Rutlish School
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Rutlish School is a state
comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...
for boys, formerly a
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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
with the same name originally located on Rutlish Road, Merton Park, and relocated in 1957 on nearby Watery Lane, Merton Park, in southwest
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.


History

The school is named for and honours the benefactor William Rutlish, embroiderer to Charles II. Rutlish was a resident of the parish of Merton and is buried in the churchyard of the parish church of St Mary. Rutlish died in 1687 and left £400 (about £ today) for the education of poor children of the parish.British History Online, A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4 (1912), 'Parishes: Merton', pages 64-8
/ref> By the 1890s the charity had accumulated a considerable excess of funds and John Innes, a local landowner and chairman of the board of
trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...
s, used some of the excess to establish a school.


Grammar school

The first school building, established as a
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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
in the 1890s, was located in what is still designated Rutlish Road, off Kingston Road, by Merton Park station (now a
tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, bu ...
). After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the school had outgrown its Victorian buildings (and the science block, built in the 1930s, had been destroyed as a result of enemy action) so in the early 1950s, John Innes buildings off nearby Mostyn Road were converted for use as the Junior School. Though the work was not completed and the heating system was not installed, this opened after a delay, in late September 1953. A new building was planned for the rest of the school, on the present site south of Watery Lane. The new school buildings opened in September 1957. Both this and the Junior School were on land that had belonged to John Innes and which had been occupied until 1945 by the John Innes Horticultural Institution (now the John Innes Centre in
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
). The original buildings in Rutlish Road were later temporarily used as a girls' school (Surrey County Council, Pelham County Secondary Girls School) and then a Middle School (London Borough of Merton, Pelham Middle School, until 1974), buildings subsequently demolished to be replaced by a mix of retirement and warden-assisted flats.


School buildings

The 1957 school buildings are arranged around three sides of a quadrangle. To the north is a four-storey main entrance block (which contained the school library on the top floor, and a CCF rifle range in the roof space) and a three-storey central block of general purpose classrooms facing Watery Lane. To the west is a two-storey science block and to the east a two-storey block containing the canteen on the ground floor and the school hall on the first floor. Attached to the rear of the east block is the school gym. Also in the middle of the two buildings is a maths block on the second floor. Among the existing school buildings is one which has ties to John Innes. The "Manor House" adjacent to the school entrance on Watery Lane was Innes's home; a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
records his association. The Manor House was used as the staff room and headmaster's office on the ground floor, and sixth form rooms on the first floor. Now demolished were school buildings next to the playing field; these were once the library and offices of the John Innes Institution and had ranges of greenhouses attached. In the 1950s and early 1960s these old buildings were used by the first and second year classes (known as forms 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D, alternating each year with either a three or four form intake) and the long greenhouse was used as a lunchtime canteen and a cloakroom. Later, in the 1980s, they were art and music rooms. A little-known feature of the old building was a warren of hidden crawlspace passages, accessible from the second floor music room, from where clandestine spying operations on other classes could be undertaken. The first year intake of pupils were allocated into “Forms” 2A, 2B and 2C. The second year were promoted to 3A, 3B and 3C. The third year were 4A,4B and 4C and were relocated to the main school. Some kind of grade assignment occurred whereby the “brighter” pupils were assigned to 4A etc although results indicated there was no real scoring performed. The next year was termed the “Remove” with forms designated RA, RB and RC. This was followed by the fifth year designated 5A, 5B and 5C. Next was “Trans” , usually Trans A and Trans B as many pupils left following GCE’s (taken in 5th year). Sun Prefects were sometimes appointed from here.Last Year was 6th Form usually the realm of Prefects. A levels were taken here. In the 1970s, part of the roof-space housed the 4 mm scale model railway layout. To the southeast aspect of the buildings was the Croquet Lawn, elegantly laid on a slope comparable to that of Yeovil Town Football Club, a small allotment area for the Gardening Club adjoined as well. There was also a pair of 'Fives' courts (Fives is a game like squash, but played with the hands not rackets). A number of additional buildings have been constructed over the years to supplement the facilities of the 1950s buildings.


Comprehensive

Following the education reforms of the late 1960s, the school became a comprehensive although it retained many of its grammar school traditions long after the conversion - school houses (named after ancient warrior nations or groups), uniforms with house and school ''colours'', a
Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...
(CCF), and prefects. For many years the school maintained a
croquet Croquet ( or ) is a sport which involves hitting wooden, plastic, or composite balls with a mallet through hoops (often called Wicket, "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Variations In all forms of croquet, in ...
lawn for the use of the headmaster and the prefects. The school also operated an exchange programme with
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
for a number of years.


Three-tier system

In the 1970s the education system in Merton was altered to use a three-tier structure (primary, middle and high school) in place of the former two-tier structure and Rutlish lost the first three of its years. The school still retained the old year names; however, so that pupils starting at the school began as "fourth" years. The following years were named ''"remove"'', ''"fifth"'', ''"transitus"'' and ''"sixth"'' (actually a pupil's fifth year at the school if he remained that long). Transitus and sixth-form pupils had their own common room on the first floor of the main block.


School motto

The school motto is: ''Modeste Strenue Sancte'', meaning: "Be modest, be thorough and pursue righteousness".


School houses

For most of the school's history, the pupils of the school have been assigned to
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. Although discontinued for some years, the system was reinstated in January 2010 with eight houses: * Argonauts * Carthaginians (formerly Crusaders), * Kelts (a deliberate misspelling of
Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
to differentiate the
initial In a written or published work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter (books), chapter, or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word is ultimately derived from the Latin ''initiālis'', which means '' ...
from Carthaginians) * Parthians * Romans * Trojans * Spartans * Vikings Various inter-house competitions, often of a sporting nature, are held.


Notable alumni

*
Tariq Ahmad, Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon, (born 3 April 1968), is a British businessman and a Conservative life peer. He previously served as Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Commonwealth and United Natio ...
, member of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
from 2010 *
James Boiling James Boiling (born 8 April 1968) is an Indian-born former English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler. He was born in New Delhi and educated at Rutlish School in Merton, south London. At Rutlish, he came t ...
, cricketer * Tom Braddock, Labour MP from 1945 to 1950 of
Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...
(1898–1903) * Jack Brewer 1948 Olympian *
Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...
, illustrator, best known for '' The Snowman'' (1945–52) * Derek Cons, judge of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong * Gerry Cottle, former owner Gerry Cottle's Circus,
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, Chinese State Circus; owner Wookey Hole Caves (1956–61; ran away to join the circus) * Jason Cundy, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Tottenham football player. * John Dennis, (1942–49), Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich from 1986 to 1996 and father of
Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' (2005–2022) and is one half ...
* Sir Frank Edward Figgures, first secretary general from 1960 to 1965 of the
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(EFTA), and director general from 1971 to 1973 of the National Economic Development Office (NEDO) (1921–28) * Steve Finnan, Liverpool and Ireland footballer (1989–1992) * Sir David Follett, director from 1960 to 1973 of the
Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...
(1919–26) *
Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was a British jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his virtuosic musicianship on tenor saxophone and for performing in jazz groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and trump ...
, jazz musician (1946–51) * Neville Heath, murderer, executed in 1946 (1928–33) * Tariq Knight, TV illusionist (1996–2000) * Sir
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
,
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
from 1990 to 1997 (1954–59) * Dean McDonald English professional footballer (1998–2002) * Sir Morien Morgan, aeronautical engineer and master from 1972 to 1978 of
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(1924–31) * Geoff Norcott, comedian, writer and political commentator * Sir Patrick Geoffrey O'Neill, professor of Japanese at the
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,
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* Sir Frederick Page, aeronautical engineer (1928–35) * Geoffrey Paul, Bishop of Bradford from 1981 to 1983 (1932-9) * Chris Perry, footballer * Bernarr Rainbow, organist (1926–33) *
John Rostill John Henry Rostill (16 June 1942 – 26 November 1973) was an English musician, bassist and composer, recruited by the Shadows to replace Brian Locking in autumn 1963. He wrote many of the tunes by the Shadows including " The Rise and Fall ...
, musician, The Shadows third bass guitarist (1953–59) * Douglas Seale, actor and director (1925–32) * Stephen Shaw, Prisons and Probation Ombudsman since 2001 and director from 1981 to 1999 of the
Prison Reform Trust The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) was founded in 1981 in London, England, by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community puni ...
(1964–71) * Keith Sutton, artist (1935–40) *
Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. He was a co-founder of the Style Council with Paul Weller, and has also been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and The Bureau (band), the Bureau. Career ...
, musician * Frank Taylor, Conservative MP from 1961 to 1974 for Manchester Moss Side (1919–26) * Mark Thomas (1980–85) editor, 2003-08 of ''
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'' newspaper *Sir
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, permanent secretary of the
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*Joseph Samuel Myers, mathematician at Trinity College, Cambridge specialising in combinatorics, involved in film
X+Y XY, or xy, or any of its variants may refer to: Entertainment * ''Pokémon X and Y, Pokémon X'' and ''Y'', a pair of 2013 role-playing video games in the Pokémon video game series, ''Pokémon'' series * XY (magazine), ''XY'' (magazine), a gay ...
and featured in Channel 4 Documentary Beautiful Young Minds


Victoria Cross holders

Two Old Rutlishians, George Edward Cates and John Dimmer, have been awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
.


References


External links


Official school website

Old Rutlishians' Association

Rutlish Foundation
{{authority control Boys' schools in London Secondary schools in the London Borough of Merton Educational institutions established in 1895 1895 establishments in England Voluntary controlled schools in London