Winchester College is an English public school with some provision for day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 as a feeder school for New College, Oxford, and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the nine schools considered by the Clarendon Commission. The school has begun a transition to become co-educational, and has accepted male and female day pupils from September 2022, having previously been a boys' boarding school for over 600 years.
Eton College is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore, making it the 18th-oldest school in the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Originally intended as a sister institution to King's College, Cambridge, Eton is known for its history, wealth, and notable alumni, known as Old Etonians.
Shrewsbury School is a public school in Shrewsbury. It was founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, to reconstitute the town's collegiate foundations of the 6th and 10th centuries which were disestablished in the reformation. Shrewsbury School is one of the seven public schools addressed in the Public Schools Act 1868 and one of the nine schools reviewed by the Clarendon Commission between 1861 and 1864.
King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or even the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a public school near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers 800 acres including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and farmland. Before the counties of England were re-organised, the school was in Berkshire.
William Waynflete, born William Patten, was Headmaster of Winchester College (1429–1441), Provost of Eton College (1442–1447), Bishop of Winchester (1447–1486) and Lord Chancellor of England (1456–1460). He founded Magdalen College, Oxford, and three subsidiary schools, namely Magdalen College School in Oxford, Magdalen College School, Brackley in Northamptonshire and Wainfleet All Saints in Lincolnshire.
Oswestry School is an ancient public school, located in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was founded in 1407 as a 'free' school, being independent of the church. This gives it the distinction of being the second-oldest 'free' school in the country, between Winchester College and Eton College (1440).
Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is noted for its open-air Greek theatre and its triennial Greek Play.
Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation, which also included James Allen's Girls' School (JAGS) and Dulwich College.
Ralph Douglas Townsend is an educational consultant. He was Chairman of Prep Schools Trust (2017-2022) and Special Adviser to the President of Keio University and President of Keio Academy of New York (2017-2021). He served on the International Development Group of the Jesuit Refugee Service (2016-2023). He was Headmaster of Sydney Grammar School (1989–1999), Oundle School (1999–2005), and Winchester College (2005–2016).
The Rugby Group is a group of 18 British public schools. The group was formed in the 1960s as an association of major boarding schools within the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. As with the Eton Group, which was formed a few years later, headmasters and heads of the academic departments meet annually in rotation to discuss matters of common interest.
During the early modern era, pupils, former pupils and teachers at English public schools developed the rules of football, eventually leading to the first written codes of football most notably the Eton College (1815) and Aldenham school (1825) football rules, and rugby football (1845). British public schools football also directly influenced the rules of association football.
Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey. It is generally believed that cricket was originally a children's game as it is not until the beginning of the 17th century that reports can be found of adult participation.
In England and Wales, a public school is a type of fee-charging private school originally for older boys. They are "public" in the sense of being open to pupils irrespective of locality, denomination or paternal trade or profession, nor are they run for the profit of a private owner.
Timothy Roderick Hands is an English schoolmaster and writer. Previously the Master of Magdalen College School, Oxford, he was the Headmaster of Winchester College until August 2023.
William Martin Alastair Land has been headmaster at Harrow School, since 2019, previously having been headmaster at Repton School. He has taught at Eton College and Winchester College, where he was Master in College, and was deputy headmaster at Harrow School before moving to Repton School.
