Warin Foster Bushell (18 April 1885 – 21 November 1974) was a

schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...

and

educationalist Education sciences, also known as education studies or education theory, and traditionally called ''pedagogy'', seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education including education policy. Subfields include comparative education, educationa ...

who was headmaster of leading schools in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and a president of the

Mathematical Association The Mathematical Association is a professional society concerned with mathematics education in the UK. History It was founded in 1871 as the Association for the Improvement of Geometrical Teaching and renamed to the Mathematical Association in ...

.''BUSHELL, Warin Foster'', in ''Who Was Who 1897-2007'' online, retrieved 24 May 2008 fro
BUSHELL, Warin Foster
(2008)

Early life

Bushell was born at

Harrow, Middlesex Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a populat ...

, the son of the Rev. William Done Bushell who for fifty years was an assistant master and Honorary chaplain at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

, and also

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

Caldey Island Caldey Island (Welsh language, Welsh:''Ynys Bŷr'') is a small island near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, less than off the coast. With a recorded history going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of trad ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

. He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, graduating BA and MA.

Career

Bushell's first post was as an assistant master at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt, from 1907 to 1912, after which he was Head of the Modern Side and a housemaster at

Rossall School Rossall School is a private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

from 1912 to 1914. He returned to Rossall for two more years after serving in the

Herefordshire Regiment The Herefordshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1861 to 1967. The regiment had no lineal connection with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. History Formation The 1st Administrative Battali ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and the Western Front during the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

of 1914–1918. In 1920 Bushell was appointed headmaster of

Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational private day school in Solihull, West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History In 1560 the revenu ...

, where he founded the Old Silhillians' Association for former pupils. The Association continues today in rude health. The concert hall at Solihull School bears his name. He remained at

until 1927. At

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

, his foresight was critical to the school's expansion at its present large urban site of some sixty-five acres (260,000 m²). In the 1920s, Bushell bought much of the land himself when the school's governors refused to do so. On his retirement, Bushell sold the land to the school at the price he had paid.Combridge, J. T., ''Warin Foster Bushell'' (obituary) in ''The Mathematical Gazette'' 109 (June 1975) Upon leaving

, he went out for three years to

as Rector of

Michaelhouse Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal, Balgowan valley in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Spear’s Schools Index 2025 reco ...

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, remaining until 1930. Finally, he was headmaster of

Birkenhead School Birkenhead School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, academically-selective, co-educational day school located in Oxton, Merseyside, Oxton, Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, in North West England. The school offers educational opportu ...

from 1930 to 1946. He taught mathematics,

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

and was active in the

Officer Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

and athletics. He was president of the Wirral Athletic Club. On its 150th anniversary a brochure from the school described him as "arguably the most renowned and cherished headmaster in the school's history". Bushell was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

in 1908 and was president of the

in 1946–1947. On his retirement from teaching, he became a lecturer on Commonwealth Studies, local history and many other topics, working for the

Central Office of Information The Central Office of Information (COI) was the UK government's marketing and communications agency. Its chief executive reported to the Minister for the Cabinet Office. It was a non-ministerial department, and became an executive agency and a ...

and the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. He travelled extensively, painted and collected books. He died at

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

in 1974, in his ninetieth year. The main hall of Birkenhead School, sometimes used for public concerts, is named after him, as is the hall at Solihull School.

Publications

Bushell's publications included his ''School Sermons'' (1950) and ''School Memories'' (1962)Warin Foster Bushell, ''School Memories'' (London: Philip & Son, 1962) and also a variety of educational and archaeological articles.

Private life

Bushell never married. He gave his recreation in the British ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' as "travelling" and was a member of the

Royal Over-Seas League The Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) is a not-for-profit institution founded in 1910, dedicated to promoting international friendship pursuant to its royal charter, an ethos which binds its global membership. ROSL has a Grade I listed clubhouse i ...

and the

Royal Commonwealth Society The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is a non-governmental organisation with a mission to promote the value of the Commonwealth and the values upon which it is based. The Society upholds the values of the Commonwealth Charter, promoting co ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushell, Warin Foster 1885 births 1974 deaths Military personnel from the London Borough of Harrow British Army personnel of World War I People from Harrow, London Alumni of King's College, Cambridge People educated at Charterhouse School People educated at Gresham's School Heads of schools in England Heads of schools in South Africa Herefordshire Light Infantry officers 20th-century English educators British expatriates in South Africa Territorial Force officers