Trinity School of John Whitgift

Last updated

Trinity School
Location
Trinity School of John Whitgift
, ,
CR9 7AT

Coordinates 51°22′26″N0°03′35″W / 51.37386°N 0.05967°W / 51.37386; -0.05967
Information
Type Independent (from 1968)
Grammar school (1945-1968)
MottoVincit qui patitur
("Who perseveres, conquers")
Established1882;141 years ago (1882)
Founder John Whitgift
Local authority Croydon
Department for Education URN 101842 Tables
Chairman of the Court of GovernorsC J Houlding
Head teacherAlasdair Kennedy [1]
Staff240
GenderBoys, with coeducational Sixth Form
Age10to 18
Enrolment1048
Colour(s)Yellow and Blue   
Former pupilsTrinity Mid-Whitgiftians
Website http://www.trinity-school.org/

The Trinity School of John Whitgift, usually referred to as Trinity School, is a British private boys' day school with a co-educational Sixth Form, located in Shirley Park, Croydon. Part of the Whitgift Foundation, it was established in 1882 as Whitgift Middle School and was a direct grant grammar school from 1945 until 1968, when it left the scheme. The present name was adopted in 1954, to avoid confusion with Whitgift School. The school's head is now a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC).

Contents

The school's first home was in Church Road, central Croydon, and then from 1931 to 1965 it was at North End, Croydon, in the old premises of Whitgift School, which moved to Haling Park, South Croydon. The "romantic Gothic towers and verdant lawns" at North End, a building of historical significance, dominated the area, but in 1968 the whole edifice was torn down for redevelopment, despite public opposition. Today, the Whitgift Centre stands on the site, in a modernist contrast to the old building.

The school was built in 1965 on the site of the former Shirley Park Hotel.

History

The school is part of the Whitgift Foundation, alongside Whitgift School and the Old Palace School for Girls. The Whitgift Foundation was founded in 1596 by John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury. His legacy allows the School to provide facilities and a range of bursaries and scholarships.

Trinity School was founded in 1882 as Whitgift Middle School. Its original site was in Church Road in central Croydon, occupying the modest buildings of the Croydon Poor School which dated from 1858. In 1931 it moved to its second site in North End in Croydon. After years of confusion with Whitgift School, in 1954 Whitgift Middle School was renamed Trinity School of John Whitgift. However the school's Old Boys' Club was still known as the Old Mid-Whitgiftians until early 2010, when a vote was taken to change the name to the Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian Association.

Trinity School of John Whitgift Trinity School building.jpg
Trinity School of John Whitgift

The school was a direct grant grammar school from 1945 until 1968, when it left the scheme but continued to take LEA-funded pupils until the late 1970s. [2] [3] [4]

Trinity School moved to its present and third home in Shirley in 1965, built on the site of the Shirley Park Hotel, which itself was a redevelopment of a large Georgian house called Shirley House, built in 1720, once a home of the third Earl of Eldon.

The school today

Many of Trinity's pupils come from local schools and so join aged 10 or 11, but there is also a large intake of prep school boys at 10, 11 and 13+. A traditional curriculum is studied by all pupils, with optional subjects at GCSE such as Mandarin Chinese becoming more popular.

The school has a co-educational Sixth Form, a feature that was implemented in September 2012. For this change, a new state-of-the-art Sixth Form Centre was built, and opened by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

Trinity has enjoyed regional and national success in its main school sports of rugby union, field hockey, cricket, and water polo, and also in other sports as diverse as swimming, athletics, and squash. The school has a climbing wall, two large astro-turf pitches and four hard tennis courts, along with pitches for rugby, cricket, soccer, and athletics, as well as the school's nearby field, Sandilands, and an indoor sports centre, with two large halls, several squash courts, a gymnasium, and an accompanying weights-room.[ citation needed ]

The school offers over 100 clubs and societies. The school’s music facilities include a recording suite and a dedicated choir room. Trinity became the first All Steinway School in London in 2012 and now has 25 pianos, including two model D concert grand pianos and five further grand pianos.

The Trinity School chess club has achieved great success over the years. One of its members, Laurence D. Marks, won the under-21 British championship in 1973, [5] and its teams were in the finals of the British Schools Chess Championship in 1967, 1969, and 1972.

Trinity Boys Choir

Trinity Boys Choir, led for many years by David Squibb, [6] is well known for its outstanding musical achievements, [7] especially through its choristers under the direction of Director of Music, David Swinson.

Headmasters

The current headmaster is Alasdair Kennedy, previously Deputy Master at Dulwich College, who joined the school in September 2016 on the retirement of Mark Bishop. [1]

From 1882 to present

Combined Cadet Force

The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) at Trinity consists of the three sections (Army, RAF and RN). Pupils have the opportunity of joining the CCF in the Spring Term of the Third Form and the minimum length of service is four terms. Cadets then follow a common recruits' syllabus for two terms before choosing which of the three sections they wish to join. At the end of the Summer Term all cadets have the option to attend a UK Central Camp.

Notable former pupils

Former pupils of Trinity School of John Whitgift are known as Old Mid Whitgiftians.

Arts

Business

Military

Politics and public service

Science

Sports

Other

Notable ex staff members

Related Research Articles

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

Wellington School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 3–18 located in Wellington, Somerset, England. Wellington School was founded in 1837.

<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">Whitgift School</span> Independent school near Croydon, Greater London

Whitgift School is an Independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was previously a grammar school and direct grant grammar school, but the school's headmaster is now a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John's School, Leatherhead</span> Public school in Leatherhead, Surrey, England

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranleigh School</span> Public 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">Pretoria Boys High School</span> All-boys public school in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Pretoria Boys High School is a public, tuition-charging, English-medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Brooklyn in Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, founded in 1901 by Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caterham School</span> Private day and boarding school in Caterham, Surrey, England

Caterham School is an independent co-educational day and boarding school located in Caterham, Surrey and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

<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 an independent, 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.

The Old Alleynian Football Club is an open rugby union club founded as a team for the old boys of Dulwich College, themselves known as Old Alleynians. Founded in 1898, it is one of the oldest clubs in London and was the last of London's old boys clubs to become a fully open club. It is notable not only for its longevity, but also for the prominence it once attained on the club circuit and for the number of eminent players that have been members of the club, some of whom gained their international caps whilst at the club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastbourne College</span> Public school in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England

Eastbourne College is a co-educational private school in the English public school tradition, for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18, in the town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England. The College's headmaster is Tom Lawson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnard Castle School</span> Public school in County Durham, England

Barnard Castle School is a co-educational private day and boarding school in the market town of Barnard Castle, County Durham, in the North East of England. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). It was founded in 1883 with funding from a 13th-century endowment of John I de Balliol and the bequest of the local industrialist Benjamin Flounders. The ambition was to create a school of the quality of the ancient public schools at a more reasonable cost, whilst accepting pupils regardless of their faith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Edward School</span> State school, boarding and day school in Harare, Zimbabwe

Prince Edward School is a public, boarding and day school for boys aged 13 to 19 in Harare, Zimbabwe. It provides education facilities to 1200+ boys in Forms I to VI. The school is served by a graduate staff of over 100 teachers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's College (Harare)</span> Independent, day high school in Harare, Zimbabwe

St. John's College is an independent, day high school for boys aged 12–18 in Borrowdale, a suburb in Harare, Zimbabwe. The school, established in 1986, is owned and governed by the St John's Educational Trust, as is St. John's Preparatory School.

The John Fisher School is a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided boys' faith school based at Peaks Hill, Purley, Croydon, Surrey, England. The school is located in and funded by the London Borough of Sutton. It occupies the former site of the 19th-century prep school Falconbury School. The school operates as a faith comprehensive School, educating boys mainly from south and central Croydon. It has a history of selection, and has drawn pupils from across London and South East England.

King's High School is a state single-sex boys' secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the city close to the boundary between the suburbs of South Dunedin, St. Clair and Forbury, next to the parallel single-sex girls' school, Queen's High School. Both schools share several facilities, including the multimillion-dollar Performing Arts Centre which opened in 2006.

Shane Roiser is a former rugby union player with London Wasps whom he joined in 1994 from Rosslyn Park. Whilst at Wasps he helped them win the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2000.

David Squibb was Director of Music at Trinity School of John Whitgift. He is most known for founding Trinity School Boys Choir, one of the busiest and most successful school choirs in the world. It has a high professional profile, both in the UK and abroad. Members have appeared at Glyndebourne, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, English National Opera and many opera houses abroad, including the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Opera Comique, Paris, and La Fenice, Venice. The choir is well known for its part in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in which they have appeared in over one hundred and fifty professional performances, and they feature in the Warner DVD and Virgin Classics CD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrey Rugby Football Union</span> Rugby team

The Surrey County Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Surrey, England, and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union having been formed in 1879.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 New Headmaster appointed at Trinity dated 30/11/15, at whitgiftfoundation.co.uk, accessed 25 July 2019
  2. "History of School". Trinity School of John Whitgift. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  3. "Outline History Of The Whitgift Foundation". The Friends Of The Old Palace. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  4. Donnison, David, ed. (1970). Report on independent day schools and direct grant grammar schools. Public Schools Commission, Second Report. Vol. 1. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 49. ISBN   0-11-270170-1.
  5. "British Champions 1904 – present". The English Chess Federation. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  6. "Squibb obit in Times". Timesonline.co.uk. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  7. "BCSD - Trinity Boys Choir, Croydon". Boysoloist.com. 1 January 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2012.