Vorlage:Infobox Secondary school Highgate School is an old and prestigious British public school in Highgate, North London. It is three schools in one known as, the Highgate Foundation, which also manages both a prep and a pre-prep school. The school is formally known as Highgate School as its working name, however when run as a charity it is known from one of its older names Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate which dates back into the 19th Century. It has been known as the Highgate Grammar School, The Free Grammar School at Highgate and the Cholmeley School. The school probably took on its name, Highgate, in its foundation as a leading Victorian public school thus competing with public schools with area names such as Eton, Harrow and Winchester.
History
The school was established, in 1565, by a Royal Charter patented by Elizabeth I giving permission for Sir Roger Cholmeley to erect a free grammar school for boys, making it one of the older schools in the United Kingdom. Significant expansion of the school only occurred under the Headmaster John Bradley Dyne (Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford) between 1838-1874. Over this period the current chapel and main buildings were erected, designed by Reginald Blomfield (who had also designed Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford). A fragment of the older school building, a gateway with a rusted bell mechanism above, is still intact between the porter's lodge and the main school building.
During the Second World War the school was appropriated by the government and the pupils evacuated to Westward Ho in Devon, returning eventually in 1943. This return was maybe slightly premature because one afternoon the following year a V-1 Doodlebug flying bomb landed and exploded in the field behind the Junior School, luckily there were no serious casualties except for a cricket scorebox.
By 1965 the school occupied a large site in Highgate Village, as well as extensive sports fields and several boarding houses in the surrounding area. Recently the school has taken the move to become fully co-educational ending over 400 years of single-sex education.
Administration
Due to the Foundation's significant ownership of land and properties around the school, it has been able to invest greatly in the school's facilities; the relatively recent conversion from boarding to day school has increased the space available for this to continue. The Foundation's governing body consists of 12 members; 5 are nominated (one each by the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and London, by the Bishop of London, and by the Lord Chief Justice), and the rest are co-opted. The school is a member of the Eton Group of leading independent schools.
Notable Members of Staff
- T S Eliot, OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965) was an American-born British poet, dramatist, and literary critic, whose works, such as The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, and Four Quartets, are considered defining achievements of twentieth century Modernist poetry. In 1948 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was one of the most influential poets of the 20th century.
- Rev Kenneth Hunt. Was a genius footballer who was of paramount importence in taking the Wolverhampton Wanderers to FA Cup victory.
- Kyffin Williams A Great British, Award winning artist.
- Andrew Zbigniew Szydlo - Dr Szydlo made a name for himself by appearing on Channel 4 TV Show "That'll Teach Them". Fans of his appearance on this show include radio presenter Al Smith.
Houses
The school operates a house system like many other public schools, and on entering pupils are placed in a house according to where they live (although the system does appear inaccurate, on occasions). Each house has a Housemaster in charge of the pastoral, as well as academic well-being of house-members, and tutors for each year group. This system was established to create 'house spirit' among the students, allowing for both academic and sporting competitions among the houses. Some of these, like School House, Grindal, and The Lodge used to be boarding houses.
Currently the houses are as follows:
- Eastgate [Housemaster Dr V E C Stubbs]
- Fargate [Housemaster Mr W J Atkins]
- Grindal House [Housemaster Mr K M Pullinger]
- Heathgate [Housemaster Mr S Evans]
- Kingsgate [Housemaster Mr J A Fisher]
- Midgate [Housemaster Mr M J Short]
- Northgate [Housemaster Mr P R Aston]
- Queensgate [Housemaster Mr J P Murphy]
- School House [Housemaster Miss K P Norris]
- Southgate [Housemaster Mr T C J Wilding]
- The Lodge [Housemaster Mr D G Brandt]
- Westgate [Housemaster Mrs J F Morelle]
Departments
Highgate's Senior School has numerous departments, covering a range of subjects. These are as follows:
- Physical Education [Head: Mr A G Tapp]
- Design Technology [Head: Mr P R Aston]
- Art [Head: Mrs T A Jay]
- History and Politics [Head: Mr P C K Rowe]
- Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish, Russian) [Head: Mr P X Pillet]
- Classics (Classical Civilisation, Ancient Greek, Latin) [Head: Mr R W Halstead]
- Religious Education [Head: Revd P J J Knight]
- Information Technology [Head: Mr D J Abramson]
- Biology [Head: Dr J C Y Welch]
- Physics [Head: Mr D J Smith]
- Chemistry [Head: Mr K S Bains]
- Mathematics [Heads: Mr D J Noyce/ Mr J W Partridge]
- Music [Head: Mr J Q March]
- Economics [Head: Mr S J Grills]
- English [Head: Mr G J H Catherwood]
- Geography [Head: Mr M R Price]
- Drama [Head Mr M L Bowden]
Alumni
Former pupils are known as "Old Cholmeleians" after the school's founder, Sir Roger Cholmeley, and Highgate has a diverse range of well-known old boys. All former pupils are inducted into the Old Cholmeleians' Society upon leaving; the society has several events at the school and elsewhere for old pupils. Members past and present include:
- Charles Clarke (politician - Home Secretary 2004-2006)
- Anthony Crosland (politician)
- Johnny Borrell of Razorlight
- Zak Starkey of Oasis(son of Ringo Starr)
- John Hassall of The Libertines/Yeti
- Crispin Mills from Kula Shaker
- Harry Thompson (television producer)
- Barry Norman (film critic)
- Richard Bebb (actor)
- Murray Walker (motorsport commentator)
- Geoffrey Palmer (actor)
- Adrian Lyne (film director)
- Jon Moss (drummer in Culture Club)
- Lord Neill of Bladen (Warden of All Souls College, Oxford 1977-1995)
- Gerard Hoffnung (artist)
- Sir Clive Sinclair (entrepeneur)
- Sir John Tavener (composer)
- John Rutter (composer)
- Phil Tufnell (cricketer)
- Sir John Betjeman (poet - was taught by T S Eliot)
- Gerard Manley Hopkins (poet)
- John Venn (logician and philosopher, creator of venn diagrams)
- Alan Blumlein (inventor)
- Martin Gilbert (historian)
- Owen Barfield (philosopher)
- Reginald Blomfield (designed the school)
- Edmund Yates (Victorian novelist)
- Ernest Hartley Coleridge (literary scholar, Grandson of S T Coleridge)