Blundell's School

Last updated

Blundell's School
Blundells School Crest.png
Address
Blundell's School
Blundells Road

Tiverton
,
Devon
,
EX16 4DN

England
Coordinates 50°54′23″N3°27′58″W / 50.906499°N 3.466174°W / 50.906499; -3.466174
Information
Type Public school
Private day and boarding school
MottoPro Patria Populoque
(For the country and the people)
Established1604;421 years ago (1604)
Founder Peter Blundell
Department for Education URN 113575 Tables
Chairman of the GovernorsNigel Hall
HeadBart Wielenga
Staff360
GenderCo-educational
Age3to 18
Enrolmentc. 615 in senior school
c. 251 in preparatory school
HousesFrancis House (Boys)

Gorton House (Girls)
North Close (Girls)
Old House (Boys)
Petergate (Boys)
School House (Years 7 and 8)

Westlake (Sixth Form)

Contents

Colour(s)Red & White   
Former pupilsOld Blundellians
Website http://www.blundells.org

Blundell's School is an independent co-educational boarding and day school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and moved to its present site on the outskirts of the town in 1882.

While the full boarding fees are £45,750 per year, [1] the school offers several scholarships and bursaries, and provides flexi-boarding. The school has 360 boys and 225 girls, including 117 boys and 85 girls in the Sixth Form, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

History

Old Blundell's Oldblundells.jpg
Old Blundell's
Blundells Blundells.jpg
Blundells

Peter Blundell, one of the wealthiest merchants of Elizabethan England, died in 1601, having made his fortune principally in the cloth industry. His will set aside considerable money and land to establish a school in his home town "to maintain sound learning and true religion". Blundell asked his friend John Popham, Lord Chief Justice of England, to carry out his wishes, and appointed a number of local merchants and gentry as his first trustees (known as feoffees). The position of feoffee is no longer hereditary, but a number of notable local families have held the position for a considerable period: the first ancestor of the current chairman of the governors to hold that position was elected more than 250 years ago, and the Heathcoat-Amory family have a long tradition of service on the Governing Body, since Sir John Heathcoat-Amory was appointed in 1865.

The Old Blundell's School was built to be much larger and grander than any other in the West Country, with room for 150 scholars and accommodation for a master and an usher. [2] The Grade 1 listed building is now in the care of the National Trust and the forecourt is usually open to visitors. One ex-Blundell's boy was the writer R. D. Blackmore, who in the novel Lorna Doone set the stage for a fight between John Ridd and Robin Snell on the Blundell's triangular lawn. [3]

Peter Blundell's executors established links with Balliol College, Oxford, and with Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and large sums were settled to provide for scholarships for pupils of the school to attend those colleges. [4]

The prep school St Aubyn's was moved to the Blundell's campus in 2000, [5] taking over the day-boy house Milestones and the Sanatorium, and was renamed Blundell's Prep School. It has about 250 pupils aged from three years to eleven. The headmaster is Andy Southgate.

2024 the murder...

In 2024, a pupil at the school was found guilty of murder of two other students and one of the staff using a hammer; he had been 16 at the time of the assaults in 2023. [6] [7] The Guardian said that "a troubling picture emerged of aspects of life at the 400-year-old school", with bullying, children having weapons and unrestricted access to their mobile telephones. [6]

The boy was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 12 years. In November 2024, Mrs Justice Cutts lifted the anonymity orders and named him as Thomas Wei Huang from Malaysia. [8]

Sport

1740 ticket for Blundell's School Feast by William Hogarth Ticket for Blundell's School Feast by William Hogarth.jpg
1740 ticket for Blundell's School Feast by William Hogarth

Rugby

Rugby is the main sport played at Blundell's in the Autumn and Spring terms. The earliest mention of "football" in the Blundellian was in 1861 and the first recorded "rugger" match played by boys at Blundell's was in 1868 against Tiverton Rugby Club, making the school one of the oldest anywhere formally to play the game. The Blundell's crest still hangs in the main room at Twickenham in recognition of this. [9]

OBs Dave Lewis Gloucester Rugby, Matt Kvesic and Will Carrick-Smith Exeter Chiefs all currently play in the Aviva Premiership. [10]

Sam Maunder, brother of Jack Maunder, plays for England U18 squad. [11]

The Russell

One annual tradition is the school's cross-country run known as the Russell, named after Old Boy Jack Russell, a vicar and dog-breeder. It was first run in 1887, [12] and 2009 saw the 129th run. [13]

Southern Railway Schools Class

932 Blundell's Schools Class 4-4-0 at Eastleigh in 1948. 932 Blundells Eastleigh 1948.jpg
932 Blundell's Schools Class 4-4-0 at Eastleigh in 1948.

The School lent its name to the thirty-third steam locomotive (Engine 932) in the Southern Railway's Class V of which there were 40. This class was also known as the Schools Class because all 40 of the class were named after prominent English public schools. Blundell's, as it was called, was built in 1934. The locomotive bearing the school's name was withdrawn from service in January 1961. In 2009 Hornby produced a model of this particular Schools class locomotive. As the product photograph shows, while the name of this locomotive has been variously quoted as Blundells or Blundell's, the apostrophe does actually appear on the nameplate. [14]

Old Blundellians

The first known society of former pupils, known as Old Blundellians (OBs), was established as early as 1725. [15]

William Hogarth engraved the letterhead for the invitation to a dinner for former pupils of the School in 1725 and the ticket for Tiverton School Feast in 1740. [16]

Notable former pupils include:


Headteachers

Notable former masters

Former masters of Blundell's have included:

Related Research Articles

<i>Lorna Doone</i> 1869 novel by R. D. Blackmore

Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by R. D. Blackmore, first published in three volumes in London in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor. In 2003, the novel was listed on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. D. Blackmore</span> English novelist

Richard Doddridge Blackmore, known as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. He won acclaim for vivid descriptions and personification of the countryside, sharing with Thomas Hardy a Western England background and a strong sense of regional setting in his works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiverton, Devon</span> Town in Devon, England

Tiverton is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587.

Richard Adrian William Sharp is an English retired rugby union player. Born in India during the British Raj, his family moved to Cornwall, England, where he was educated at Montpelier School, Paignton and Blundell's School in the neighbouring county of Devon and at Balliol College, Oxford. He is a former player at Redruth R.F.C., Wasps FC, Bristol FC and England rugby union fly-half and captain. He played for England while at Oxford and led England to the Five Nations title in 1963. He played cricket for Cornwall in the Minor Counties Championship between 1957 and 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedbergh School</span> Public school in Cumbria, England

Sedbergh School is a public school in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprises a junior school for pupils aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It was established in 1525.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Edward's School, Oxford</span> Fee-charging school in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

St Edward's School is a public school in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Buckland School</span> Public school in Devon, England

West Buckland School is a private co-educational day and boarding school in West Buckland, Devon in the English public school tradition. It comprises a senior school, preparatory school, and a nursery. It is a relatively high performing school in Devon. It was one of eight schools shortlisted for 'Boarding School of the Year' in the TES Independent School Awards 2019, a category won by Cottesmore School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highgate School</span> Private school in Highgate, London

Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is a co-educational, fee-charging, private day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate Pre-Preparatory School, Highgate junior school and the senior school (11+) – which together comprise the Highgate Foundation. As part of its wider work the charity was from 2010 a founding partner of the London Academy of Excellence and it is now also the principal education sponsor of an associated Academy, the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham, which opened in September 2017. The principal business sponsor is Tottenham Hotspur FC. The charity also funds the Chrysalis Partnership, a scheme supporting 26 state schools in six London boroughs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranleigh School</span> Boarding school in Cranleigh near Guildford, Surrey, England

Cranleigh School is a public school in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's College, Taunton</span> Private day school in Taunton, Somerset, United Kingdom

King's College is a private co-educational secondary day school in Taunton, Somerset, England. A member school of the Woodard Corporation, it has approximately 450 pupils aged 13 to 18, including about 300 boarders. Its affiliated prep school is King's Hall School. The head of the school is currently Michael Sloan, who started his first academic year in the winter of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taunton School</span> Public school in Somerset, England

Taunton School is public school, now co-educational, in the county town of Taunton in Somerset in South West England. It serves boarding and day-school pupils from the ages of 13 to 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield</span> Public school in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is a public school for boys in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1591 at the request of leading citizens in Wakefield 75 in total and some of whom formed the first governing body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hereford Cathedral School</span> Cathedral school in Herefordshire, England

Hereford Cathedral School is a private, co-educational boarding and day school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from nursery to sixth form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premises are next to Hereford Cathedral in Hereford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakford, Devon</span> Village in Devon, England

Oakford is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. It is located three miles (5 km) south west of Bampton and eight miles (13 km) north north west of Tiverton. Oakford is near the river Exe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culmstock</span> Village and civil parish in Devon, England

Culmstock is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon, England, centred 10 miles from Tiverton and 6 NE of Cullompton. It is laid out on both sides of the River Culm; the village is joined by a single old narrow stone bridge across the river. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 554. The northern boundary of the parish forms part of the Devon – Somerset border and clockwise from there it is surrounded by the Devon parishes of Hemyock, Uffculme, Burlescombe and Holcombe Rogus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douai School</span> Former English school in Woolhampton

Douai School was a public school run by the Douai Abbey Benedictine community at Woolhampton, England, until it closed in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiverton RFC</span> English rugby union club, based in Devon

Tiverton Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in the town of Tiverton, Devon, England. The club plays at Coronation Field, and as of the 2024–25 season competes in the level six Regional 2 South West league and the Devon Intermediate Cup. It is considered to be the oldest rugby club in Devon.

Samuel Holroyd "Tim" Burton was a British school teacher, college lecturer and prolific author of English language textbooks and books about the west of England. He also produced fiction, assembled anthologies and wrote a biography of William Shakespeare.

References

  1. ↑ blundells official webpage: fee and admissions
  2. ↑ GENUKI/Devon: Tiverton 1850
  3. ↑ Lorna Doone, A Romance of Exmoor – CHAPTER II
  4. ↑ Balliol Archives – Blundell's School
  5. ↑ "Eteach – Education Recruitment Vacancies, Supply Teaching Jobs". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  6. 1 2 Morris, Stephen (21 June 2024). "Boy guilty of attempted murders in Devon private school hammer attack". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  7. ↑ Evans, Martin (18 April 2024). "Boarding school pupil broke sleeping roommates' skulls with hammer, court hears". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  8. ↑ Grierson, Jamie; Rawlinson, Kevin (1 November 2024). "Boy given life sentence over school hammer attack named as Thomas Wei Huang". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  9. ↑ www.blundells.org - Rugby
  10. ↑ "OB Club - Sport". Blundells.org. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2013.[ non-primary source needed ]
  11. ↑ "RFU".
  12. ↑ www.blundells.org - Headmasters
  13. ↑ OB Club - Sport Archived 25 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Archived 19 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Report & Transactions, Volume 23, Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art, 1891
  16. ↑ "Search object details". British Museum. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  17. ↑ Frederic Boase, Modern English Biography, vol. 4 (Netherton and Worth, 1906), p. 2,007
  18. ↑ Gentleman's Magazine, 1834, p.653, obituary of Admiral Keats
  19. ↑ Vivian, J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, Stucley & Buck pedigree, pp.723

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Blundell's School at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.