Sexey's School
| Sexey's School | |
|---|---|
 | |
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| Address | |
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Cole Road ,, BA10 0DF England | |
| Coordinates | 51°06′19″N2°27′48″W/ 51.1053°N 2.4632°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy Day andboarding school |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
| Established | 1891 |
| Department for EducationURN | 137313Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Head teacher | Helen Cullen |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 551 pupils (as of 2013)[1] |
| Capacity | 602 |
| Colour(s) | Burgundy, gold and black |
| Website | www |
Sexey's Schoolis a Church of England, co-educational state boarding and day school inBruton,Somerset,England for 11-18 year olds. Sexey's School is named afterHugh Sexeywho, in 1599, was appointed as a Royal auditor toElizabeth Iand later as a Royal auditor toJames I.Sexey's Hospitalwas established in 1619 from the proceeds of hiswill,and the school was founded in 1889. State boarding schools aremost unusualin England and Wales. The school became anacademyin August 2011.
History
[edit]Sexey's School dates back to atrade schoolwhich opened on 6 April 1891 with 15 boys. The first Head Master was William Albert Knight.[2]The Head Master and the boys moved into temporary premises in a house known as 'The Glen' on Quaperlake Street in Bruton.[3]At the end of its first year there were 40 boys at the school learning basic subjects including practical mechanics, land measuring and elementary science.[4]The school was moved to its current site in 1892 in new buildings designed byNorwich-based architectGeorge Skipper.[5]The new buildings were formally opened on 19 April 1892.[3]
As headmaster, William A. Knight emphasized science. His students include the outstanding British biologists,L. J. F. Brimble,Frederick Tom Brooks,Ralph Warren Marsh,andWalter Cecil Moore.[6]
Sexey's was agrammar schooluntil theEducation Act 1944,after which it became aVoluntary Controlled school.In 1991 it adoptedGrant Maintainedstatus and in September 1999 it became aVoluntary Aided school.[7]
It remained an all-boys school until 1977 when it became fullyco-educational.Boarding facilities were expanded in the 1980s with the building of two new boarding houses – Lisbury House and Coombe House – making Sexey's one of the largest schools of its type in the country.[7]The school has continued expansion with the introduction of a policy in 2003 to take day pupils from a localcatchment areaof 1.5 miles. Prior to this the lastday pupilwas admitted in 1983. In 2001 the school had 394 pupils.[8]In 2007 there were 512 pupils.[9]
As a state boarding (and day) school, Sexey's has complex funding arrangements with both state (government funded) and independent income (for the boarding facilities).[10]
In 2013 the thenSecretary of State for Education,Michael Gove,described Sexey's as "one of the most outstanding schools in the country," during an interview on theAndrew Marr ShowonBBC One.[11]
In 2019 two catering managers were convicted of defrauding the school of over £16,000.[12]
In 2019, after a number of poorOfstedresults and on the recommendation of the Regional Schools Commissioner, the school considered merging into theSherborne Area Schools' Trustmulti-academy trust.But following extensive parental engagement by Sexey's parents, governors and government representatives who were in opposition to the move,[13]the Sherborne Trust decided not to proceed, stating there was "not an alignment of values or partnership working with Sexey's". The Regional Schools Commissioner considered what the next step should be.[14][13][15]Ofsted inspection visits in 2020 and 2021 found that leaders and those responsible for governance were taking effective remedial action.[16]
Boarding
[edit]Around one fifth of the school are boarders. There are two boarding houses:
- Macmillan House, Opened 2011, is a new £3.5 m installation replacing Walwin House. Its name is a tribute to Douglas MacMillan who was an old boy of the school (Old Sexeian) and founded MacMillan Cancer Support.
- Coombe House, opened 1983. Coombe has capacity for around 100 boarders in all year groups.
Former boarding houses include:
- Walwin House (formerly Junior House) was two houses built in the late 1930s. Walwin House used to accommodate year 7 boarders and had the capacity for 49 children – 30 boys and 19 girls.
- Cliff House, a Grade II listed building built by Thomas Hannam in 1820 opened as a boarding house in 1892. It used to takes boarders in all year groups but is now used for teaching and holiday lets.[17]
- Lisbury House, opened 1983, is currently undergoing renovation.
Headteachers
[edit]- William Albert Knight (1891–1927)
- Wallace E. Page (1927–1955)
- William R. Towns (1955–1965)
- Norman S. Roberts (1965–1970)
- David Curtis (1970–1980)
- John Lello (1980–1989)
- David Charman (1989–1995)
- Stephen Burgoyne (1995–2007)
- Raymond McGovern (2008–2013)
- Jean Hopegood (Acting Head) 2013
- Irfan Latif (2013–2017)
- Gill Kelly (Interim Head) (2017–2018)
- Helen Cullen (2018–
School song
[edit]The school song is a devotional chorus.[18]
Hear mighty Lord,
Thy Sexeian's humble cry:
Hear, mighty Lord.
Inspire with motives high
For work and School.
For students here and past
Grant thankfulness,
And endless rest at last.
2002 calendar
[edit]In 2001, a group ofpupilsproduced a glossycalendaras part of aYoung Enterprisebusiness project, sold for charity, called "Sexey's Hot Twelve", that featured 12 pictures of boys and girls in seductive poses. Child protection groups criticised the calendar for its potential attraction to adults who prey on vulnerable young people. The school reported that they had received no complaints, and that most of the 500 copies were bought immediately after going on sale.[19][20]
Notable former pupils
[edit]- Craig Alcock,professional footballer[21]
- L. J. F. Brimble,botanist and editor ofNaturemagazine[22]
- Frederick Tom BrooksFRS, botanist, Professor of Botany, Cambridge University, attended 1895–1898[23]
- John Bryant,Journalist (Editor in Chief of the Telegraph titles) and marathon runner[24]
- Tim Burt,British geographer and Master of Hatfield College, Durham
- Gilbert Gabriel,musician and member ofThe Dream Academy[25]
- Lucy Giles,first female college commander at theRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst[26]
- Brian Gomm,amateur cricketer and footballer
- Douglas Macmillan,founder of Macmillan Cancer Support.[27]
- Hubert Phillips,economist, broadcaster, journalist, author, bridge player and organiser
- Professor Sir David John ReadFRS, biologist, Vice President and Biological Secretary of theRoyal Society[28]
- Sir Harold Richard Scott,Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police,1945–1953[29]
- Ned Sherrin,broadcaster, author and stage director, 1931–2007[30]
- Alex Tew,creator of Million Dollar Homepage[31]
- Nigel VincentFBA, linguist and academic[32]
- Arthur Willis, botanist and editor[33]
Notable former staff
[edit]- Charles Edward Moss,botanist, science master at Sexey's in 1901[34]
References
[edit]- ^"Sexey's School"(PDF).Ofsted.Retrieved8 November2015.
- ^Read, John (1949)."Obituary. Mr. W. A. Knight"(PDF).Nature.163(4149): 713.
- ^abSexey's School.School History.Accessed 23 September 2016.
- ^Sexey's School (February 1897)."Early history".Sexey's School magazine — Issue 1 - February 1897.Archived fromthe originalon 8 October 2007.Retrieved20 January2008.
- ^George Skipper biographyRetrieved 5 February 2014
- ^Byrde, R. J. W.(1993)."Obituary. R. W. Marsh, 1899-1992: an appreciation".Mycological Research.97(2): 255–256.doi:10.1016/S0953-7562(09)80250-5.
- ^abSexey's School."Sexey's School — A Brief History".
- ^Ofsted (2001)."Inspection Report: Sexey's School"(PDF).Retrieved2 October2007.
- ^Ofsted (2007)."Inspection Report: Sexey's School".Retrieved9 October2010.
- ^"Admission arrangements for Bruton Sexey's School".Somerset County Council. 2002.Retrieved11 March2011.
- ^Gove Praises Sexey's,24 November 2013
- ^Hill, Phil (28 April 2019)."Catering managers £16,000 fraud at Sexey's School, Bruton".County Gazette.Retrieved27 August2020.
- ^ab"Bruton school takeover proposal sparks opposition from parents".BBC News.14 October 2019.Retrieved11 March2020.
- ^Elgee, Emma (16 October 2019)."Trust pulls out of school takeover due to lack of 'partnership working'".SomersetLive.Retrieved8 December2019.
- ^Mannall, Lisa (24 May 2019)."Termination Warning Notice to the Members and Directors of Sexey's School"(PDF).Department for Education.Retrieved11 March2020.
- ^Lee, Stephen (23 March 2021)."Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Sexey's School".Ofsted.Retrieved19 January2023.
- ^Historic England."Details from listed building database (1346171)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved14 February2009.
- ^"Sexey's history: Where does the name come from?".Sexey's School.Retrieved7 August2018.
- ^Savill, Richard (14 December 2001)."Schoolgirl calendar 'too sexy'".Daily Telegraph.Archived fromthe originalon 12 December 2006.Retrieved1 June2007.
- ^Allison, Rebecca (15 December 2001)."Sixth formers' topless calendar criticised".The Guardian.Retrieved20 January2008.
- ^"Football".Sexey's School. Archived fromthe originalon 2 February 2014.Retrieved18 January2014.
- ^"Obituary Notices".British Medical Journal.2(5474): 1375. 4 December 1965.PMC1846778.
- ^W. C. Moore (November 1953). "Frederick Tom Brooks. 1882-1952".Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society.8(22): 340–354.doi:10.1098/rsbm.1953.0002.JSTOR769214.S2CID162238206.
- ^"John Bryant, veteran newspaperman who helped bring Zola Budd to Britain".Daily Telegraph. 3 May 2020.
- ^"Gilbert Gabriel".Sexey's School. Archived fromthe originalon 6 April 2015.Retrieved18 January2014.
- ^Johnston, Ian (13 December 2015)."Lt-Col Lucy Giles becomes first woman commander appointed to lead at Sandhurst".Independent.Retrieved7 August2018.
- ^"New boarding house at Sexey's".Blackmore Vale Magazine.28 October 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 18 January 2014.Retrieved18 January2014.
- ^"How did I get here?".University of Sheffield. Archived fromthe originalon 18 January 2014.Retrieved18 January2014.
- ^"Scott, Sir Harold Richard".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.Retrieved18 January2014.
- ^Graham, Natalie (19 December 2004)."Radio host lives 'entirely for pleasure'".The Sunday Times.Retrieved1 July2007.[dead link]
- ^"Alex Tew".Sexey's School. Archived fromthe originalon 18 January 2014.Retrieved18 January2014.
- ^"Prof Nigel Vincent".University of Manchester.Retrieved18 September2018.
- ^Lewis, David (15 July 2006)."Obituary — Professor Arthur Willis".The Independent.Archived fromthe originalon 1 October 2007.Retrieved1 July2007.
- ^M. J. Bunting, D. Briggs and M. Block,The Cambridge British Flora (1914-1920),Walsonia 20: 195-204 (1995)
- Parsons, David (2001).Gleam Flying Onward: A Century of Bruton School for Girls.Ex Libris Press.ISBN978-1-903341-69-8.
