by the East Midlands Bricks Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Alastair Land was headmaster from 2016 to 2019 and was succeeded as headmaster by Mark Semmence.

In September 2019, the school began using an AI service called AS Tracking in order to monitor students' mental health. The software was also used in 150 schools, assessing over 50,000 students' wellbeing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2019, Libby Lane, Lord Bishop of Derby was appointed visitor of Repton School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Co-curricular

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Bunny Austin attended Repton School.

The school has a Combined Cadet Force and a music school, as well as various after-school clubs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All pupils are enrolled in CCF for one year; involvement thereafter is voluntary. Pupils can also choose to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sports

The school competes in various sports. Main sports are: men's football, hockey and cricket; women's hockey, netball and tennis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Repton School has produced more than 150 first-class cricketers, 11 internationals, and three Test captains.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Notable sporting former pupils include the 1932 Wimbledon tennis finalist, Bunny Austin, and several first-class cricketers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Adam Peaty used Repton's swimming pool as a training facility. His coach, Melanie Marshall, taught swimming at the school.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2013, six former pupils played together in an international hockey match.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

In October 2018, Repton announced a complete £6 million renovation of the school's sporting facilities, including a new sports hall and a new strength and conditioning gymnasium.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Repton's football team also won The 2018 ISFA Barry Burns Northern Eights Competition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In January 2019, Repton announced Chris Read, former England cricketer, as the school's director of cricket.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2019, the first all-girls Lord's Taverners "Wicketz Festival", three days of celebration, education and cricket was held at the school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The U18 girls (outdoor), U16 girls (outdoor and indoor), U16 boys (outdoor) and U14 girls (outdoor) won national titles that same year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In February 2020, Repton announced Scott Talbot, former Olympian and coach for the New Zealand and Australian national swim squads, as the school's director of swimming.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fine arts

Repton's art programme currently features two artists-in-residence: visual artist Louisa Chambers and fine art media specialist Maria Georgoula.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Repton opened their 400 Hall theatre in 1957.<ref name="auto" /> In 2011, the theatre reopened after a £3.3 million renovation.<ref name="bbc" /> A studio theatre was added in 2003 and the complex extended and fully refurbished in 2011 by architect Bryan Avery.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The school has been hosting a literary festival in October for some years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There is an annual Plowright lecture, with the 2020 lecture being on serial killers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> One of the students won Ayn Rand Essay Competition prizes in consecutive years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2022, this event was branded "a flop", with organisers stating "audience for many of the speakers were woefully small...Everywhere was completely thin. It was such a shame".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The school's theatre was used for various performances during a time of closure of a theatre space in the Derby Guildhall, operated by the local authority in Derby.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Houses and pastoral arrangements

Repton School offers traditional boarding only, with no flexi or weekly options available.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Approximately 70 per cent of pupils are boarders.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The school also has an on-site tuck shop called 'The Grubber'.<ref name="repton">Template:Cite web</ref>

Fees and inspection

In 2019/2020, fees were £36,783 for boarders and £27,207 for day pupils per year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are scholarships available for drama, sport, art, music, academic capacity and "all-rounder talent"; these do not exceed 20% of the school's fees.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There is also some bursary assistance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The school is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. An integrated inspection took place in March 2014, finding the school to be "exceptionally successful in achieving its aims... the quality of the pupils' achievements is excellent".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An emergency inspection in January 2015 was ordered by the Department for Education reviewing welfare and safeguarding compliance under the Independent School Standard Regulations (ISSRs) and the National Minimum Standards for Boarding (NMSB). The school failed to meet a number of the regulations, namely those dealing with pupil safeguarding; the promotion of good behaviour; suitability of staff and governance, leadership and management of the school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A regulatory compliance inspection took place in 2018 which found that the school met all of the minimums and associated requirements.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The subsequent integrated regulatory compliance and educational quality inspection in 2020 found that Repton met all regulatory compliance standards and was awarded the highest rating in each area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Affiliate schools

The school set up Repton International Schools Ltd (RISL) in 2013 to establish, develop and maintain British international schools.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The overseas schools are owned and funded by local investors, which can be education businesses, real estate corporates, private equity firms or wealthy philanthropists. They are licensed to use the Repton School "brand" and enter into a services agreement with RISL, which provides a full range of educational services and academic oversight.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> RISL remits its profits to Repton School Trust in the UK, which helps fund capital projects and bursaries. Repton has partnerships with John Port Spencer Academy, Etwall, and Repton Primary School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The portfolio of overseas schools comprises:

Preparatory school

Repton has a junior school, named Repton Prep, which was founded in 1940.<ref name="derbytelegraph" />

In early 2020, it was announced that Repton School would be merging with Foremarke Hall School from September 2020 into a single school called Repton Prep.<ref name="derbytelegraph">Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly after, St Wystan's School joined the Repton group of schools.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Culture and cultural references

Alexander Wilson, novelist, a spy and serial bigamist with four wives, lied about being an alumnus of Repton School, which he was not;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fred Perry also lied about having attended Repton School, which he did not do either.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The "Stig" character in Top Gear is said to have been named after the school's pejorative slang term for new boys, a private reference with the producer Andy Wilman, who attended Repton with Clarkson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1930s steam locomotive named after the school
1930s steam locomotive named after the school

There is also a steam locomotive called "Repton" named after the school in 1934: Southern Railway, Class V, Schools No 926, today based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The school's motto, Template:Lang ("the gate is free from blame"), is a quotation from Ovid's Template:Lang.<ref>Ovid's Fasti, book 2, line 204</ref> "The gate" (Template:Lang) refers to the school's arch and, by a synecdoche of Template:Lang, the school itself, whilst also being a pun on the name of the school's founder, Sir John Port.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The school has twice, in the 1930s and 1980s respectively, represented the fictional Brookfield School in a 1939 film and a 1984 BBC version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips.<ref>Movies made in the Midlands. Retrieved March 2011
- Repton, Derbyshire Template:Webarchive. Retrieved March 2011</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> One of the screenwriters of the 1939 film, Eric Maschwitz, attended Repton. Around 200 pupils were extras in the 1939 film.<ref>"1930s: A year of tragedy and war worries" Template:Webarchive. Retrieved March 2011</ref> Similarly, pupils appeared as extras in the 1984 BBC version.Template:Citation needed

Royal visits

The school has had the following royal visits:

Headmasters

Template:Div col

  • Thomas Whitehead (1621–1639)<ref name="Bigsby">https://books.google.com/books?id=68oHAAAAQAAJRobert Bigsby Historical and Topographical Description of Repton Woodfall and Kinder 1854</ref>
  • Philip Ward (1639–1642)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • William Ullock (1642–1667)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • Joseph Sedgwicke (1667–1672)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • Edward Letherland (1672–1681)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • John Doughty (1681–1705)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • Edward Abbot (1705–1714)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • Thomas Gawton (1714–1723)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • William Dudson (1723–1724)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • George Fletcher (1724–1741)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • William Asteley (1741–1767)<ref name="Bigsby"/>
  • William Prior (1767–1779)<ref name="Bigsby"/><ref name="mons">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • William Bagshaw Stevens (1779–1800)<ref name="Bigsby"/><ref name="mons"/>
  • William Boultbee Sleath (1800–1830)<ref name="Bigsby"/><ref name="mons"/>
  • John Heyrick Macaulay (1830–1840)<ref name="Bigsby"/><ref name="mons"/>
  • Thomas Williamson Peile (1841–1854)
  • Steuart Adolphus Pears (1854–1874)
  • Henry Robert Huckin (1874–1882)
  • William Furneaux (1883–1900)
  • Hubert Burge (1900–1901)
  • Lionel Ford (1901–1910)|
  • William Temple (1910–1914)
  • Geoffrey Fisher (1914–1932)<ref name="boy">Dahl, Roald, Boy Template:ISBN (hardcover, 1986) (see also Boy: Tales of Childhood)</ref>
  • John Christie (1932–1937)
  • H.G. Michael Clarke (1937–1943)
  • Theodore Lynam Thomas (1944–1961)
  • John Thorn (1961–1968)
  • John Gammell (1968–1978)
  • David Jewell (1979–1987)
  • Graham E. Jones (1987–2003)
  • Robert Holroyd (2003–2014)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Sarah Tennant, (acting head, 2014–2016)
  • Alastair Land (2016–2019)<ref>Template:Cite news
    - Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Mark Semmence (from March 2019)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:Div col end

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Basil Rathbone, an alumnus of the school

Controversies

Fee fixing and gender pay gap

Template:See also

In September 2005, the school was one of fifty schools operating independent school fee-fixing, in breach of the Competition Act, 1998. All of the schools involved were ordered to abandon this practice, pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 each and to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information had been shared.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Bursar at the time was Carl Bilson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Female staff members were paid 56–57% less than their male coworkers at the school in 2018,<ref name="service">Template:Cite web</ref> and 50% less in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Incidents

In 2014, Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court fined the school £10,000 following a guilty plea to a health and safety charge after an incident of negligence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2019, a teacher tested positive for drink-driving after police saw his vehicle mount a kerb and then enter the school grounds. He was subsequently convicted and banned from driving for 20 months.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Two months later a chemical spillage at the school's sports centre resulted in nine individuals needing precautionary treatment, as a result of a chlorine leak.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the summer of 2023, a 14-year-old girl died on the school campus at an event organised by Christians in Sport, a third-party religious group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sexual abuse

The Charity Commission expressed "serious concerns" about safeguarding in 2018 after it received a sequence of serious incident reports from Repton School early in that year, specifically:<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

  • In December 2014, a former head of physics, John Mitchell, was found to have abused a position of trust contrary to s.16(1)(a) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 when he engaged in sexual activity with a female between the age of 13 and 17, not believing that she was 18 or over. He also communicated in a sexual way and with sexual motivations to this same pupil. He was disqualified from teaching indefinitely by the National College for Teaching and Leadership, following a finding that this was unacceptable professional conduct.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • In October 2017, a former pupil began proceedings against the school, claiming negligence on the school's part, in connection with an alleged rape of that pupil by another pupil in 2014. A 17-year-old pupil was arrested on suspicion of carrying out two rapes at the school;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> it was claimed that the school failed to supervise or discipline its pupil. The claimant made a request of the Derbyshire Constabulary for the papers from its investigation, which the police refused to provide without a court order.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • In 2018, four members of the school's staff were subject to police investigation for inappropriate sexual conduct towards children. In August 2018, one of these individuals, Jeremy Woodside, a 28-year-old former organist at the school, was placed on the Sex Offender's Register.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The chronology of those issues emerging in early 2018 was as follows:
  • In February 2022, a former teacher at the school, Simon Clague, pleaded guilty to multiple indictments for indecent assault and gross indecency with three pupils. All of the victims were under 16 at the time of the offending, which took place at the school in the 1990s;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> his trial was repeatedly delayed because of COVID-19.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was later, in July 2023, banned from teaching.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2023, three former pupils of the school sued following the criminal conviction of Clague.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Victim Impact statements in this civil action highlighted 'irreversable damage' caused by his crimes, referring to 'stolen innocence'; one victim said they were manipulated into having a sexual relationship with Clague – and that the school 'knew and brushed it under the carpet'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Resignation of three governors over safeguarding

In September 2022, 3 governors resigned en bloc over safeguarding issues at the school; these were additional safeguarding issues to those set out above that came to light after the jailing of Simon Clague.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Criminal barrister of the Queen's Counsel Tim Hannam, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone, and former Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Susannah Fish were identified in press reports as the three governors who quit their roles. Fish's resignation letter to the chairman of the governors, Mark Shires, said the decision to allow the teacher to remain in post means the school had not taken seriously:

"an appalling catalogue [of alleged past misconduct and it was therefore the case that].... safeguarding of pupils past, present and future is now in jeopardy and lacks credibility’.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable alumni

Template:Main

Template:See also Alumni of Repton School are known as Old Reptonians.

They include:

Notable former masters

A number of headmasters of Repton went on to senior Church of England positions in the 20th century.

Coat of arms and flag

The school's arms are three eaglets holding a cross.<ref name="Brogan, Hugh" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Partnerships

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Adam Peaty attended Repton School after his talent was identified

In May 2016, the school made defibrillators on its site available to the local community.<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref> Some of the staff at the school have been vocal about the issue of speeding traffic in the village of Repton and have participated in public speed gun enforcement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic the school's DT department made PPE for key NHS workers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Repton School and Repton village combine every year for a charity event known as Sale of Work. Funds raised are distributed to a range of local and national charities chosen by representatives of both communities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

References

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Notes

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