Yeovil School was a boys'

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

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 ...

town of

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

, in existence from 1845 to 1975. Established by John Aldridge in Clarence Place, Yeovil, in 1851 the school moved to a street named Kingston and was renamed as Kingston School."JOHN ALDRIDGE Founder of Kingston School"
yeovilhistory.info, accessed 19 September 2022 On 22 July 1851, Aldridge announced in the ''Sherborne Mercury'' that his school was about to re-open as "Kingston, Yeovil, Select Establishment for Young Gentlemen". For instruction in English and the classics, day boys would pay eight guineas a year,

boarders ''Boarders'' is a British teen comedy-drama television series created by Daniel Lawrence Taylor, centred around the lives of five young Black teens who earn scholarships into the prestigious boarding school of St. Gilbert's. The series is develop ...

between 22 and 25 guineas, reduced for weekly boarders. For a small extra charge,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

was taught by a native of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and drawing and music by "eminent Professors". In addition, "the higher branches of Mathematics, &c." would be taught to those preparing for "the Sea, the Military, or other Public Colleges". From 1858 to 1907, the school was in competition for boys with the new

Yeovil Grammar School Yeovil Grammar School was a grammar school in Yeovil, Somerset, which was founded or refounded about 1860 and closed in 1906 when its only headmaster, Henry Monk, retired. The 19th-century grammar school grew out of a long-established charity sc ...

of Henry Monk, which charged similar fees and also had a Frenchman to teach French. In 1905, following the

Education Act 1902 The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7. c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conserva ...

, the school was enlarged and renamed Yeovil County School. In 1925 it was renamed again to Yeovil School. In 1932, the school adopted

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 ...

as its main winter term sport, replacing

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. In 1938 Yeovil School moved into new buildings in Mudford Road, Yeovil. In 1948, there were three

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 ...

, Kingston, Ivel, and School House. There was a school magazine, ''The Yeovilian'', an Army Cadet Force, and an active Archaeological Society. This was led by the senior history master, L. C. Hayward, who later founded the Yeovil Archaeological and Local History Society."Jack Sweet, Our Local Historian, Writes about the Activities of the Yeovil School Archaeological Society in 1948/9"
yalhs.org.uk, April 2014, accessed 18 September 2022 In 1975,

Somerset County Council Somerset ( , ), archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to ...

was in the process of bringing in

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 ...

s, closing the county's selective grammar schools and the

secondary modern school A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...

s which ran alongside them. Yeovil School, which by then was a

for boys, together with Yeovil High School, the equivalent school for girls, and Summerleaze Secondary Modern School, were all closed. Two new schools were created, with effect from September 1975: Westfield Comprehensive School, which took in the children and many of the staff of the former Yeovil schools and was later renamed Westfield Academy; and a new Yeovil College, which took in the

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 ...

pupils of the old grammar schools. The college's science and business department were housed on the former Yeovil School site, providing some continuity.

Former pupils

Those educated at the school are known as Old Yeovilians and include: * David Banfield (1933–2014), Archdeacon of Bristol from 1990 to 1998 * Frank Bentley (born 1934), former

Archdeacon of Worcester An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of most ...

David Foot David K. Foot is a Canadian economist and demographer. Foot did his undergraduate work at the University of Western Australia and his graduate work in economics at Harvard University, where he was supervised by Martin Feldstein. Following his ...

(1929-2021), writer, historian, and broadcaster * Sir John Hannam (born 1929), former Conservative member of parliament for

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

John Parish John Parish (born 11 April 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Parish is best known for his work with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. He has also worked with such artists as Eels, Aldous Harding, Tracy Chapm ...

(born 1959), musician and record producer * T. E. R. Phillips (1868–1942), astronomer, President from 1927 to 1929 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 ...

* Alfred Pippard (1891–1969), President of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

, and Professor of Civil Engineering at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

Edwin Seward Edwin Seward (1853 – 21 June 1924) was an architect based in Cardiff, Wales. Biography Born in Somerset, Seward came to Cardiff aged 16 and studied at the School of Art. He began work as an assistant to architect G. E. Robinson. Seward wa ...

(1853–1924), architect

References

External links

*
Yeovil, Kingston School (S.7290): General (1903–1921)

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

1892 - Kingston School, Yeovil

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{{authority control 1845 establishments in England 1975 disestablishments in England Defunct grammar schools in England Defunct schools in Somerset Educational institutions established in 1845 Educational institutions disestablished in 1975

Former pupils

References

Further reading

External links