Haberdashers’ Boys’ School: Difference between revisions
Public school in Hertfordshire, England
| Haberdashers’ Boys’ School | |
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Butterfly Lane , , WD6 3AF United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 51°39′23″N 0°18′45″W / 51.6564°N 0.3124°W |
| Type | Private school Independent day school |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
| Established | 1690 |
| Department for Education URN | 117648 Tables |
| Chairman | Simon Cartmell |
| Headmaster | Robert Sykes |
| Gender | Boys |
| Age | 4 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 1,095 pupils[1] |
| Houses | Calverts Hendersons Joblings Meadows Russells Strouts |
| Colour(s) | Navy and sky blue |
| Publication | Skylark, Skylight, SCOPE, Scribe, Timeline, Habs Geographical, Veritas, The Score, ENIGMA |
| Former pupils | Old Haberdashers |
| Website | https://www.habsboys.org.uk/ |
Haberdashers’ Boys’ School (also known as Haberdashers’, Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School, is a public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The school is a member of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference and the Rugby Group.
The school was founded in 1690 by a Royal Charter granted to the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers to establish a hospital for 20 boarders with £32,000 from the legacy of Robert Aske (equivalent to approximately £5M in 2019).[2] The school relocated in 1903 and currently occupies 104 acres of green belt countryside in Elstree. At its centre is Aldenham House, a Grade II* listed building, that was formerly the seat of the Lords Aldenham and home to Vicary Gibbs MP.[3] While the school once offered boarding to some students, it has since become an all-day school, with the boarding quarters having been converted to offices.
In 2017, it was the Sunday Times private school of the year. In 2012 and 2016, it was the top independent boys’ school in the country. Approximately 20% of its students go on to study at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, putting the school at 10th place in the country in terms of Oxbridge admissions. It has also sent boys to top US universities, including Harvard and Stanford. Haberdashers’ Boys’ School frequently tops the league tables and rarely falls out of the top 10. In 2014, The Telegraph placed the school at 8th in the country for A-Levels – with 80.87% of students achieving the A*–A grades. In 2015, the Sunday Times named Haberdashers’ the best school in England owing to its results and resources.[4]
History[edit]
1690–1738[edit]
Following a bequest of approximately £20,000 made by the merchant Robert Aske to the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers on his death in 1689, an almshouse for twenty needy members of the Haberdashers’ Company was established in 1690 just outside the City of London at Hoxton. Designed by Robert Hooke, the almshouse comprised a chapel and, at its centre, the school, which provided education for 20 sons of poor freemen between the ages of nine and fifteen. However, the chaplain, Thomas Wright, was then made master of Bunhill School and was thus unable to teach the boys at Aske’s. In 1697, therefore, John Pridie was appointed to teach the boys English, the catechism, and basic grammar at a salary of £40 a month. Soon afterward, Pridie secured the right to admit pupils from paying parents, allowing him to increase the amount of money spent on the boys’ education. However, this right did not last for long.
In 1701, the school instituted new rules that introduced a cap and gown as the school uniform. The school created the position of a master to teach arithmetic and writing. The school continued to cater to poor pupils, requiring any boy who inherited £100 or more to leave to make way for a less lucky individual. However, the school began to run into financial difficulties; by 1714, the school had reduced itself to only eight pupils. Hardship continued until 1738 when the Court of Assistants, the senior governing body of the Haberdashers’ Company, decided that the favourable condition of the company justified restoring the school. At the same time, caps and gowns ceased to be the school uniform, and the school removed Latin from the curriculum.
1738–1825[edit]
In 1818, the Charities Commission announced that the school’s buildings required repairs that were too expensive for the company’s allotted allowance. However, errors in bookkeeping reveal that, whereas it was thought that the school was £7,000 in debt to the company, they were in fact £900 in credit. By 1820 the schoolmaster’s basic salary was still fixed at £15. However, the master at this time, William Webb, received gratuities of £20 in both 1818 and 1819. By contrast, the chaplain, matron, and nurse received £50, £16, and £12 respectively, and each of the two maidservants received a salary of £8. The pupil body continued to comprise 20 poor sons of freedmen, and the curriculum consisted of the three Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic) and the catechism.
1825–1874[edit]
In 1825, the school erected new buildings on…
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