Watford Grammar School for Boys (commonly abbreviated as WBGS) is an 11–18 boys partially selective

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in Hertfordshire, England. The school and its sister school,

Watford Grammar School for Girls Watford Grammar School for Girls (commonly abbreviated WGGS) is an academy for girls in Watford in Hertfordshire, UK. Despite its name, it is only a partially selective school, with 25% of entrants admitted on academic ability and 10% on music ...

, descend from a Free School founded as a charity school for boys and girls by Elizabeth Fuller in 1704. Despite its name, the school accepts boys of all abilities, although approximately a third are selected for academic or musical aptitude, and brothers of existing pupils are also guaranteed places. Its results are among the highest achieved by non-grammar schools in England.

History

Establishment

In 1704, Mrs Elizabeth Fuller of Watford Place built the Watford Free School for forty boys and twenty girls on her land next to the churchyard, with rooms for a Master and a Mistress. The school-house was a fine structure at the south-west corner of St Mary's churchyard, and can still be seen there. In 1708 Mrs Fuller endowed the school with a rent-charge of £52 a year. The boys were taught to read, write and cast accounts, and the girls to read English, to knit and to sew. The £52 a year was augmented with bequests, producing a revenue of £178, but the rent-charges were fixed and lost their value through inflation. Despite the help of endowments and gifts, the original

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

was in a sad state by the 1870s, when an application to the Charity Commissioners to sell part of the endowment to pay for overdue repairs led to an enquiry into the school. In 1878, the Commission forbad the school from admitting any more pupils in its current state, and asked the trustees to choose between turning the school into a public elementary school or amalgamating with a sum of £13,333/6/8d from the Platt Foundation for

Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational private boarding and day school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ag ...

to form a new middle class school. With some reluctance, the trustees chose the latter, and the free school closed on 10 August 1882. The thirteen boys and two girls still at Mrs Fuller's Free School were placed in local elementary schools. In 1881, a scheme was presented to the Charity Commissioners, combining Mrs Fuller's foundation with a portion of the Platt foundation to form the Watford Endowed Schools, which would educate up to 200 boys and 100 girls from age 7 to 16. The fees would be £4 to £8, although there would also be a number of scholarships. The trustees of the Free School became governors of the new schools, as did three representatives of the

Brewers' Company The Worshipful Company of Brewers is one of the ancient livery companies of the City of London. History London brewers are known to have organised as a group in the 13th century. Its first royal charter was granted by Henry VI in 1438. In 164 ...

(trustees of the Platt Foundation) and the vicar of Watford. The schools' heraldry reflects the union of the two foundations: * On the left is the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of John Chilcott (Elizabeth Fuller's father), which are inscribed over the door of the Free School. * On the right is the coat of arms of Richard Platt, which may also be seen at Aldenham School. The schools' motto dates from the same period, and was taken from

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' IX, 158: "''pugnam sperate parati''" ("look forward to the battle, prepared").

New school

The new boys' school was opened by the

Earl of Clarendon Earl of Clarendon is a title that has been created twice in British history, in 1661 and 1776. The family seat is Holywell House, near Swanmore, Hampshire. First creation of the title The title was created for the first time in the Peer ...

on 21 April 1884, and the girls' school the next day. They started with 69 boys and 46 girls, rising to 129 boys and 68 girls during the year. In 1903, the schools' names were changed to the Watford Grammar School and the Watford Grammar School for Girls. By 1904, the schools had outgrown their buildings, with 312 boys and 148 girls. With the help of

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

, a new girls' school was built and opened in Lady's Close in 1907, and the boys spread into the building the girls had vacated. In return, the council demanded changes in the schools' denominational character, and in 1908 a revised scheme removed the requirement that masters and mistresses belong to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and allowed pupils to opt out of instruction in the teachings of the Church. The leaving age was also raised to 17, and the number of scholarships increased. The building was still insufficient for the boys' school, and with assistance from the County Council the school purchased part of

Cassiobury Park Cassiobury Park is the principal public park in Watford, Hertfordshire, in England. It was created in 1909 from the purchase by Watford Borough Council of part of the estate of the Earl of Essex, Earls of Essex around Cassiobury House which wa ...

facing Rickmansworth Road to build a new school. On 23 February 1912, the boys assembled outside the Derby road buildings and walked to the new site, which was formally opened by the Earl of Clarendon on 20 March 1912.

Sixth Form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

courses were introduced during the First World War. In 1924,

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

was introduced in the boys' school and took over from

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as the main winter sport. The schools had become increasingly reliant on the county council for building funds, and with the introduction of the

Tripartite System The Tripartite System was the selective school system of State school#United Kingdom, state-funded secondary education between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 onwards in Northern Ireland. It was an administrative implementa ...

in 1944, the schools fully entered the maintained sector as

voluntary controlled A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy th ...

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 ...

s. From 1947 to 1974 Hertfordshire participated in the Fleming scheme and five boys, Archie Lang (1950), Mike Farr (1952), Michael Harding and Christopher Horne (both 1958) and Richard Holman (1959) went to Eton under the scheme. Howard Fisher, and Paul Dillingham, son of the Mayor of Watford, went to Winchester under the same scheme. The schools also phased out their preparatory or junior departments to become purely secondary schools.

Comprehensive school

With the scrapping of the Tripartite System, they became comprehensive in 1975, and continued to expand. They became

grant-maintained school Grant-maintained schools or GM schools were state schools in England and Wales between 1988 and 1998 that had opted out of local government control, being funded directly by a grant from central government. Some of these schools had selective ad ...

s in 1990, controlled by their own governing bodies, independent of the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

, and funded directly by the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

, and in 1995 introduced partial selection. In 1999 the schools converted to

voluntary aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

status. The two schools maintain matching admissions policies. The selective proportion of their intake has been reduced since 1995, and currently stands at 25% academic and 10% musical aptitude. Their catchment area for selective admission reaches out about 5 miles, including some northern parts of the London boroughs of

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...

. The schools also give priority to siblings of current pupils. Prior to 2008, each of them also gave priority to siblings of pupils at the other school (

). In 2010 the school became one of the first schools rated 'outstanding' by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

to become an

, along with the girls school. Every year there is a Founder's Day service to commemorate the charitable foundations and to celebrate Dame Elizabeth Fuller's commitment and dedication to the school. This service is carried out at St Mary's Church in Watford Town centre. In 2016 The Independent Newspaper Published a table listing Watford Grammar School for Boys as the 7th Best Comprehensive or Partially Selective in the United Kingdom.

Overview

School site

Sites were found in Derby Road for two new schools adjoining each other, one for boys and a smaller one for girls. (These buildings are now the Central Primary School.) The school is located about west of Watford town centre, just to the south of

Watford tube station Watford is a London Underground station in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is the terminus of the Watford branch of the Metropolitan line and the next station towards London is Croxley tube station, Croxley. The station is located in Travelcard Zone ...

and

. The long neo-Georgian main block and the adjacent Master's House are Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s. The school was used as a location for many of the external and internal shots in the filming of ''

The History Boys ''The History Boys'' is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London's West End on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where 185 performances w ...

''. In recent years the school has built a gym, a music block (also partly owned by Hertfordshire School of Music) and a Sixth Form centre with a food technology lab, financed through fundraising and the sale of land on the northern edge of the grounds for residential development. The school's music block, the "Clarendon Muse", stands on the front lawn of the school. The building was completed in December 2007 at the cost of £5 million, and has approximately of space spread out over four floors. It is also used by the Hertfordshire School of Music in the evenings and weekends. The school's new STEM Centre for the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths was completed in November 2017 and opened by

Lord Winston Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, Baron Winston (born 15 July 1940) is a British professor, medical doctor, scientist, television presenter and Labour peer. Early life Robert Winston was born in London to Laurence Winston and Ruth Winston-Fox, ...

, before dismantled by the students, equipment was sourced from the technology block. Funding was providing by national and local government and parental donations supported the fittings and fixtures of the building. Many sports are played at the New Field (shared with the Old Boys sports clubs) beside the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

near

House System

In the 1950s there were five houses; Bushey, North, South, Travellers and New. Fuller was added during that decade. The most recent form to be added was Rée, introduced to years 7 and 12 in September 2018. Each year in the school is divided into 8 forms, which belong to 8 different houses – the names of which are significant in the history of the school. Every year, the houses compete for the House Cup. They use the House Point system, and the house which has gained the most house points wins the House Cup. Each house point given equals to 2 pence given to a chosen charity. On average, each house would earn about £400 for charity. The points system works like this: House Point = 1 House Point Commendation = 3 House Points Half Merit = 5 House Points Merit = 10 House Points

Notable old Fullerians

Old Boys of the School are known as "Old Fullerians". In chronological order: * Captain Alan Rice-Oxley DFC (1898–1961), RAF officer, World War One fighter ace *

Gerald Moore Gerald Moore (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English classical pianist best known for his career as a collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. Among those with whom he was closely associated were Dietrich Fischer-Diesk ...

(1899–1987), piano accompanist * Group Captain

Leslie Bonnet Group Captain Leslie Bonnet (22 August 1902 – 10 December 1985) was an RAF officer, short-story writer and duck-breeder, creating the Welsh Harlequin Duck, the only true Welsh duck breed. Early life Bonnet was born 1902 in Watford, Hertford ...

(1902–1985), RAF officer, writer and originator of the Welsh Harlequin Duck *

Edgar Anstey Edgar Anstey (16 February 1907 – 26 September 1987), was a leading British documentary filmmaker. Anstey was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England in 1907, and was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys and Birkbeck College. He ...

(1907–1987), documentary film pioneer *

Douglas Noel Sargent Douglas Noel Sargent (1907–1979) was the third Bishop of Selby. Biography Sargent was born near London, and educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys, King's College, Cambridge and the London College of Divinity; and ordained in 1932. H ...

(1907–1979), 3rd Bishop of Selsby * Eric Robinson (1908–1974),

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television music presenter-conductor *

Arthur Geoffrey Walker Arthur Geoffrey Walker FRS FRSE (17 July 1909 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England – 31 March 2001) was a British mathematician and professor of the University of Sheffield who made important contributions to physical cosmology. Although he ...

, FRS, FRSE (1909–2001), mathematician * Air Vice-Marshal Robert Bateson DSO and Bar, DFC (1912–1986), RAF officer who led the raid on the

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headquarters in

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* Lieutenant-Colonel

Terence Otway Lieutenant Colonel Terence Brandram Hastings Otway DSO, (15 June 1914 – 23 July 2006) was an officer in the British Army, best known for his role as commander of the paratroop assault on the Merville Battery on D-Day. Early life Otway was ...

DSO (1914–2006), Commanding Officer of 9th Bn. Parachute Regiment, assaulted the

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(1915–2001), historian *

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(1917–2004), leading valuation surveyor *

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(1919–2013), artist * Air Vice-Marshal Colin Coulthard AFC and Bar (1921–2004), senior RAF officer and Air Attaché to Washington * Reverend Canon Arthur Peacocke (1924–2006), theologian and evolutionist * Richard Hughes (1926–2020), cricketer *

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(1927–1994), actor and comedian * Uwe Kitzinger, CBE (1928-2023), political analyst; Fellow,

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, Oxford (1984—1991) *

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, Represented Great Britain in the

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in the

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. Dedicated his life to the Olympic movement. * John Clark (1932– ), actor and director * A.D. (Tony) Nuttall (1937–2007), professor of English at

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and

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, FRS (1942–2000), professor of applied mathematics, Master of

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(* 1942), theatre, film and television actor and playwright * John Orr (1943–2010), Professor Emeritus, School of Social and Political Studies, Edinburgh University * Sir Ian Prosser (1943– ), chairman of Bass plc, later

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(1944–2024), orchestral conductor * Rt Revd John Hind (* 1945),

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, 2001–2012 * Knox (* 1945), musician *

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(* 1946), poet, writer and radio presenter,

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(1946– ),

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and British Lions rugby player *

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(* 1947), Professor of Pure Mathematics,

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, OBE, FBA (1948– ), Professor of Social Policy,

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; Chair,

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New Paradigms in Public Policy Programme (2009–2011) * David Sullivan (1949– ), pornographer and former director of

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, current co-chairman of

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, joined the sixth form in the 1960s. *

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(1952–2018), composer and conductor *

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(* 1953), orchestral conductor * Michael Thompson (1954– ), principal horn,

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, horn soloist, professor,

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(* 1958), author and historian. *

Michael Purton Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, horn soloist and principal horn (1973–86), Hallé Orchestra, record producer *

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(* 1959), Professor of Statistics,

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(* 1964) Artist *

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(* 1967), comedian and comedy writer *

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(2015-2019) *

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(1968– ), Defence Secretary, previously i.a. Home Secretary and Transport Secretary * Lee "Muddy" Baker (* 1969), musician *

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(1970– ), ex lead singer of 90s Brit Pop band

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* Dan Neidle (* 1972), tax lawyer and campaigner *

David Pyatt David John Pyatt (born 26 September 1973) is a horn player from Watford, England. In 1988, aged 14, he became the then youngest winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. In 1996 Gramophone Magazine announced David Pyatt as th ...

(* 1974), horn soloist,

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, 1988 *

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(* 1976), England rugby player *

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* James Smith (1985–), musician and lead singer of Hadouken! * Donald Barrell (* 1986), Saracens and England sevens star *

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(* 1987), actor *

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(* 1987), British radio personality * Alex Lozowski (* 1993), Rugby union player for

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

Notable teachers

Sir Stanley Rous Sir Stanley Ford Rous (25 April 1895 – 18 July 1986) was an English football referee and the 6th President of FIFA, serving from 1961 to 1974. He also served as secretary of the Football Association from 1934 to 1962 and was an international ...

(football referee and

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president) was an assistant master (sports) 1921–1934. *

Harry Rée Harry Alfred Rée, DSO, OBE (15 October 1914 – 17 May 1991) was a British educationist and wartime member of the Special Operations Executive. Of the more than 400 SOE agents who worked in France during World War II, M.R.D. Foot, the offic ...

(educationist and wartime member of the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

) was headmaster 1951–1962.

Headmasters

(since the founding of the Watford Endowed School in 1884) * 1884–1914 William Robert Carter * 1914–1922 Harold Nicholson * 1922–1938 Edward Reynolds * 1938–1951 Percy Bolton * 1951–1962

* 1963–1991 Keith Turner * 1991–1993 Robert Evans * 1993–1994 Neil Hart * 1994–2000 Professor Sir John Holman * 2000–2014 Martin Post * 2014–2015 Mark Allchorn (acting) * 2015–Present Ian Cooksey

Old Fullerians' Association

The Old Boys Association, formed in 1894, is known as the "Old Fullerians' Association". All former pupils and past and present teachers and governors of the school are eligible for membership. Serving teachers automatically become honorary members. The mission of the Association is to support the school and its students. This is currently achieved by raising funds for selected school projects and also by giving Old Boys opportunities to stay in touch with each other and with the school through events including the annual OFA Dinner, through newsletters and also through the very strong cricket and golf sports societies. There are a number of associated clubs and societies: *Association Football Club *Cricket Club, formed in 1947 *Golfing Society *Rugby Football Club

References

External links

Watford Grammar School for Boys websiteFriends of the SchoolOld Fullerians' Cricket Club

Fullerians Rugby Football Club
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1704 1704 establishments in England Schools in Watford Academies in Hertfordshire Boys' schools in Hertfordshire Grade II listed buildings in Hertfordshire Grade II listed educational buildings Formerly selective schools in the United Kingdom Secondary schools in Hertfordshire