Bishop Wordsworth's School is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

boys'

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

for boys aged 11 to 18. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2010 was the school with the best results in the

English Baccalaureate The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...

. It was granted academy status in March 2011 and is an Additional Member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is within the grounds of Salisbury Cathedral, adjacent to the

Cathedral School Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...

. Sixth form teaching was in collaboration with South Wilts Grammar School for Girls until June 2020; from September 2020 the school admitted girls direct to its sixth form, with 45 joining Year 12. The school's full name is Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School, shortened to BWS. It is known colloquially as Bishop's, and its students as Bishop's Boys. The school's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

is ''Veritas in Caritate'', taken from the Latin text of Ephesians 4:15: "(Speaking the) truth in love."

History

The school was founded in June 1889, when the

bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, John Wordsworth, announced to his friend Canon Woodall, "I should like to see Salisbury a great educational centre. I should like to found a school which shall be equal to the greatest and best of our public schools." His initial desire that working class boys were not to be admitted caused much controversy. Fees were initially set at £1.10s.0d, and boarding fees were £2 per term; however, the fees were raised to £9 in 1894 to meet the unexpected costs of the school. During the first year, classes were taught in the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

's palace of Salisbury itself. Bishop Wordsworth personally donated £3000, which was used to purchase an area of land in the cathedral close and to build the school's first buildings. After Wordsworth's death, the school was renamed Bishop Wordsworth's School, having been previously known as "The Bishop's School". In 1905, the school became a

, its buildings consisting of the current Chapel Block and Bishopgate. Between 1905 and 1927 the school also used buildings in the Friary and also on New Street in Salisbury. Until 1928 the school admitted both boys and girls, but from 1927, with the founding of a girls' grammar school in the city called South Wilts Grammar School, the school admitted boys only. In 1931 a hall, science laboratories and a library were built. By the 1930s, the school had achieved a reputation for pioneering educational work, and in 1936 became a public school. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, pupils from the Priory School in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

moved to BWS to avoid the bombing of the city. In 1948 the governors accepted voluntary controlled status, which meant being funded by Wiltshire County Council as local education authority and accepting its supervision. Boarding at the school in the Bishopgate buildings ended in the 1950s, and the buildings were used for teaching thereafter. The school now educates boys aged 11 to 18 in years 7-13 and girls aged 16–18 in years 12-13. In 2002, a major redevelopment of the school's site and buildings commenced. A new classroom block and drama studio were followed by an extensive sports hall and physical education facilities, and a sixth form block was finished in July 2010. The old sports hall was converted to house the art department, and the design technology block has been expanded. In 2011 a new cookery room was completed with the reception moved from The Close to Exeter Street and in 2017 the new Maths Block was completed. In 2004 the school was awarded its first specialism in languages. In 2008 the school achieved an additional specialism in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

. As part of its specialist work the school has supported all of the city primary schools in Salisbury in languages, and many with science too. The school converted to single academy status in 2011. It has five houses, named after bishops of Salisbury:

Poore Poore is a surname, and may refer to: List * Benjamin Perley Poore (1820–1870), American journalist * Dennis Poore (1916–1987), British businessman * Henry Rankin Poore (1859–1940), American artist and author * Herbert Poore (died 1217), E ...

Osmund Osmund (Latin ''Osmundus'') is a Germanic name composed of the word ''Os'' meaning "god" and ''mund'' meaning "protection." Osmund or Osmond may refer to: Pre-modern era :''Ordered chronologically'' * Osmund of Sussex (), a king of Sussex * Osm ...

, Jewell, Martival and

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. In 2016 the school was criticised for asking parents for money towards their sons' exam costs. One Bishop Wordsworth’s School parent said the school was not private and should not be "money grabbing". Headmaster Stuart Smallwood defended the school saying it did not receive enough government funding and that the payments were entirely optional. In October 2021, it was reported that Wiltshire Police had investigated drugs activity among a small number of pupils. The previous month, a 14-year-old boy had been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the supply of

Class A drugs These drugs are known in the UK as ''controlled drugs'', because this is the term by which the act itself refers to them. In more general terms, however, many of these drugs are also controlled by the Medicines Act 1968, there are many other drug ...

Entrance

Entry to the school is regulated by the

11-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

. Applicants sit the test in year 6, at the age of 10 or 11. The exams are held in September at the school itself. There are also limited twelve plus and thirteen plus admissions, similarly by examination.

Sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

admission is administered by the head of sixth form, and is granted on the basis of GCSE results. Pupils must achieve more than 48 points (including 5 in maths and English) in their GCSEs to continue their studies in sixth form, as well as a relatively high grade in the options they propose to take.

Notable staff

William Golding's Plaque at Bishop Wordsworth's School

Sir William Golding, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, was a schoolmaster teaching philosophy and English in 1939, then English and religious education from 1945 to 1962. ''

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...

'' was Golding's first book, written in 1954, and it is widely believed that its main characters were based on Golding's students. Golding also regularly sang with Bishop Wordsworth's School choir. He was known affectionately as "Scruff" by the pupils due to his sometimes unkempt hair and beard and his carefree dress sense. After Golding's death in 1993, the school choir sang at his memorial service in Salisbury Cathedral. In March 2005 a plaque was placed at the school to commemorate Golding's time as a teacher.

Headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

Happold was also noted for the foundation of the "Company of Honour and Service". Kenelm Foster wrote:

" he company isa sort of modernist Grail (for Boys) or Solidarity which Dr Happold founded in 1935 at Bishop Wordsworth's School, Salisbury. This is his nucleus, his 'order', his new aristocracy, which is to permeate England: a little cohort of leaders, of seers, of doers." (Cited in Happold, 1964, pp. 33).

Alan Harwood was a notable organ scholar and taught music at Bishop Wordsworth's School. After Harwood's death in 2003, composer Sam Hanson (organist/director of music at St Peter's Church, Bournemouth, formerly organ scholar at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

), dedicated a requiem to him. Former headmaster Clive Barnett (who left the school in 2002) is patron of the charity EdUKaid, a role he shares with

Glenys Kinnock Glenys Elizabeth Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (''née'' Parry; born 7 July 1944), is a British politician and former teacher who served as Minister of State for Europe from June to October 2009 and Minister of State for Africa and the ...

. In 2009 a retired teacher who was being investigated for indecent assault killed himself by inhaling helium. Nicholas Bray was found dead at his home by police officers on 12 June 2009 after failing to attend an appointment at Salisbury Police Station. He had been arrested in 2007 for an assault dating back several years and was also being investigated for possessing indecent images.

Headmasters

* 1890–1928: Reuben Bracher * 1928–1960: Frederick Crossfield Happold * 1960–1964: Ernest Ethrin Sabben-Clare * 1964–1974: Robert Cabot Rowsell Blackledge * 1974–1992: Glyn Evans * 1992–2002: Clive Barnett * 2002–present: Stuart Smallwood

Notable alumni

The "Old Wordsworthian" AGM and lunch is traditionally held after the cathedral service and Founder's Day celebrations in July. Science * Mark Oxborrow, professor at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, co-discoverer of the room-temperature solid-state

maser A maser (, an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. The first maser was built by Charles H. Townes, Ja ...

Military * Walter Edward Maxfield, lieutenant colonel

1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF The 1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Army. Raised for service during the First World War as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), it was formed in November 1914, in Brandon, Manitoba. ...

(‘The Bishop’s School’: 1890-1892) * William Sholto Thesigerwst Douglass, colonel, Royal Engineers * Ian Blower, lieutenant colonel, Royal Corps of Signals * Tom Adlam, lieutenant colonel,

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

recipient * George Woolnough, lieutenant colonel, The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) * Chris Moon, captain,

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

* Richard Crisp, lieutenant,

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The re ...

, executed by enemy forces during SAS/SOE Operation Bulbasket * F N Robertson, flight sergeant, No 261 Sqn, Hurricane fighter ace with 11th most kills of any Commonwealth pilot in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

* Dudley Cockle, flight sergeant, Royal Air Force airman; recipient of the British Empire Medal * Percy Morfill, squadron leader, a flying ace of the Royal Air Force during World War II Sports * Dudley Cockle, cricketer * David Egerton, England rugby international player * Richard Anthony Hill, former Saracens and England international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

flanker, player/captain/winner RWC 2003 * Richard John Hill, coach and former Bath and England international

scrum half, player/captain * John Shaw, England XI

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

captain and Olympian * Tom Heathcote, Bath Rugby

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

* John Coundley, racing driver * Jonathan Copp, (BWS: 1969-1977) England and Great Britain Olympic hockey squad coach * David Walters, croquet champion and Welsh Croquet Association officer * James McIntosh, English Channel swimmer * Cadan Murley, professional rugby player currently playing for Harlequins Business * Colin Sharman, Baron Sharman, British chairman of Aviva Group and former chairman of KPMG International, since November 2012, he has been the Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Morocco Arts *

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

, actor *

Joseph Fiennes Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particu ...

, actor * Tim Hampton, film producer * Anthony Robert Klitz, major,

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

, artist *

Hamish Milne Hamish Milne (27 April 1939 – 12 February 2020) was an English pianist known for his advocacy of Nikolai Medtner. Milne studied at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury and then at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he taught, and ...

, concert pianist and professor of piano at the Royal Academy of Music * David Oakes, actor *

Otto Plaschkes Otto Plaschkes (13 September 1929 – 14 February 2005) was a British film producer. Early life Plaschkes was born in Vienna. His father, a butcher, was from Bratislava and his mother from Budapest. Plaschkes left for England at the age of ten, a ...

, movie producer *

Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...

, jazz musician * Nigel Shore, principal oboist with the Komische Oper Berlin. * Peter Thursby, sculptor * David Bates, conductor * Barney Norris, novelist and playwright Education * Basil Chubb, professor of Irish history at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, author, and interned during the

in Stalag Luft III * Andrew Copp, neurobiologist * Andrew Tym Hattersley, head of the Exeter Diabetes Genetics Centre, professor of

molecular medicine Molecular medicine is a broad field, where physical, chemical, biological, bioinformatics and medical techniques are used to describe molecular structures and mechanisms, identify fundamental molecular and genetic errors of disease, and to develop ...

, Peninsula Medical School,

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

, consultant physician, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS

Foundation Trust A foundation trust is a semi-autonomous organisational unit within the National Health Service in England. They have a degree of independence from the Department of Health and Social Care (and, until the abolition of SHAs in 2013, their local s ...

, great-grandson of John Wordsworth, the

, who founded BWS. * Prof. Chris Sangwin, mathematician,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Legal *

Ken Macdonald Kenneth Donald John Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of River Glaven, (born 4 January 1953) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of England and Wales from 2003 to 2008. In that office he was head of ...

, warden of

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, director of public prosecutions (DPP), head of the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal advi ...

(CPS) from 2003 to 2008 Politics * David Munro, Conservative police and crime commissioner for Surrey 2016-2020 * Tom Copley, Labour Party London Assembly member Religion * Mervyn Alexander, the 8th bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton is a Roman Catholic diocese centred at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton, England. The diocese covers the City and County of Bristol and the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire ...

, from 1974 to 2001 * Wilfred Frank Curtis, major,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, Anglican

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

Journalism * Andrew Harvey,

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

History

Entrance

Notable staff

Headmasters

Notable alumni

Notes

References

External links