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*[[Vicesimus Knox]] - 18th century Headmaster
*[[Vicesimus Knox]] - 18th century Headmaster
*Reverend [[John Langhorne (King's School Rochester)|John Langhorne]] - (1836–1911), classics master and house master from 1860 to 1877.
*Reverend [[John Langhorne (King's School Rochester)|John Langhorne]] - (1836–1911), classics master and house master from 1860 to 1877.
*[[Tony Little (headmaster)|Tony Little]] - a former assistant master at Tonbridge, now Headmaster of Eton College
*[[Tony Little (headmaster)|Tony Little]] - a former assistant master at Tonbridge, now Headmaster of [[Eton College]]
*[[Michael McCrum]] - academic and historian, Headmaster (1962–70)
*[[Michael McCrum]] - academic and historian, Headmaster (1962–70)
*[[Robert Maxwell Ogilvie]]
*[[Robert Maxwell Ogilvie]]

Revision as of 18:16, 21 October 2014

Not to be confused with Tonbridge Grammar School.

Tonbridge School
File:Tonbridge School Logo.png
Location
Map
Tonbridge
,
Kent

England
Information
TypePublic school
Independent day and boarding
MottoDeus Dat Incrementum
(God Giveth the Increase)
Established1553
FounderSir Andrew Judd
Department for Education URN118959 Tables
HeadmasterTimothy Haynes
GenderBoys
Age13 to 18
Enrollmentc. 800
Houses7 boarding, 5 day
Colour(s)Black, white and maroon      
PublicationThe Tonbridgian
Former pupilsOld Tonbridgians
Websitehttp://www.tonbridge-school.co.uk/

Tonbridge School is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd (sometimes spelled Judde). It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies. It is a public school in the British sense of the term.

There are currently around 800 boys in the school, aged between 13 and 18. The school occupies a site of 150 acres (607,000 m²) on the edge of Tonbridge, and is largely self-contained, though the boarding and day houses are spread through the town. Since its foundation the school has been rebuilt twice on the original site. Tonbridge's fees are among the highest of all the independent schools in Britain in terms of Boarding, at £35,163 per year, compared to Eton's £34,434 or Harrow's £34,590.[1][2][3]

The Headmaster since 2005 is Tim Haynes, previously Headmaster of Monmouth School and Deputy Master at St Paul's School.

The school is one of only a very few of the ancient public schools not to have turned co-educational, and there are no plans for this to happen.

History

Post-war years

Lawrence Waddy took over as Headmaster in 1949. The Tonbridge he inherited was still a largely Victorian institution; fagging and ritual caning were still in place, and sport was considered more important than academia. Over the next 40 years personal fagging was abolished (ending in 1965), and the intellectual life of the school was revitalised (particularly under the Headmastership of Michael McCrum). McCrum, headmaster 1962-70, abolished the right of senior boys to administer corporal punishment, taking over for himself the task of administering routine canings. 1st-Year Socials were set up with nearby girls' schools such as Benenden School and Roedean School. Boaters (known at the school as "barges"), straw hats worn by boys, were no longer compulsory uniform after a major town-gown fight in the 1970s. By the 1990s the school was larger, richer and more prominent than ever. The Headmaster until 2005 was Martin Hammond.

In 2005 the school was one of fifty leading independent schools found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents.[4] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.[5] Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and that they were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed."[6]

A section of the main school building.

Academics

The Good Schools Guide described the school as academically "Truly excellent," noting that "In 2008, the average GCSE candidate achieved 4A*s and 6As. 87 per cent got all A*/A and 98 per cent got all A*/A/B."[7]

Sport

The school has produced a number of international rugby players throughout the history of rugby union. In 1871, in the first ever international rugby match, Tonbridge was represented by two players, J.E. Bentley and J.H. Luscombe. These players were also members of a team called the Gipsies Football Club, a London-based rugby football club for Old Tonbrigians founded in 1868. This club produced four other internationals including England captain Francis Luscombe, and was also one of the founding members of the Rugby Football Union.[8]

Head of School

The Head of School i.e. the head Praeposter is allowed to graze his sheep on the Head (the 1st XI cricket pitch) which is next to the main buildings.[9] He is also allowed to grow a beard and historically was permitted to carry a sword.[9] In the past only praepostors were allowed to wear coloured shirts (as opposed to plain white) and have brown shoes.[9]

Notable staff

Notable Old Tonbridgians

Main article: Notable Old Tonbridgians
See also: Category:People educated at Tonbridge School

Former pupils are known at the school as Old Tonbridgians (OTs) and can join an organisation called the Old Tonbridgians' Society.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tonbridge School Fees". Tonbridge School. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Eton College Fees". Eton College. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Harrow School Fees". Harrow School. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  4. ^ Halpin, Tony (10 November 2005). "Independent schools face huge fines over cartel to fix fees". The Times. London.
  5. ^ "OFT names further trustees as part of the independent schools settlement" (Press release). Office of Fair Trading. 21 December 2006.
  6. ^ "Private schools send papers to fee-fixing inquiry". The Daily Telegraph. London. 1 March 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  7. ^ http://goodschoolsguide.co.uk/school/tonbridge-school.html
  8. ^ Marshall, Francis; et al. (1892). Football; the Rugby Union game. London: Cassell. OCLC 13422741. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  9. ^ a b c http://www.countrylife.co.uk/countryside/article/227782/The_Country_Life_top_50_schools.html
  10. ^ "Tim Haynes - New Headmaster from September 2005". tonbridge-school.co.uk. 7 September 2004.
  11. ^ "Sport's lessons for life". uwa.edu.au. 11 October 2012.
  12. ^ "The score so far". Times Educational Supplement. 11 May 2008. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Boarding Houses - Ferox Hall

Further reading

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