| Shrewsbury School Libera Scola Grammaticalis Regis Edvadri Sexti King Edward VI School at Shrewsbury | |
|---|---|
 | |
.jpg) | |
| Location | |
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Kingsland ,, SY3 7BA England | |
| Coordinates | 52°42′14″N2°45′44″W / 52.7038°N 2.7622°W /52.7038; -2.7622 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public school Privateboarding school |
| Motto | Latin:Intus Si Recte Ne Labora (If Right Within, Trouble Not) |
| Religious affiliation | Church of England |
| Established | 1552; 474 years ago (1552)[1] |
| Founder | King Edward VI |
| Local authority | Shropshire Council |
| Department for Education URN | 123608Tables |
| Chair of Governing Body | James Pitt[2] |
| Headmaster | Leo Winkley |
| Staff | ca. 120 |
| Gender | Co-educational (from 2015) |
| Age | 13 to 18 |
| Enrolment | ca. 840 |
| Houses | 12 |
| Colours | Royal Blue and White |
| Publication | The Salopian |
| Alumni | Old Salopians |
| School Song | Carmen Salopiense |
| Website | www.shrewsbury.org.uk |
 | This article'slead sectionmay be too short to adequatelysummarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead toprovide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(January 2026) |
Shrewsbury School is aprivate school inShrewsbury,Shropshire, England.
It was founded in 1552 byEdward VI byroyal charter,[1] to replace the town's Anglo-Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century. It is one of the sevenpublic schools in the UK subject to thePublic Schools Act 1868 and one of the nine schools reviewed by theClarendon Commission between 1861 and 1864.[3] The school is notable for being the education site of renowned scientistCharles Darwin.
It was originally founded as aboarding school for boys. In 2008, however, girls were accepted in thesixth form. Since 2015 Shrewsbury School has been aco-educational school. As at Michaelmas Term 2023, Shrewsbury School had 842 pupils: 522 boys and 320 girls. The school has seven boys', and five girls' houses.[4] Alumni of the school are known asOld Salopians.
The present school site, to which the school moved in 1882, is on the south bank of theRiver Severn.[1]
Since Saxon times theCollegiate Churches of
were providing education in the town, complemented by the foundation ofShrewsbury Abbey in the 11th century.[8]
These were broken up by theReformation,[9][10][11][12] although there is a mention of a grammar school at Shrewsbury in a court case of 1439.[13]
Shrewsbury School was founded in response to those interruptions to the town's ancient traditions in education in the sixteenth century: the disruption caused significant local ill feeling,[14] and by 1542, townspeople were beginning to petitionHenry VIII for remedy. They devised a scheme hoping to use the proceeds from the dissolution ofShrewsbury Abbey for a renewed provision of education. They were not immediately successful.[9]
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The statesmanSir Rowland Hill had the grant of certain of the abbey's holdings[15] and was involved in the founding petitions.[16][17][18] Also involved in the founding petitions wasReginald Corbet (who married Hill's heiress, Alice Gratewood), ajustice of the peace for Shropshire and commissioner forchantries in the county, who was paid ten shillings in 1548 "for a supplication exhibited to theLord Chancellor to obtain a free school".[19] Significantly, there was also a receipt for 20 pence to bribe theLord Chancellor's servant to win his ear.
Shrewsbury School was founded by charter granted byKing Edward VI on 10 February 1552.[9]
The school began operation in a house and land purchased from John Proude in 1551,[20] together with three rented half-timbered buildings, which included Riggs Hall, built in 1450. These are now the only remaining part of the original buildings occupied by the institution. Archaeological excavations of the sites of these first buildings in 1978 revealed finds going back to the Saxon period, along with relics of the school, now in the town collections.[20]
The early curriculum was based on ContinentalCalvinism under its foundational headmaster,Thomas Ashton (appointed 1562). Prior to his appointment a special license had been obtained fromMathew Parker,Elizabeth I's firstArchbishop of Canterbury, on the grounds that Ashton not being available would damage the progress of the school's foundation.[21] Ashton was a contemporary ofRoger Ascham atSt John's, Cambridge: Ascham was a writer on theories of education and served in the administrations of Edward VI,Mary I, and Elizabeth I, having earlier acted as Elizabeth's tutor in Greek and Latin between 1548 and 1550.[22]
Early pupils were taught the catechism ofCalvin. The school attracted large numbers of pupils from Protestant families in Shropshire, North Wales and beyond, with 266 boys on its roll at the end of 1562.[23]
Early pupils lodged with local families. For example,Sir Philip Sidney (who had a well-known correspondence with his father about his schooling)[24][25][26] lodged in thecastle ward withGeorge Leigh, who had been Member of Parliament forShrewsbury.[27] In this period Elizabeth I's favouriteRobert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester also visited the school to see his nephew Thomas Sidney and attended a service at St Mary's Church.[28]
Sidney attended the school along with his lifelong friendFulke Greville (later Lord Brooke),[29][30] The literary output of these school-day associations became significant: in 1579Francis Bacon joined their circle, which also included Mary Sidney (Philip's brother, by thenCountess of Pembroke).[31]
Ashton resigned his headmastership in 1568. From 1571, Ashton was in the service ofWalter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, was involved in the education of his son the2nd Earl,[32] and was employed in confidential communications with Queen Elizabeth I and thePrivy Council.
Having achieved a reputation for excellence under Ashton, in 1571 the school was augmented by Elizabeth I. By 1581, the school had 360 pupils, and it was described byWilliam Camden in 1582 as "the best filled [school] in all England";[3] the population of the town grew by about 5% when the boarders returned during term time during this period. In 1585 the schoolboys stood in battle array with bows and arrows by the castle gates when theEarl of Essex entered the town.[20]
In 1578 Ashton returned to Shrewsbury, where he had been ordered by anindenture of Elizabeth I[33] to set out the ordinances governing the school, which were in force until 1798. Under these regulations, the borough bailiffs (mayors after 1638) had the power to appoint masters, with Ashton's oldSt John's College, Cambridge having an academic veto.[21] Shrewsbury has retained links with the college, with the continued appointment of Johnian academics to the Governing Body, and the historic awarding of "closed" Shrewsbury Exhibitions.
Scholars from the school were from time to time employed by the local community to draw and witness bonds for illiterate tradesmen in this period; for instance Richard Langley (whose father, a prosperous tailor, had purchased theShrewsbury Abbey site after the dissolution) could remember being asked by acooper in 1556 to witness a bond "at what time he was a scholar in the free school of Shrewsbury" aged about fifteen.[34]
In 1608 the town and the school were in fierce dispute about who should be appointed second master. The headmaster, John Meighen, wished to promote the third master, Ralph Gittins; the town wished to appoint Simon Moston on the recommendation of St John's College, whose fellows had a say in the appointment of new masters. When the town's bailiffs came to install their preferred candidate on 31 August 1608, the building had already been occupied by about 60 women from the town (including three spinsters, two widows, the wives of mercers, tailors, weavers, butchers, shoemakers, tanners, glovers, carpenters and coopers) taking the headmaster's side and preferring Gittins on the basis that only the son of a burgess could serve as second master. Jamming the school benches against the doors, they barricaded themselves in the school until the following Saturday, passing a "great hammer" between themselves which had been used to gain entry to the school. The authorities sought to read the Statute on Rebellion, but the women made such a noise nobody could hear it. The incident provoked a mass of litigation in the courts ofChancery andStar Chamber in Westminster.[35]
A house (today called Stone Grange) was built for the school in 1617 in the nearby village ofGrinshill as a retreat in times of plague.[36][37]
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The stone buildings on Castle Gates, including a chapel, dormitories, library and classrooms, were completed by 1630, with Ashton's successor, John Meighen, founding achained library in 1606,[38] though the library had begun making acquisitions by 1596, with a terrestrial globe by the first English globe makerEmery Molineux being its first acquisition.[39] The bookcases in the library (with the books chained to them) projected from the walls between the windows on both sides of the room forming alcoves for study: an arrangement that may still be seen inDuke Humphrey's Library in Oxford. The completion of this room was celebrated by the masters and Bailiffs on 1 October 1612 by taking cake and wine in the new space.[20]
Shrewsbury was occupied on behalf of theKing during theCivil War, who briefly made the town his capital[9] from September 1642.[40][41] A council of war was appointed for the whole district, of whichLord Capel was president. This council held its meetings in the school library, and some of the school's books were damaged during this time.
Around September 1642 a contentious "Royal Loan" was made to Charles I of £600 (around 75% of the money in the school exchequer at the time); a further £47 was lent to the corporation of the town. The loan was acknowledged under seal by the king in the following terms:
Charles Rex
Trusty and well beloved we greet you well. Whereas ye have, out of your good affection to our present service and towards the supply of our extraordinary occasions, lent unto us the sum of £600, being a stock belonging to your school founded by our royal predecessor King Edward the Sixth, in this our Town of Shrewsbury. We do hereby promise that we shall cause the same to be truly repaid unto you whensoever ye shall demand the same, and shall always remember the loan of it as a very acceptable service unto us. Given under our Signet at our Court at Shrewsbury this nth[clarification needed] of October, 1642.
To our trusty and well beloved Richard Gibbons, late Mayor of our Town of Shrewsbury, and Thomas Chaloner, Schoolmaster of our Free School there.
This was considered a misappropriation of the school's funds. This was litigated in theCourt of Chancery and before theLords Commissioners of the Great Seal by the corporation of the town after the end of the civil war. The record of the royal loan appeared in the school register at the time of the November audit of 1642, but was torn out by the time the matter was before the courts. The borrowed funds were never recovered.[9]
During theCommonwealth period following the execution of Charles I, Richard Baxter suggested the establishment of a university to serve Wales at Shrewsbury, using the school's premises, but due to lack of financial provision it came to nothing.[20] Had that scheme come to fruition the town of Shrewsbury would have the third oldest university in England behind Oxford and Cambridge.
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The history of the school between 1664 and 1798 is not easily available, as the registers and papers between these periods have been lost for many years. Nevertheless, diplomatRichard Hill,Baron Digby Governor ofKing's County in Ireland,Robert Price, Justice of theCourt of Common Pleas, poet and politicianArthur Maynwaring andThomas Bowers,Bishop of Chichester, attended the school at this time.[9]
Celia Fiennes visited the school in 1698 and recorded the school as follows: "Here are three free schooles together, built of free stone, 3 Large roomes to teach the Children, wth severall masters. Ye first has 150£ a year ye second 100 ye third 50£ a year and teach Children from reading English till fit for ye University, and its free for Children not only of ye town but for all over England if they Exceed not ye numbers... ".[42]
In the early eighteenth century,Daniel Defoe also visited the school, noting: "Here is a good Free-school, the most considerable in this Part of England; founded by King Edward VI and endowed by Queen Elizabeth, with a very sufficient Maintenance for a Chief or Headmaster, and three Under-masters or Ushers. The Buildings, which are of Stone, are very spacious, particularly the Library, which has a great many Books in it. The School-masters have also very handsome Houses to dwell in; for that the Whole has the Face of a College."[43][44]
A wing was added to the buildings on the original site during the Georgian period, connected to Rigg's Hall and spanning the old town wall. Although this building was listed at grade two it was demolished around 100 years after the school had vacated the building when Shropshire County Council, who operated the buildings as a public library were engaged in major restorations works in the 1980s because the structure was by then unsound.[20]
| Shrewsbury Free Grammar School Act 1798 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An act for the better government and regulation of the free grammar school of King Edward the Sixth, at Shrewsbury, in the county of Salop. |
| Citation | 38 Geo. 3. c. lxviii |
| Territorial extent | Great Britain |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 28 June 1798 |
| Commencement | 28 June 1798[a] |
Status: Current legislation | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
In 1798, a specific act of Parliament, theShrewsbury Free Grammar School Act 1798 (38 Geo. 3. c. lxviii),[45] was passed for the better government of the school.[46][47][48] The act contains an oath to be taken by the governors, and confirmedLord Chancellor asvisitor (as for all Royal foundations).
This statutory scheme was later amended by theCourt of Chancery, in 1853.
The school had just three headmasters during the 19th century.
Samuel Butler was appointed headmaster in 1798. Writing at this time he observed: "This school was once the Eton or the Westminster ofWales and all Shropshire",[3] and under his leadership the school's reputation, which had receded from theCivil War, again grew.[49] In 1839 an incident known as the "Boiled Beef Row" took place, where the boys walked out of the school in protest at the food, and the praepostors were all removed from office.[9] In this period (1818–1825)Charles Darwin attended the school.[50]
Butler was succeeded by his pupilBenjamin Hall Kennedy (ofLatin Primer fame) in 1836,[49] who in turn gave way toHenry Whitehead Moss in 1866.
The school's original Castle Gates premises had little in way of provision for games. Under Dr Butler, there were two fives courts and playgrounds in front of and behind the buildings, but after the arrival of Dr Kennedy football was permitted, for which the school acquired a ground inCoton Hill (north of Castle Gates).[52]
Under Butler and Kennedy, Shrewsbury was one of three provincial schools among the nine studied by theClarendon Commission of 1861–64 (the schools considered beingEton,Charterhouse,Harrow,Rugby,Westminster, andWinchester, and two day schools:St Paul's andMerchant Taylors).[53] Shrewsbury went on to be included in thePublic Schools Act 1868, which ultimately related only to the boarding schools.
The school continued in the 1600s buildings on its original site, until it was relocated in 1882, when Moss moved the school from its original town centre location to a new site of 150 acres (61 ha) in Kingsland (an area of land which at one time belonged to the Crown and granted to the Corporation at "a rather remote period, the exact date of which appears not to be known", but apparently before 1180[54]), on the south bank of theRiver Severn overlooking the town. A legacy of this move can be seen in the school premises being referred to as "The Site".
In the laterRenaissance, this land had been devoted to elaborate performances, with grand arbours being built by the guilds.[55] Some of the arbours survive, such as the for the Shoemakers (now in theQuarry Park).[55]
The school was relocated in the current Main School Building which dates from 1765 and had at different times housed afoundling hospital and the Shrewsburyworkhouse, before translating to this current use. In order to meet this new purpose, it was remodelled bySir Arthur Blomfield (whose other educational commissions includeMarlborough College andLady Margaret Hall, Oxford).
At this time, the original premises were converted to a publicFree Library and Museum by the Shrewsbury Borough Council, opening in their new role in 1885;[56] over the course of the 20th century the library purpose gradually took over the whole building, to which major restoration was done in 1983.[57][52]
Blomfield also designed School House, to the east of the Main School building which was constructed during the 1880s.[58] The new Riggs Hall (which had existed from Tudor buildings at the old site[59]) was also built at this time,[60] as was Churchill's Hall[61] and Moser's Hall:[62] these buildings are the work ofWilliam White.[63][64][65]
Agothic chapel was built for the school (also by Blomfield) in 1887, though it has been noted that "Christian religion played only a very small part in the life of the Public Schools... [and] at Shrewsbury the Governors refused to allow Butler to address the school at a service" prior to this increased focus in the Victorian period.[29] Its south and east windows in the chapel are byKempe, employing medieval narrative style for lives of saints, scenes from the history of the school.[66]
Other buildings have since grown up around the edge of the site, with sports pitches in the centre, with diverse buildings being added to the new site over the last 130 years.
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The main school building suffered a major fire in 1905.[67][68] Moss was succeeded in 1908 byCyril Alington, then Master in College atEton. Alington, though a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, was a sportsman, evidenced by the 1914 appointment as his secretary ofNeville Cardus, the future cricket journalist who had joined the school in 1912 as the school's assistant cricket professional.
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At the time of his appointment as Headmaster, Alington was younger than any of the masters on the staff, so to bring in new blood into the teaching staff, he recruited several former Collegers from Eton, most notablyThe Rev. Ronald Knox. Alington wrote the school song and commissioned its flag (abanner of arms of its coat of arms),[69] and he was an energetic builder; the school Alington Hall (assembly hall) is named after him. In December 1914 he wrote a poem, "To the School at War", which was published inThe Times.[70][71] After leaving Shrewsbury, Alington went on to serve asChaplain to the King toKing George V from 1921 until 1933, and thenDean of Durham, from 1933 to 1951. He appeared on the cover ofTime magazine on 29 June 1931. "An accomplished classicist, a witty writer especially of light verse, and a priest of orthodox convictions ..."[72]
During the Edwardian period Oldham's Hall was built (1911).[73]
The First World War saw 321 former members of the school die serving their country.[74] A war memorial was added to the school in 1923 for these fallen.[75] This memorial was added to after theSecond World War to include the 135 members of the school who fell in that conflict.[76] The monument includes a statue ofSir Phillip Sidney, the Elizabeth soldier, poet and courtier (who himself was an alumnus of the school and died of wounds sustained at theBattle of Zutphen in 1586),[77] and faces the Main School building down an avenue oflinden trees, known as 'central'.
The current library building was added in 1916.[78]
MountaineerAndrew Irvine, who, withGeorge Mallory may have reached the summit ofMount Everest in the1924 British Everest Expedition attended Shrewsbury during theFirst World War.[79] During the 1920s the Georgian villa houses at Severn Hill[80] and Ridgemount[81] were acquired by the school and adapted into boarding houses. Severn Hill, the linear decedent of the house of which Irvine was captain, holds his ice axe from the expedition, discovered in 1933 by Wyn Harris.[82]
Between 1944 and 1950John Wolfenden (later Lord Wolfenden) was headmaster; he left Shrewsbury to becomeVice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Reading. He was appointed to various public body chairmanships by thePrivy Council, and also went on to be director of theBritish Museum. His name is closely associated with the 1957Wolfenden Report, which he chaired.
In 1952, the school was 400 years old. It received a royal visit to mark the occasion,[83] and presented the town with a new cross[84] for the historic site of the town'shigh cross (which had been removed in 1705) at the termination of the market street which was a starting point for civic and religious processions in the medieval town and a significant location (the place of execution ofEarl of Worcester and others after theBattle of Shrewsbury in 1403, and ofDafydd III, last nativePrince of Wales in 1283).[85]
The futureDeputy Prime Minister of the UKMichael Heseltine attended the school immediately after the Second World War on a scholarship.[86] A number of the founders and writers of the satirical magazinePrivate Eye attended the school in the 1950s.[87]Willy Rushton was also at the school at this time.[86] The comedian, actor, writer and television presenterMichael Palin ofMonty Python's Flying Circus attended the school shortly afterwards and a scholarship is now available named for him.[88]
Between 1963 and 1975Donald Wright served as headmaster.The Times has called Wright a "great reforming headmaster". While there, working with theAnglican Diocese of Liverpool, Wright took a leading role in the building of a new Shrewsbury House, the school's mission inLiverpool, which was opened in 1974 byPrincess Anne. He secured many leading churchmen to come to preach in the school chapel, includingDonald Coggan,Archbishop of Canterbury. After retiring as a headmaster in 1975, Wright became the Archbishop of Canterbury's Patronage Secretary, chaired the William Temple Foundation, and served as Secretary to theCrown Appointments Commission.[89]
In the 1960s, Kingsland House, another 19th century gentleman's residence was acquired by the school and adapted for use for central catering for all pupils (previously food had been arranged in houses).[90] A new science building was also added in the 1960s.[91]
Sir Eric Anderson served as headmaster between 1975 and 1980. He went on to be Rector ofLincoln College, Oxford, chairman of theHeritage Lottery Fund andProvost of Eton, among other roles.
In 1988, another Georgian villa house, the Grove, was bought and adapted for use as boarding house.[92] In 1996 a new IT building, the Craig Building, was added.[91]
Since the turn of the millennium, the school's site has seen investment, beginning with the addition of a statue of alumnus Charles Darwin to the site to mark the millennium, which was unveiled bySir David Attenborough.[93]
A new music school, The Maidment Building, was opened byKing Charles III (whenPrince of Wales) in 2001.[94]
Girls were admitted to the school for the first time into the sixth-form in 2008, and the school became fully coeducational in 2015.[95]
Two new boarding houses have been built, one named afterMary Sidney (completed 2006),[96] and one afterEmma Darwin (completed 2011).[97]
Further additions to the site have been made: an indoor cricket centre (2006)[98] and a new swimming pool (2007);[99] the rowing facilities were extended with a new Yale Boat house, which was opened by OlympianMatt Langridge in 2012;[100] A new Computing and Design faculty building, "the Chatri Design Centre" was established in 2017, re-purposing and redeveloping a former humanities building;[101] and in 2015 a new building, Hodgeson Hall, was built to house the humanities departments.[102]
A new theatre was opened in 2022.[103]
In 2023 a new boarding house was opened, named to honour Elizabeth II.[104]
The main sport in the Michaelmas (autumn) term is football, in the Lent termfives and rugby, and in summer cricket. Rowing takes place in all three terms. The kit of many of the sports teams shows across pattée from the crown in the school's coat of arms,[105] which is a practice that has been in place for at least 150 years. During much of the twentieth century, this cross was used solely by the school's boatclub.[106]
Admission of girls in 2015 has seen the introduction of hockey and netball, with cricket and tennis played during the summer term.
The present school buildings in Kingsland are arranged around the sports fields which have nine grass football pitches, two HockeyAstroturf and a 4G artificial football pitch (completed in 2023); almost all boys play football in theMichaelmas term, with girls playing football in the Lent term.[107]
Football, as a formal game, was incubated at the public schools of the nineteenth century and Shrewsbury had a key role in the game's development.[108] Salopians were prominent in the early history of the organised game atCambridge University, according to Adrian Harvey "Salopians formed a club of their own in the late 1830s/early 1840s but that was presumably absorbed by theCambridge University Football Club that they were so influential in creating in 1846".[109] The school has an 1856 copy of theCambridge rules of football, predating the 1863 rules ofthe FA.
In these early years, each of the schools had their own versions of the game, and by the 1830s the version played at Shrewsbury had become known as "douling", taking this name from the Greek word for slave: the goal had no cross bar, favoured dribbling, and was being formally supported by the school's authorities to the extent it was compulsory. While, at the beginning of the 18th century, however, the school authorities deemed football "only fit for butchers boys", an attitude common at the other public schools,[110][3] by the 1840s all boarders were required to play Douling three times a week unless they were excused on medical grounds.[111]
From 1853, the national press was publishing reports of football at the school, although at this time matches were predominantly between the various Houses. The school's first captain of football was appointed in 1854, and a school team was formed in the early 1860s for external matches.[112] Also by the 1860s football was sufficiently well-established for all Houses to field 1st and 2nd XI sides across all age groups.[111]
TheArthur Dunn Challenge Cup (annual football cup competition played between the Old Boys of public schools started in 1903) was contested by Shrewsbury and Charterhouse in the first ever final, and shared by the two institutions following two draws, with two Morgan-Owen brothers choosing instead to turn out for Shrewsbury, instead of playing internationally in a Wales vs. Ireland game for which they had been selected.[113] Shrewsbury has won the Arthur Dunn Challenge Cup a total of 11 times, including the Centenary Cup Final in 2003,[114] a replay of the first final in 1903. A club of Old Salopians attending theUniversity of Cambridge, who had started playingassociation football in 1874,[115] entered theFA Cup in1875-76, but scratched when drawn away toOxford University.
Shrewsbury has won theIndependent Schools Football Association Boodles ISFA Cup twice: in 2000 and 2010.
In 2024, Shrewsbury School were crowned English Schools Football Association (ESFA) National Champions.[116]
TheRoyal Shrewsbury School Boat Club (RSSBC) is one of the oldest school rowing clubs, having begun as an unofficial sport frowned upon by the authorities, in the late 18th or early 19th century and the first official event being known to have happened in 1839, complete with military bands.[117] The boat club was finally officially constituted in 1866.[118]
Since the boat club began rowing atHenley Royal Regatta in 1912, they have won 14 times. Shrewsbury is only seconded in victories atHenley to Eton, having won specifically:
Shrewsbury is one of only two public schools to havebumps races, the other beingEton, between the houses. They are rowed over four evenings at the end of term in July. There are usually three boats entered per house. On the fourth evening there are prizes for the leaders of the chart and the Leadbitter Cup for the boat which has made the most bumps over the four nights. The event is marshalled by senior rowers and rowing prefects, usually masters.[121] The crew training is mainly pupil driven, though in preparation forHenley the school's First VIII rowers often do not take part, and therefore the boats are composed of other rowers and some non-rowers. Previously, races were run every day until there were no more bumps (i.e. until they were nominally in speed order). This historical set-up could lead to weeks of racing and it was therefore abandoned in favour of a four-day version more than 100 years ago.[citation needed] Otherwise, it is onlyOxford andCambridge that continue to have bumps. Shrewsbury and Eton both race bumps in fours whilst Oxford and Cambridge race in eights.
The town's rowing club,Pengwern Boat Club, has close historical links to the School's rowing activities, and for a time they jointly rented a boat house at the site of the current Pengwern club house.[122]
A former captain of the boat club,John Lander, is the onlyOlympicgold medallist to have been killed in action in World War 2.[123]GB Olympic silver medalistRebecca Romero, andParalympian Becca Chin both recently been appointed to coach within the club.[124]
The Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt (RSSH or "the Hunt") is the oldest cross-country club in the world, with written records (the Hound Books) going back to 1831 and evidence that it was established by 1819.[125] The sport of "the Hunt" or "the Hounds", now known as aPaper Chase, was formalised at the school around 1800. Two runners (the "foxes") made a trail with paper shreds and after a set time they would be pursued by the other runners (the "hounds"). The club officers are the Huntsman and Senior and Junior Whips. The hounds start most races paired into "couples" as in realfox hunting; the winner of a race is said to "kill".[126] Certain of the races are started by the Huntsman, carrying a 200-year-old bugle and a ceremonial whip, dressed in scarlet shirt and a black velvet cap shouting:
All hounds who wish to run, run hard, run well, and may the devil take the hindmost
before lounging[clarification needed] the bugle: and this has been done for nearly 200 years.[127]
In his 1903 semi-autobiographical novelThe Way of All Flesh, Old SalopianSamuel Butler describes a school based on Shrewsbury where the main protagonist's favourite recreation is running with "the Hounds" so "a run of six or seven miles across country was no more than he was used to".[128] The first definite record of the Annual Steeplechase is in 1834, making it the oldest cross-country race of the modern era.[125]
The main inter-house cross-country races are still called the Junior and Senior Paperchase, although no paper is dropped and urban development means the historical course can no longer be followed. Every October the whole school participates in a 3.5-mile run called "The Tucks", originally intended to prevent pupils attending a local horse race.[129] It is now run atAttingham Park.[130]
The school also lays claim to the oldesttrack and field meeting still in existence, which originated in the Second Spring Meeting first documented in 1840. This featured a series of mock horse races including the Derby Stakes, the Hurdle Race, the Trial Stakes and a programme of throwing and jumping events, with runners being entered by "owners" and named as though they were horses.[125]
Cricket was being played at Shrewsbury at least as long ago as the 1840s, withCharles Calvert, who went on to win aBlue atCambridge captaining the side between 1842 and 1844.[131][132] The oldest photographic record of a cricket team at the school is from 1868,[133] and a reference was made to an effort to set up a game with Westminster School in 1866 (declined by Westminster) in a House of Commons debate byJim Prior in 1961.[134]Neville Cardus was the school's cricket professional in the early twentieth century.[135]
Boys' 1st XI season focuses on the Silk Trophy, which competed for by Shrewsbury, Eton,Oundle and an overseas touring side at the end of each summer term.[136]
The school competes in theHMC Twenty20 having made the finals day each year since 2010, winning the competition in 2011 and 2013.[137] The school won theLord's Taverners Trophy in 2005.[138]
Old Salopians who have played county cricket includeJames Taylor,Scott Ellis,Nick Pocock,The Hon. Tim Lamb,Ian Hutchinson.,[139]Ed Barnard,Steve Leach,Ed Pollock, Dion Holden,[140]Dave Lloyd,[141]George Garrett,[142]Issy Wong andDillon Pennington.
Eton Fives is a major sport within the school, and there are 14 Fives courts.[143] At the end of the Lent Term the school competes in the Marsh Insurance National Schools Eton Fives Championships, which are held in rotation at Shrewsbury,Highgate and Eton.[144][145]
A world record was set at the school in 1989 for the longest ever game of fives (at 39 hours of playing);[146] this was eclipsed byUppingham School in 2019.[147]
Minor sports include: shooting, fencing, basketball, golf, equestrian, badminton, swimming, hockey, rugby and squash.[148]
Prior to theReformation the site of the school asKingsland was a focus of pageantry and performance.[149][150]
By theearly modern period that cultural practice had developed to the extent that multiple arbours were built over the territory.[55]
Under Thomas Ashton drama flourished. He made it a rule that, boys in the senior form had, every school day, to "declaim and play one Act of Comedy" before breaking from school, and the school put on frequent publicWhitsuntide andmystery plays concerned with moral romance, scripture, and history. In 1565, for instance,Julian the Apostle and another unnamed performance of Ashton's were performed before a large audience, which "listened with admiration and devotion". Queen Elizabeth I, on a journey to the West Midlands in 1565 intended to visit Shrewsbury to see one of these performances, but "her Majesty not having proper information mistook the time and when she came toCoventry, hearing it was over, returned to London". The Quarry park in the town had long been a place for sort and cultural activity in the old town, and this was the site of many of these plays, and a bank there cut in the form of anamphitheatre was established near the rope walk. Such plays were, according toThomas Warton, probably the first fruits of the English theater.[151]
On several occasions the school put on pageants for the visitingCouncil of the Marches, as in 1581 when the Lord President, Sir Henry Sidney, leaving the town bybarge, was greeted by several scholars on an island down stream of thecastle dressed as greennymphs with willow branches tied to their heads reciting verses across the water:
And will your honour needs depart, and must it needs be so.Would God we could like fishes swim, that we might with thee go.
The Lord President was brought close to tears.[152]
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John Weaver, the father of Englishballet,[153] and the originator ofpantomime,[154] was the master at the school in the 1600s.[155] He was responsible for the codification of dance.[156]
He documented courtly dances which were a feature of courtly ritual in the Tudor and Steward period, and were a sincere instrument of statecraft to the holders of public office in those times.[157] In 2023 the school hosted the inaugural "John Weaver Festival of Dance", which included competitive performance of the art, along with an exhibition, which displayed Weavers own papers and material fromSoulton Hall relating to its historic dancing pavement.[158]
The school has the following orchestras ensembles and choirs:[159]
Every other year (and sometimes more often), Shrewsbury puts on its own homegrown school musical which is taken to theEdinburgh Festival Fringe. These have included:[160]
High-profile musicians and performers also visit the school with such visitors including:
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The original buildings and the present school library both have carved stone figures on the buildings. They represent, on the left ΦιλομαθηςPhilomathes [he who loves learning] (a character first penned byKing James I in philosophical dialogue known asDaemonologie) and on the right ΠολυμαθηςPolymathes [he who has much learning]. The first figure has taken his hat off to settle to learning; the second figure is about to place his hat back on, having attended to his studies.
The original carvings are from 1630 and are accompanied by a table which says:
MDCXXX [1630]
ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΕΙΟΝ
ΕΑΝ ΗΣ ΕΣΗ
This is based on a quotation fromIsocrates, "ἐαν ἠς φιλομαθης, ἐσει πολυμαθης", which means "If you are studious (loving learning), you will be(come) learned"; Διδασκαλειον means 'school'.[168]
Although the school left the premises by the castle in 1882, it retained, significantly, the ownership of these statutes which remain in theRenaissance building.[169]
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The School, as of Michaelmas Term 2023, has 842 pupils.[170]
There are seven boys' houses and five girls' houses, each with its own housemaster or housemistress, tutor team and matron. Each house also has its own colours.
The houses and their colours are:
| House | Colours | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Churchill's Hall | Dark Blue & Light Blue | Opened in 1882, listed building |
| Emma Darwin Hall | Wedgwood Blue & Green | Opened in September 2011 |
| The Grove | Cornflower Blue & White | Converted to girls' house in summer 2014 |
| Ingram's Hall | Green & White | Opened in 1900 |
| Mary Sidney Hall | Navy & Cerise | Opened in September 2008 |
| Moser's Hall | Red & Black | Opened in 1884, listed building |
| Oldham's Hall | Chocolate & White | Opened in 1911, listed building |
| Queen Elizabeth Hall | Royal Purple and Dark Green | Opened in September 2023 |
| Ridgemount | Royal Blue & Old Gold | Opened in 1926, listed building |
| Rigg's Hall | Chocolate & Gold | Opened in 1882, listed building |
| School House | Black, Magenta & White | Opened in 1882, listed building |
| Severn Hill | Maroon & French Grey | Formerly known as Chances |
A single house will hold around 70 pupils, School House slightly more.[171][172] Having about 80 pupils, School House used to be divided into Doctors (black and white) and Headroom (magenta and white) for most sporting purposes, whilst being one house in other respects, but this distinction was abolished in around 2000.[173][174]
There are many inter-house competitions: in football, for instance, each house competes in four different leagues (two senior, two junior) and three knock-out competitions (two senior, one junior).[175]
The school has its own song, "Carmen Salopiense", written in 1916 byCyril Alington who was Headmaster at the time.[69]
To celebrate the 400-year anniversary of the school's foundation, in 1952, amasque was written which set out the history, great figures, and values of the school.
Music was by John Ranald Stainer, OBE, FRCM, FRCO, Hon RAM, and the script was written byPaul Dehn OS (best known for the screenplays forGoldfinger,The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, thePlanet of the Apes sequels andMurder on the Orient Express).[176][177]
The school awards a number of prizes, some of which have been running for many years; among these are:
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The Arms of the school are those ofKing Edward VI being The Arms of England (three lions passant) quartered with those of France (fleur-de-lys).[182]
As abanner of arms, this is also used as the school's flag.
The following royal visits have been made to Shrewsbury School:
The schools'prefects are known as præpostors.[190][191][192] The word originally referred to a monasticprior and is lateLatin of theMiddle Ages, derived from classical Latinpraepositus, "placed before".The use ofpraepostor in the context of a school is derived from the practice of using older boys to lead or control the younger boys. Privileges associated with the office are a particular tie showing the school's arms and the right to cycle a bike to lessons. Defining the role in 1821, Dr Butler wrote:
"A præpostor is one of the first eight boys to whom the master delegates a certain share of authority, in whom he reposes confidence, and whose business it is to keep the boys in order, to prevent all kinds of mischief and impropriety..."[29]
House and school ties and scarfs are awarded achievements in co-curricular activities.
The school currently awards around £4 million in fee remissions.[193] Various measures of financial assistance are available to students associated with need and with ability, as set out below:[194]
Art scholarships are awarded annually, most of which carry a fee remission of 10%, and larger awards are sometimes made.
Music scholarships are awarded each year, worth up to 30% of the fees and the scholars receive free music tuition on two instruments.
A small number of Sir Michael Palin All-Rounder Scholarships are awarded each year.
Scholarship awards are also made for drama, sport, and design and technology, and sixth-form scholarships are also available.[195] Bursary support grants are also available.[196]
The school has an ancient library,[197] containing various significant antiquarian books and other items.
The collection includes:
The Moser Gallery, within the library buildings, contains part of the school's collection of paintings.
This includes work byJ. M. W Turner, important nineteenth-century watercolours, and work by alumnusKyffin Williams.[203][204]
Past guest speakers hosted at the school include:
There are dozens of organisations known as 'societies', in many of which pupils come together to discuss a particular topic or to listen to a lecture, presided over by a senior pupil, and often including a guest speaker, they are largely run by the students[citation needed].
Those in existence at present include:
There is also aCombined Cadet Force.
Shrewsbury has the following affiliate schools:
Pupils are admitted at the age of 13 by selective examination,[4] and for approximately ten per cent of the pupils, English is a second or additional language.[1] The fees at Shrewsbury are up to £15,194 a term for UK boarding students and up to £16,004 a term for international boarding students, with three terms per academic year in 2023/24.[223]
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Former pupils are referred to asOld Salopians (from the old name forShropshire).
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Two Old Salopians received theVictoria Cross, both in theFirst World War, 1914–18.
The "Old Salopian Club", now known as the Salopian Club, was founded in 1886.[224] A number of reunions, clubs and activities are arranged by the club. The post nominals OS are used to denote Old Salopians.[225]
Former members of the school have various sporting clubs:
Arrangements for cultural engagement of former members if the school, for instance concerts and plays and art exhibitions are also put on, and there is a programme around careers.[230][231]
A mission inEverton, Liverpool, called "Shrewsbury House" was established in 1903.[232] It is less formally known as "the Shrewsy" and is a youth and community centre associated with St Peter's Church Everton.[233] Michael Heseltine was first introduced to social issues in Liverpool which the took up in the 1980s at this mission.[234]
The charity Medic Malawi, which includes a hospital, two orphanages and The Shrewsbury School Eye Clinic has an ongoing relationships and support from the school community.[235]
During thecoronaviruspandemic of 2020 the school donated over 1,600 items ofpersonal protective equipment to theNHS, including face shields it had 3D printed in its technology labs.[236] It also opened up rooms in its boarding houses for the use of NHS staff.[237]
One of theSouthern Railway, Class V,Schools Class4-4-0 locomotives designed byMaunsell and built atEastleigh and was named "Shrewsbury". Its SR number was 921 and its BR number was 30921. It entered service in 1934 and it was withdrawn in 1962 from use on railways. A name plate (one of two) is preserved in the Admissions Offices/Registry of the school.[238]
The school maintains a farmhouse at Talargerwyn inSnowdonia.[239][240] This is used for outward-bound type activities and research trips.
In September 2005, the school was one of fifty independent schools operatingindependent school fee-fixing, in breach of theCompetition Act, 1998. All of the schools involved were ordered to abandon this practice, pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 each and to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information had been shared.[241][242]
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