New College School Oxford pupils in regalia

New College School (officially St Mary's College School) is an independent preparatory school for boys aged 4 to 13 in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. It was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham to provide for the education of 16 choristers for the chapel of

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

History

New College School traces its origins to November 1379 when it was founded by William of Wykeham,

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except ...

, as part of the foundation of the College of St Mary of Winchester in Oxford, more commonly known as New College. Wykeham himself paid for the choirboys, chaplains and clerks to sing for services at chapel. Records from the 1620s state that choirboys were accommodated on the College site itself, using an attic as the schoolroom. Despite a brief disruption due to the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

the "school" continued to thrive. By the late 17th century, the vestry and song-room were refitted to accommodate new boys, marking the moment when the school started educating both choristers and non-choristers. The school did not have a permanent home for some years, moving back and forth between the College buildings and various sites outside the College. The current site was purchased in 1903 from

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

. The school's houses (Eagles, Lions, Wolves, and Hawks) were renamed in the early twenty-first century to commemorate four famous figures from New College's past. Although no longer exclusively educating choristers, the school maintains its ties with the College: the College's

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

is Chair of the school's governing committee and the school's pupils use the College sports facilities.

Location and facilities

New College School is located on Savile Road in central Oxford, near New College. The school site has a sports hall which is used for multiple sports and shares New College's playing fields and cricket nets. Its most recent upgrade is the revamped sports pavilion, reopened in 2013.

Extracurricular activities

Sports form a major part of the school calendar. All boys from Year 3 to 8 are required to play football and rugby ( Michaelmas term) and hockey ( Hilary term). The school has a partnership with Oxford United F.C. and the England U16 rugby team which allows the boys to receive external coaching sessions. There are also lunchtime and after-school activities sessions where boys can participate in various hobby and interest clubs. Lunchtime activities are run every day apart from Wednesday and the after school programme operates on Monday - Friday evenings.

Notable alumni of New College School

Staff * Henry Bright: teacher and author * Charles Oliver Mules: Bishop of Nelson (New Zealand) Pupils * Thomas Allen (1681–1755): clergyman and author * Stephen Boxer: actor * George Valentine Cox (1786–1875)

aster of NCS Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

author * Sir (Donald) Keith Falkner (1900–1994): singer and Director of the Royal College of Music * Edmund Finnis: composer * Roland Fleming: scientist * James Gilchrist: tenor *

Howard Goodall Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was na ...

: singer, composer, and broadcaster * Theo Green: film composer * Tim Hayward: writer, and broadcaster * Orlando Higginbottom: musician better known as

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Orlando Tobias Edward Higginbottom (born 7 March 1986), known professionally as Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (or TEED), is a British electronic music producer, DJ and singer-songwriter based in the United States. Early life Orlando is ...

*Sir

Richard Goodwin Keats Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats (16 January 1757 – 5 April 1834) was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Comm ...

(1757–1834): admiral, Governor of the Royal Naval Hospital in Greenwich, and mentor to Nelson and King William IV * David Mitchell: comedian * Ian Partridge tenor * John Rogers (bap. 1678-1729): clergyman, royal chaplain, and author * Paul Spicer: organist, producer, conductor, composer, Professor of Choral Conducting at the Royal College of Music * Joseph Trapp (1679–1747): clergyman, poet, playwright, first Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, translator of complete works of Virgil (1731) * William Tuckwell (1829–1919)

author and ‘radical parson’ * Howard Williams: conductor * Francis Wise (1695–1767): author, archaeologist, Radcliffe Librarian * Anthony Wood (1632–1695): antiquarian, historian, and author

References

External links

New College School websiteProfile
at the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busi ...

website {{Authority control 1379 establishments in England Boys' schools in Oxfordshire Choir schools in England Educational institutions established in the 14th century Schools in Oxford

School A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

Preparatory schools in Oxfordshire Church of England independent schools in the Diocese of Oxford University-affiliated secondary schools