| University College School | |
|---|---|
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 University College School Entrance | |
| Location | |
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| , London, NW3 England | |
| Coordinates | 51°33′12″N0°10′52″W / 51.5533°N 0.1811°W /51.5533; -0.1811 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public school Private day school |
| Motto | Latin:Paulatim Sed Fermiter ("Slowly but surely") |
| Established | 1830; 196 years ago (1830) |
| Local authority | Camden |
| Department for Education URN | 100065Tables |
| Chair of council | Stephen Warshaw |
| Headmaster | Mark Beard |
| Gender | Boys; coeducationalsixth form |
| Age | 3 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 1180~ |
| Colours | Maroon, black |
| Alumni | Old Gowers |
| Website | ucs |
University College School, also known asUCS, is aprivateday school inFrognal,Hampstead,London, England. The school was founded in 1830 byUniversity College London.
The UCS Hampstead Foundation is composed of three main entities: the Pre-Prep (previously known as The Phoenix School) for ages 3 to 7 on the Finchley Road site,[1] acquired by UCS in 2003; the Junior Branch, for boys aged 7 to 11 on theHolly Hill site in Hampstead; and the Senior School, for boys aged 11 to 16 and co-educational for ages 16 to 18 on the Frognal site, which is the largest school site. The main campus and the Great Hall are noted examples ofEdwardian architecture. Inside the hall is a Walkerpipe organ, used for school concerts, professional recordings and other festivities. The school also owns playing fields situated in Ranulf Road in West Hampstead, used for training, physical education and sporting fixtures.
UCS is a member of theEton Group of twelve independent schools and theHeadmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It has ties with the Equatorial College School in Uganda.
University College School was founded in 1830 as part ofUniversity College London. It moved to its current location inHampstead in 1907. Continuing the long tradition ofdissenting academies, the University of London had been inspired by the work ofJeremy Bentham and others to provide opportunities for higher education regardless of religious beliefs.[2]
At the time, only members of theestablished Church could study atCambridge andOxford (the only other two universities in England at the time) while similar religious tests were imposed at the other universities dating from the medieval and renaissance periods present in the rest of the British Isles, namelySt Andrews,Glasgow,Aberdeen,Edinburgh andDublin. Furthermore, the subjects taught at theseAncient Universities during this period, especially at Cambridge and Oxford, were relatively narrow, with classical subjects and divinity dominating.
Several of the founders of the University of London are associated with the founding of the school; they includeHenry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (who appears to be singled out as the ring leader inA tradition for Freedom),Lord Auckland (probablyGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland),William Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton, SirIsaac Lyon Goldsmid,Henry Hallam,Leonard Horner (TheRoyal Society of Edinburgh has described UCS as his 'monument'[3]),James Mill,Viscount Sandon (probably eitherDudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby orDudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby), James Lock,Stephen LushingtonD.C.L. M.P., John Smith M.P., andHenry Waymouth.
The first headmaster was Henry Browne, who quickly caused controversy, by publishing a prospectus for the school which appeared to include some type of communal worship.[citation needed] This was replaced with a new version which also stated that the school would not use corporal punishment. The school opened at 16 Gower Street on 1 November 1830 under the name 'The London University School'. Browne soon[when?] resigned from his position and was replaced by John Walker (an assistant master). By February 1831 it had outgrown its quarters, in October 1831, the council of UCL agreed to formally take over the school and it was brought within the walls of the college in 1832, with a joint headmastership of ProfessorsThomas Hewitt Key andHenry Malden.
The school was never a boarding school; it was one of the first schools to teachmodern languages and sciences.[citation needed] Originally, there were no compulsory subjects and no rigid form system. Most boys learntLatin and French, and many learnt German (an unusual subject to offer at that time). Mathematics,chemistry,Classical Greek and English were also taught. There was no religious teaching. Under theUniversity College London (Transfer) Act 1905 (5 Edw. 7. c. xci), University College London became part of the federal University of London, and the school was created as a separate corporation.
UCS moved to new purpose-built buildings in Frognal inHampstead in 1907, which were opened byEdward VII with theArchbishop of Canterbury in attendance on 27 July.[citation needed]Kikuchi Dairoku was invited to the first annual prize giving at Frognal where he represented those who had received their prizes at Gower Street. The new school buildings were designed byArnold Mitchell and built by the Dove Brothers. The main school block has beenGrade II listed on theNational Heritage List for England since May 1974.[4]
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, opened the Sixth Form Centre (in the Kent Building, which also houses the Lund Theatre) in 1974.Elizabeth II visited the school in 1980 to celebrate its 150th anniversary and to inaugurate the rebuilt hall, which had been destroyed by fire in 1978. In 2021, UCS opened a new, state of the art, sixth form center known as the 'AKO Sixth Form Center'.
In 2006 the SirRoger Bannister Sports Centre was officially opened by Bannister (himself an Old Gower), which is now known as UCS Active, a gym with memberships open to the public for use of the school tennis courts, pool, gym and exercise classes.
In 2007 a new art, design technology and modern languages building came into use and was opened as theJeremy Bentham building byPrince Richard, Duke of Gloucester on 22 May 2008. In 2009, girls were admitted into the newly co-educationalsixth form for the first time.
The school motto isPaulatim Sed Firmiter (Latin for "Slowly but surely"). In 2016, the school updated its logo to incorporate its widely known name of UCS Hampstead and to include the full motto in its roundel emblem.[citation needed] UCS publishes a termly online newsletter calledTheFrognal and a yearly printed magazine calledThe Gower sent to current and past pupils.
The school song,Paulatim, is sung at the end of every term and the annual speech day and prize giving ceremony. This usually involves pupils throwing their hands in the air in sets of threes, to the phrasePaulatim, Paulatim, Paulatim. This tradition originated with the throwing of printed song sheets into the air.[5][better source needed]
The Senior School is divided into three sections by age, and each year has a name. Each section is led by a head of section.
Pupils in the lower school are arranged into houses, each named after an influential figure with a connection to North London. In the lower school, there is one form per year in each house. The five houses are as follows: Bannister (black), Bonnington (silver), Kendall (blue), MacArthur (green), and Seacole (yellow).[6]
Pupils in the middle school and upper school are arranged into ‘Demes’, each named after a former prominent member of staff. This is similar to a schoolhouse. The current arrangement has been in place since 1946, shortly after a large influx of new pupils (replacing the previous eight houses), although this was in discussion in years prior to the switch.[citation needed] In the middle school, the school blazer carries a logo on the breast pocket, coloured according to the pupil's Deme. There are six Demes, each with one or two corresponding colours: Baxters (blue), Black Hawkins (yellow), Evans (pink and black), Flooks (green), Olders (silver), and Underwoods (purple).[7] As well as a Deme warden (housemaster/housemistress),[7] each deme has deme captains (head of house) who are students in the Sixth who are chosen each year by their Deme warden.[8]Colours are awarded through an accumulation of academic and extra-curricular achievements. In the Middle School, there are three separate ties awarded to pupils upon reaching milestones of ten, twenty, and thirty certificates. Pupils in the lower school receive similar awards, in the form of a tie followed by a school logo to be sewn onto the breast pocket of the student's blazer, awarded upon the achievement of ten and twenty-two certificates respectively.[9] There are regular inter-deme competitions in sport, music, drama, and other subjects throughout the year.[10][11][12]
There are five main points of entry for prospective pupils:
 | This list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Please helpimprove it by addingreliable sources for existing names which prove they are alumni. Unsourced names may be challenged and removed.(December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Former pupils are known as Old Gowers, which was derived fromGower Street where the school was founded. Notable Old Gowers include:
Notable former staff include:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)| International | |
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