Rossall School is a British co-educational independent day- and boarding school in Fleetwood, Lancashire. It was founded in 1844 (As a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year) by The Rev. St Vincent Beechey "with the object of giving to the sons of clergymen and others an education similar to that of the great public schools, but without the great cost of Eton or Harrow, and embracing also a more general course of instruction in modern literature and science."
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Type | Public school |
Motto | Mens Agitat Molem (money moves Matter) |
Established | 1844 |
Headmaster | Mr. Timothy V.E.R.S.O.R Wilbur |
Number of pupils | 600 (approx.) |
Website | www.rossall.co.uk |
It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
It offers both A-Levels and the controversial IB Diploma to its 6th Form Students.
VERSOR
VERSOR is a sort of active student union with parent and teacher support. It aims to better the school, and fights for student freedoms, equality and quality of education and facilities. The members of VERSOR remain anonymous and contribute together.
School Life
The daily timetable consists of 6 one hour schools (periods) a day: with a break between schools 2 & 3 and lunch after school 3. Tea is also offered to boarders. Every year the school allows students in the sixth form to apply to be school monitors. The school is very active in encouraging excellence in all areas, the school being particularly strong in the arts.
The CCF
Rossall is noted for being the first school in the United Kingdom to form a Combined Cadet Force (CCF), being founded in 1859 with the threat of a French/Irish Catholic invasion at its height. The institution is still present in the school today with around 100 cadets currently enlisted.
The Carmen
The Carmen, The Rossall School Song, was composed by Dr.C.H.Lloyd, later organist at Gloucester Cathedral and Christ Church College and then Director of Music at Eton. It is sung at most major school events, from Old Rossallian dinners to end of term assemblies and chapel. Tradition has it that when singing it one must stand up on a bench/chair and belt it out with appropriate gusto. Usually only the first verse is sung, however there are 3 full verses. The full lyrics:
Concinamus admirantes
Propter fluctus asstuantes
Stantem te, Rossallia!
Alma mater, be tibamus,
Tui calices proscamus!
Hanc sententium decamus,
Floreat Rossallia!
Adsint chroro gratulanti,
Adsint choro Di pricanti!
Te juvent, Rossallia!
Auferamus post labores
E honores!
Tui manent hinc amores
Latius, Rossallia!
Ornet inconcussa virtus,
Rara Fides, honor certus;
Te colant, Rossallia!
Hinc per saecla saeculorum
Fama crescat; vox tuorum
Una surgat filiorum,
Floreat Rossallia!
Houses
As with many public schools Rossall adopted a house system from early on, with each pupil belonging to a house. It forms an integral part of life at the school and there are frequent inter-house events in sports as well as the arts. The current houses are:
- Stag's Head (Middle School - Mixed - Day)
- Falcon (Middle School - Mixed - Day)
- Dragon Crescent (Middle School - Mixed - Day)
- Anchor (Middle School - Mixed - Boarding)
- Dolphin (Senior School - Girls - Day)
- Lugard Boys (Senior School - Boys - Boarding - New International Students)
- Lugard Girls (Senior School - Girls - Boarding - New International Students)
- Maltese Cross (Senior School - Boys - Boarding and Day)
- Mitre Fleur-de-Lys (Senior School - Boys - Boarding and Day)
- Pelican (Senior School - Boys - Boarding and Day)
- Rose (Senior School - Girls - Boarding)
- Spread Eagle (Senior School - Boys - Boarding and Day)
Some Rossallian Jargon
- Big School - The Main Assembly Hall
- Moni's Lawn - The elevated area of grass next to the dining hall on which only school monitors can walk
- Nagger - The nickname for the Matron's office where laundry is cleaned etc.
- Ross Hockey - A game unique to Rossall - a cross between Rugby and Hockey played on the beach in the harshest winter months.
- VERSOR - A student organisation, a sort of active student union. It stands for student rights and equality. It aims to better the school.
Notable Old Rossallians
Sport
- Rex Crummack - 1920 Olympic Gold Medal Winning British hockey player [1]
- Liam Botham - rugby player
- Walter Clopton Wingfield - The 'Inventor of Lawn Tennis'
- Robert Coar - Chairman of Blackburn Rovers and Current Member of the English FA Governing Body
- Paul Dalglish - Football player
- Michael Dickinson - World Record Holding National Hunt trainer
- Nigel Howard - Fleeting England Cricket Captain
- Ham Lambert - Irish International cricketer, rugby player and referee
- Brian Redman - Formula 1 racing driver and Formula 3000 World Champion
- A.B.Rowley - First President of Lancashire County Cricket Club
- E.B.Rowley - First Captain of Lancashire County Cricket Club
- Vernon Royle - England Test Cricketer
- Peter Winterbottom - Former England Rugby Union Captain. He also played for the Lions.
Politics and Military
- Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham Private Secretary to Queen Victoria (1895-1901) and to George V (1910-1931)
- Sir Alexander Carmichael Bruce - Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
- Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke - Colonial Governor, Last Governor of the Gold Coast
- George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe - Governor of Bombay and Victoria
- Field Marshal Sir Charles Comyn Egerton - member of the Council of the India, Commander of the Somaliland Field Force [2]
- Captain G.S.Henderson V.C.
- General Sir Thomas Hutton M.C. O.I.E.
- Frederick Lugard - governor of Hong Kong and Nigeria and founder of the University of Hong Kong.
- John Moss M.C.(Military Cross) [3]
- William Rolleston [4]
- Captain G.R.P.Roupell V.C.
- Derek Colclough Walker-Smith - Notable conservative politician
- Robert Armstrong Yerburgh - Politician [5]
Academic
- John Standish Fforde - Economist, historian and Chief Cashier at the Bank of England - as such his signature would have appeared on sterling banknotes for a period
- Frank Fletcher - First person to be knighted for services to education
- Sir Henry Stuart Jones - Classical scholar and lexicographer
- Charles Lethbridge Kingsford - Historian
- Geoffrey Kirk - professor of Greek [6]
- Sir Herbert Isambard Owen - Nephew of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. First Vice Chancellor of Bristol University and founder of University of Wales
- Niall Shanks - Philosopher
- Frederick Arthur Simpson- Historian and eccentric
Literary
- J. R. Ackerley - author, editor, and memoirist
- Leslie Charteris - creator of The Saint
- J.G. Farrell - novelist and winner of the Booker Prize
- F. W. Harvey - Poet
Science, Medicine and Engineering
- Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney - Astronomer, Chemist and Photographer
- John Fleetwood Baker - Civil engineer
- William Blair-Bell - Co-Founder of The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
- David Brown - Engineer, entrepreneur and one-time owner of Aston Martin; his initials are still given to the finest models of Aston Martin cars
- Sir Frederick Brundrett - Chief Scientific adviser to the Ministry of Defence 1954-1960 [7]
- Ivan de Burgh Daly - Physiologist
- Professor Sir William Boyd Dawkins - geologist and archaeologist and fellow of The Royal Society
- Wilfred Fletcher C.B.E - Designer of the first Severn Bridge
- Francis Graham-Smith - Astronomer Royal
- Dikran Tahta - Maths teacher who inspired Stephen Hawking
Religious
- Father Thomas R.D. Byles - Catholic priest who refused to leave the Titanic so he could help fellow passengers. He perished as it sank.
- William Henry Temple Gairdner - Missionary
- Revd. John Pym - Chaplain to George V
- John Hugh Smyth formerly Smyth-Pigott - Agapemonite leader
- Alwyn Williams - Bishop of Oxford,Durham and Winchester. Chaplain to George V.Prelate of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
Music
- Bill Ashton - Founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra
- Sir Thomas Beecham - Conductor and founder of numerous orchestras including the London Philharmonic
- Anthony Besch - opera director [8]
Media and Television
- Michael Barratt - former BBC TV 'Nationwide' anchorman
- Patrick Campbell - 3rd Baron Glenavy
- Henry Curwen - Journalist and author
- Sonny Flood - Actor in Hollyoaks
- Edmund Garrett - Journalist and newspaper editor [9]
- Davinia Taylor - Actress and It Girl
Misc
- John Reginald Birchall - "Swamp of Death" Murderer, hanged in 1890
- Robert Pickering Ashe
Notable Old Masters and Old Council Members
- John Ambrose Fleming - Inventor
- Owen Seaman - Poet + Journalist
- Edward Henry Stanley - 15th Earl of Derby and Foreign Secretary (Son of Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Prime Minister. Brother of Frederick Arthur Stanley - notable for donating the Stanley Cup)
- John Eldon Gorst - Politician