Exeter Cathedral School (ECS) is a 3–13 mixed,

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 ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two so ...

and

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: ** Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where ho ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

and preparatory school in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. It has been closely associated with

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The present building was complete by about 14 ...

since it was first recorded as existing in the 12th century.

History

The exact date of the founding of the cathedral school is not known, but it has been educating choristers since 1179. In the 12th century, Exeter was regarded as an important centre of learning, and

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

was also taught at the cathedral. For centuries, the school was provided by the Dean and Chapter to educate and house about twenty-six boy choristers who sang the cathedral's daily services, including Sung Eucharist and Choral Evensong.History & Heritage
at exetercathedralschool.co.uk, accessed 2 October 2020 Musical training was given to the choristers by the cathedral's organist and the master of choristers. Although these offices could be held by the same person, from the 17th century on they were usually carried out by two different men. In 1609, Edward Gibbons, a brother of

Orlando Gibbons Orlando Gibbons ( bapt. 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer and keyboard player who was one of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. The best known member of a musical fami ...

, was hired to teach the choristers instrumental music. In 1662, William Wake was being paid £20 a year to teach the choristers and secondaries composing, singing, and the playing of the

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

and the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, and at the request of Charles II was given a leave of absence to carry out the same duties for the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also appl ...

The school's present main building, known as the Chantry, was built in 1870. In the 1960s, the Dean and Chapter began to enlarge the school, offering places to boys other than the cathedral choristers. In 1994, a girls' choir was established in the cathedral, and the school became co-educational. By 2008, the families of the choristers were having to pay for their education, but there were eighteen choral scholarships, worth up to one quarter of the school fees. In 2014, the school became independent of the Dean and Chapter, when it was established as an institution with its own governance and separate finances. In 2017, two thirds of school-leavers were offered scholarships,

exhibitions An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

, or other awards by senior schools. The school was assessed by the

Independent Schools Inspectorate The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect independent schools in England. These schools are members of associations ...

in May 2019 and judged to be 'excellent' in all areas.Anita Merritt
"Exeter's oldest school which Coldplay's Chris Martin attended gets rave review"
1 July 2019 at devonlive.com, accessed 2 October 2020 By 2020, the school was educating about 275 children, offering a broad education rooted in Christian values. It is a member of the

Choir Schools' Association The Choir Schools' Association is a U.K. organisation that provides support to choir schools and choristers, and promotes singing, in particular of music for Christian worship in the cathedral tradition. It represents 44 choir schools attached to ...

Notable former pupils

Matthew Locke Matthew Locke may refer to: * Matthew Locke (administrator) (fl. 1660–1683), English Secretary at War from 1666 to 1683 * Matthew Locke (composer) (c. 1621–1677), English Baroque composer and music theorist * Matthew Locke (soldier) (1974–2007 ...

, composer * George Baker, organist * Joseph Kemp, organist * William Spark, musician and composer * Samuel Knight, architect * Albert Moulton Foweraker, painter * Geoffrey Mitchell, conductor * Tony Hymas, musician and composer * Piers Dudgeon, biographer * Harry Williamson, musician * Andrew Nethsingha, Director of Music at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...

, singer * Adam Gibbons, known as Lack of Afro, musician * David Webb, of the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in Englis ...

* Pat McCormick, clergyman and sportsman

Notable staff

* Richard Langdon, organist *

Jackson of Exeter William Jackson (29 May 1730 – 5 July 1803), referred to as Jackson of Exeter, was an English organist and composer. Life Jackson was born and died in Exeter, England, the son of an Exeter grocer, who later became master of the city workhouse. ...

, Master of Choristers 1777 to 1800Robert Farquharson Sharp
"Jackson, William (1730-1803)"
in ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Vol. 29 (London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1892)

References

External links

*
Exeter Cathedral School - Chorister Memories
at

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Exeter Cathedral School - Sport and Wellbeing
at YouTube
Tagged articles
at The Exeter Daily {{Authority control Schools in Exeter Church of England independent schools in the Diocese of Exeter Choir schools in England Boarding schools in Devon Preparatory schools in Devon Educational institutions established in the 12th century 12th-century establishments in England

History

Notable former pupils

Notable staff

References

Further reading

External links