St Paul's School, London
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St Paul's School is a selective independent day school (with limited boarding) for boys aged 13–18,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> founded in 1509 by John Colet<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> and located on a 43-acre<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> site by the Thames in London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
St Paul's was one of nine English schools investigated by the Clarendon Commission, which subsequently became known as the Clarendon schools.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the school successfully argued that it was a private school<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and consequently was omitted from the Public Schools Act 1868,<ref>An Act to make further Provision for the good Government and Extension of certain Public Schools in England, in: Template:Cite book</ref> as was Merchant Taylors', the other day school within the scope of Lord Clarendon's terms of reference.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 1881, St Paul's has had its own preparatory school, St Paul's Juniors (formerly Colet Court), which since 1968 has been located on the same site.<ref name=":0" />
The school has been included in The Schools Index every year since the index began in 2020 as one of the world's top 150 private schools, of which 25 are in the UK.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Template:See also St Paul's School takes its name from St Paul's Cathedral in London. A cathedral school is recorded as early as 1103, though it had declined by the early 16th century. In 1509, John Colet, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, established a new school on land north of the cathedral.
The eldest son of Sir Henry Colet (a member of the Mercers' Company and twice Lord Mayor of the City of London), John Colet inherited a substantial fortune and used a great part of it for the endowment of his school, having no family of his own; his 21 brothers and sisters all died in childhood and he was a celibate priest. He wrote in the school's statutes that his aim was "desyring nothing more thanne Educacion and bringing upp chyldren in good Maners and litterature."<ref name="SPS 8363">Template:Cite web</ref>
Originally, the school admitted 153 boys of "all nacions and countries indifferently", focusing on literature and etiquette. The number 153 relates to the miraculous draught of fishes recorded in the Gospel of John; the school still awards Junior Scholars a silver-fish emblem.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At its foundation, St Paul's had a High Master earning a mark per week—twice the Eton headmaster's pay.<ref name="historyofstpauls00mcdorich">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The scholars were not required to make any payment, although they were required to be literate and had to pay for their own wax candles, which at that time were an expensive commodity.Template:R
Colet was an outspoken critic of the powerful and worldly Church of his day, and a friend of both Erasmus and Sir Thomas More. Erasmus wrote textbooks for the school and St Paul's was the first English school to teach Greek, reflecting the humanist interests of the founder. Colet distrusted the Church as a managing body for his school, declaring that he "found the least corruption" in married laymen.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> For this reason, Colet assigned the management of the School and its revenues to the Mercers' Company, the premier livery company in the City of London, with which his father had been associated. In 1876 the company was legally established as trustee of the Colet estate, and the management of the school was assigned to a Board of Governors consisting of the Master, Wardens and nine members of the company, together with three representatives from each of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London. The Mercers' Company still forms the major part of the School's governing body, and it continues to administer Colet's trust.Template:Citation needed
One of the early headmasters was Richard Mulcaster, famous for writing two influential treatises on education (Positions, in 1581,<ref name="Mulcaster">Template:Cite web</ref> and Elementarie in 1582). His description in Positions of "footeball" as a refereed team sport is the earliest reference to organised modern football. For this description and his enthusiasm for the sport he is considered the father of modern football.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Between 1861 and 1864, the Clarendon Commission (a Royal Commission) investigated the public school system in England and its report formed the basis of the Public Schools Act 1868. St Paul's was one of only nine schools considered by the Clarendon Commission, and one of only two schools which was not predominantly attended by boarders (the other day school was Merchant Taylors').
According to Charles Dickens Jr., writing in 1879<ref>Charles Dickens, Jr., Dickens's Dictionary of London (1879)</ref> Template:Blockquote
21st-century
In the early 2000s former head teacher, Martin Stephen, advised author Jilly Cooper on her novel Wicked!, which is set in an independent school.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2016 The Daily Telegraph reported that families earning up to £120,000 could still receive bursaries, after the headmaster remarked that fees had become "unaffordable".<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
Apposition
An annual ceremony known as Apposition was originally the means by which The Mercers' Company could assess and, if necessary, dismiss teachers or the High Master. The process involved a third-party "apposer" who judged teaching quality by examining final-year pupils' lectures.
Historically, the ceremony had real power. In 1559 High Master Thomas Freeman was dismissed, supposedly for lack of learning—although more probably for holding the incorrect religious views. In 1748, High Master Charles was removed after allegedly threatening to "pull the Surmaster by the nose and kick him about the school".
Since it was re-introduced in 1969,<ref>Mead 1990, p.126.</ref> Apposition has become largely ceremonial, instead serving as a prize-giving event for boys in the final two years of the school.
Buildings
City of London
The original school, which stood in St Paul's Churchyard, was destroyed with the Cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hammersmith
In 1884 a new building designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse rose to dominate the countryside of Hammersmith. The terracotta for the Hammersmith school was made by the famous Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth. At this time the street numbering was changed locally and so the school address, whether by accident or design, became 153 Hammersmith Road.<ref>Template:Coord</ref> The preparatory school, Colet Court, was soon afterwards housed in new premises in a similar style on the opposite side of the road.
In September 1939 the school was evacuated to Easthampstead Park, near Crowthorne in Berkshire, where, under the then High Master, W. F. Oakeshott, it became solely a boarding school for the period of the war. Playing fields and some other facilities were borrowed from nearby Wellington College, but the boys and the teachers from the two schools remained entirely separate.
In the meantime, the London buildings became the headquarters of the Home Forces in July 1940<ref>Newbold, p. 245</ref> and the headquarters of the XXI Army Group under the command of General, later Field-Marshal, Bernard Montgomery, himself an Old Pauline, in July 1943. There the XXI army part of the military side of the invasion of Europe was planned, including the D-Day landings.<ref>Template:Cite web; Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, London 1949, p. 267ff</ref> The map that he used is still present in the modern day site of the school in the Montgomery Room. The school recovered its buildings in September 1945, and resumed life essentially as a day school, although it retains a small number of boarders to this day. In 1959, Queen Elizabeth II visited the school to mark the 450th anniversary of its founding. Upon her death, BBC journalist John Simpson, a pupil at the time, was most complimentary, saying that "we were all just bowled over by it [the visit]".<ref>Simpson speaking live in the BBC News studio at 16:47 on 9 September 2022</ref>
Barnes
By 1961 it had become evident that the old school buildings were unsuited to modern educational needs. The opportunity arose to rebuild the school on a 45-acre (182,000 m²) riverside site at Barnes, adjacent to Hammersmith Bridge. This land had previously been the site of reservoirs which were filled in with earth excavated during the construction of the Victoria line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1968, St Paul's School was relocated across the river to Barnes and main school buildings were demolished.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Today, the boundary wall and railings, small circular Bothy (garden store), High Master's Lodge (now St Paul's Hotel) and Porter's Lodge are all that remain of the site and are Grade II listed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The main buildings were demolished and converted into St Paul's Gardens.
In the 1970s, West London College was built on Template:Convert of former playing fields of St Paul's, despite campaigns opposing the development.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2009–present
In 2013, the school opened its new Science wing. The wing is a three -storey building, built to provide university-standard workspaces and labs, including its own scanning electron microscope.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Staff pay
St Paul's ranks highest on the Sunday Times Private School Pay List, with nine staff members paid salaries exceeding £100,000 in the accounting period 2019-20.<ref name="Griffiths">Template:Cite news</ref> St Paul’s also had the highest individual earner, with one staff member earning between £330,000 and £339,000 from September 2019 to August 2020.<ref name="Griffiths"/>
Operation Winthorpe
St Paul's has been investigated by the Metropolitan Police for historic crimes of paedophilia so serious the investigation was given its own operational name, Operation Winthorpe. Since then school has reviewed and revised its safeguarding procedures. A major independent report published in January 2020, revealed 80 complaints against 32 members of staff over a period of six decades, mainly from the 1960s to the 1990s. There were 28 recommendations on how current practice could be improved.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Renewal campaign
The renewal campaign is the project to rebuild the entire school campus, frequently known as the Masterplan.
The majority of the Barnes site buildings date from the 1960s, and the CLASP technology used in the construction of the buildings had a limited lifespan. Even though various buildings (such as the Wathen Hall Music School, Rackets Court and Milton Building) had been added to the campus over the years, the 1960s prefab buildings represented approximately three-quarters of the school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Local planning restrictions combined with a lack of available surplus land mean that St Paul's is faced with progressively replacing obsolete buildings with new ones located in the same general area. The plan should eventually result in a large building footprint area increase as well as increasing the amount of staff housing.
In 2007, Nicholas Hare Architects were appointed to produce detailed designs for the first set of new buildings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Late in 2009, Richmond Council granted St Paul's detailed planning permission, and building started in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2023, the St Paul's Juniors building was demolished to make way for a completely new junior school designed by Hawkins\Brown, due to be completed in 2026.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sport
Rugby
St Paul's was one of the 21 principal founding members of the Rugby Football Union in 1871, of which only ten remain to this day.
In 1979, the St Paul's 1st XV, nicknamed the 'Invincibles', went twelve matches undefeated.<ref name="stpaulsschool.org.uk">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2005 and 2007, St Paul's reached the final of the U15 Daily Mail Cup, the premier rugby union tournament for British secondary schools. In 2005, they lost 12-7 to St Benedict's School, Ealing, and in 2007 they lost 20-15 to Lymm High School.
In 2017, St Paul's reached the final of the first-ever U15 Plate competition, losing 6-3 to Sir Thomas Rich's School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2025, St Paul's won the U15 Continental Tyres School Vase at Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club, beating Bishop's Stortford High School 32-3 in the final.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rowing
St Paul's School Boat Club (SPSBC) has won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta eight times and has held the course record since 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2018 and again in 2024, SPSBC won "the Quadruple," consisting of the Head of the Charles, Schools' Head of the River, National Schools' Regatta and the HRR Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. From 2023 to 2025, St Paul's won six of these titles in succession.
In May 2025, Junior Rowing News described St Paul's School Boat Club as "arguably the standout junior rowing program in the world over the past few years."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Football
St Paul's School has had one professional football player, Richard Nartey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In March 2025, St Paul's reached the final of the ISFA Shield, losing 2-1 to Bromsgrove School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Examinations
In 2023 and again in 2024, St Paul's School ranked as the top boys' school in the UK in the Sunday Times Parent Power league table for academic performance, and second overall behind only St Paul's Girls' School on both occasions<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>.
In 2024, 23% of 175 university leavers went on to Oxford or Cambridge, and a further 13% went to study in the United States at Ivy League or equivalent institutions, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>. The record for Oxford and Cambridge places was 42%, achieved in 2010.
GCSE summary: last five years<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| YEAR | 8/9 | 7/8/9 | 6/7/8/9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 92% | 97.8% | 99.6% |
| 2023 | 87% | 96% | 99% |
| 2022 | 94% | 99% | 100% |
| 2021* | 94% | 98% | 100% |
| 2020* | 92% | 99% | 100% |
A level summary: last five years<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| YEAR | A* | A*A | A*AB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 61% | 90% | 98% |
| 2023 | 51% | 85% | 97% |
| 2022 | 70% | 96% | 99% |
| 2021 | 77% | 95% | 99% |
| 2020 | 51% | 83% | 95% |
High Masters
The head teacher of St Paul's is known as the High Master, and the deputy head as the Surmaster. These titles are assigned in the school statutes. The following have been High Masters of St Paul's:
| Name | Years as High Master |
|---|---|
| William Lily | 1509–1522 |
| John Ritwise | 1522–1532 |
| Richard Jones | 1532–1549 |
| Thomas Freeman | 1549–1559 |
| John Cook | 1559–1573 |
| William Malym | 1573–1581 |
| John Harrison | 1581–1596 |
| Richard Mulcaster | 1596–1608 |
| Alexander Gill Senior | 1608–1635 |
| Alexander Gill Junior | 1635–1640 |
| John Langley | 1640–1657 |
| Samuel Cromleholme Template:IPAc-en<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 1657–1672 |
| Thomas Gale | 1672–1697 |
| John Postlethwayt | 1697–1713 |
| Philip Ayscough Template:IPAc-en<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 1713–1721 |
| Benjamin Moreland | 1721–1733 |
| Timothy Crumpe | 1733–1737 |
| George Charles | 1737–1748 |
| George Thicknesse | 1748–1769 |
| Richard Roberts | 1769–1814 |
| John Sleath | 1814–1837 |
| Herbert Kynaston | 1838–1876 |
| Frederick William Walker | 1877–1905 |
| Albert Ernest Hillard | 1905–1927 |
| John Bell | 1927–1938 |
| Walter Fraser Oakeshott | 1938–1946 |
| Robert Leoline James | 1946–1953 |
| Antony Newcombe Gilkes | 1953–1962 |
| Thomas Edward Brodie Howarth | 1962–1973 |
| James Warwick Hele | 1973–1986 |
| Peter Pilkington, later Lord Pilkington of Oxenford | 1986–1992 |
| Richard Stephen Baldock | 1992–2004 |
| George Martin Stephen | 2004–2010<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Mark Bailey | 2011–2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Sally-Anne Huang | 2020–<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> |
Other notable staff
- Nigel Briers (born 1955), former cricketer
- Fran Clough (born 1962), former rugby player, played for England in the 1987 world cup
- Josh Hawley (born 1979), U.S. senator<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- George Green Loane (1865–1945), housemaster, classical scholar
- Francis Sowerby Macaulay (1862–1937), mathematician
Notable alumni
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See also
References
Bibliography
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External links
Template:Public schools in England Template:Schools and colleges in Richmond upon Thames Template:Rugby Football Union Founding Clubs Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- 1509 establishments in England
- Alfred Waterhouse buildings
- Barnes, London
- Boarding schools in London
- Educational institutions established in the 1500s
- Private boys' schools in London
- Private schools in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
- Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
- People educated at St Paul's School, London
- Racquets venues
- History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham