Sidcot School is a British co-educational

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for boarding and day pupils, associated with the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school is based in the

Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the River Frome, Somerset ...

near the village of Winscombe,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and caters for children between the ages of 3 and 18. Children aged from 3 to 11 are educated in Sidcot Junior School, which is located on its own site adjacent to the main campus. About 130 of the school's 525 pupils (2010) are in this junior school. In the senior school, nearly half of the 395 pupils are boarders. Over 29 different countries are represented making up 25% of the school. Boarders board in the grounds in one of the 6 boarding houses. The girls' houses are Newcombe, School House Girls and Meadowside, and the boys' are School House Boys and Wing House. Although a Quaker School, pupils come from a variety of different faiths and cultures. All pupils are expected to join in with a short

Meeting for Worship A meeting for worship is what the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) call their church service. Quakers#Splits, Different branches of Quakers have different types of worship, primarily consisting of three types. A meeting for worship in Engl ...

every Friday morning instead of assembly. Prior to September 2013, Sidcot school operated a 3 house system named after explorers: Nansen, Shackleton and Rhodes. A new House system was introduced at the beginning of the 2013 Autumn term. There are four houses in the revised house system named after the cardinal points of the compass: North, East, South and West, each house has a colour: Blue, Yellow, Green and Red respectively. The houses are mainly used for sports days and house matches of sport. One of the principal aims behind the new system is to allow greater interaction between students in the Senior and Junior Schools. The introduction of House Assemblies at points in the term facilitates students to work together within their Houses. All staff are aligned to a House and given the opportunity to participate in its life as well as support House events. In addition to its sports centre that houses a 25m pool and equestrian facilities, Sidcot has built a new creative arts block, with extensive drama, art and music facilities, which opened in June 2009. It is open to the public for exhibitions, courses and workshops. Many past pupils and teachers are members of the Sidcotians (Alumni Network).

History

The first Quaker school was established at Winscombe in 1699 to teach boys of Quaker families. The current school reopened in 1808 and welcomed girls, making Sidcot one of the oldest co-educational boarding schools in the UK - although it was not until the late 19th century that they were all taught together for the first time.

Uniform

The school uniform is predominantly navy blue. All pupils must wear a blue and white striped shirt and blazer (both of which sport the school's logo of a ship) until 6.30 pm from Monday to Friday. Boys must wear ties, and after the recent bi-centenary celebrations boys have two tie options. Sixth form must wear 'smart-casual' clothing and on Monday 'interview smart' suits.

School logo

The school logo has recently been changed. The ship, because of its historical significance as the logo for many years has been retained, but is now shown forging through the waves. The current colour palette has been built on the school's traditional blue.

Notable former pupils

Notable Sidcot Old Scholars include: * Charlie Albone an English/Australian tv presenter *

Tim Bevan Timothy John Bevan, (born 20 December 1957) is a New Zealand-British film producer, the co-chairman (with Eric Fellner) of the production company Working Title Films. Bevan and Fellner are the most successful British producers of their era. Thr ...

, film producer * Percy Bigland, portrait painter * Mary Brazier, neuroscientist *

Nick Broomfield Nicholas Broomfield (born 1948) is an English documentary film director. His self-reflective style has been regarded as influential to many later filmmakers. In the early 21st century, he began to use non-actors in scripted works, which he call ...

, documentary film maker * Edward Theodore Compton, landscape painter * Robin Cowling, English rugby union player * Aldo van Eyck, Dutch Modernist architect and city planner (1932–1935) * Mary Fulbrook, academic and historian * Charles Gilpin, MP * Charles Handley-Read, architectural historian * Douglas Macmillan, British civil servant, and founder of the

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, an ...

charity. * George Newman, first Chief Medical Officer * Stephen Peet, documentary film maker * Brian Priestman, conductor *

Robert Millner Shackleton Robert Millner Shackleton FRS (30 December 1909 – 3 May 2001) was a British field geologist who developed an interest in the geology of East Africa. He initiated structural studies across orogenic belts in Tanzania-Zambia-Malawi (in the la ...

FRS, Professor of Geology * Homer Sykes, photographer * Mary Tregear, art historian * Anthony Waller, film director (''Mute Witness'','' An American Werewolf in Paris'') *

Zoë Wanamaker Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is an American-born British actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 by Qu ...

, American-born English actress *

Deborah Warner Deborah Warner (born 12 May 1959) is a British director of theatre and opera, known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Benjamin Britten, and Henrik Ibsen, and for her collaborations with Irish actress Fiona ...

, stage and film director * Anthony Brian Watts FRS, Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics * Vincent Watts, Vice-Chancellor of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

(1997–2002) *

Justin Webb Justin Oliver Webb (born Justin Oliver Prouse; born 3 January 1961) is a British journalist who has worked for the BBC since 1984. He is a former BBC North America Editor and the main co-presenter of BBC One's '' Breakfast News'' programme. Sin ...

, journalist and presenter,

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' programme.

References

External links

Sidcot
*
Sidcotians
{{authority control Private schools in North Somerset Quaker schools in England Co-educational boarding schools Boarding schools in Somerset International Baccalaureate schools in England