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RGS Worcester and The Alice Ottley School
[[File:Being designed File:Rgsw.jpg File:Ao crest.png |frameless|upright=1|class=logo]]
Location
Worcester, Worcestershire United Kingdom
Information
Type	Private coeducational secondary
Motto	Respice et Prospice / Canadia Rectaque
Established	2007 (merger of: RGS Worcester (founded ante 1291) and The Alice Ottley School (founded 1883))
Headmaster	Andrew Rattue
Age range	3-18
Enrolment	934
Colour(s)	Green, Blue, White
Affiliations	HMC
Website	http://www.rgsao.org/rgsao

RGS Worcester and The Alice Ottley School (known as RGSAO for short) is a coeducational, private, day school in Worcestershire, United Kingdom. It was formed from the merger of RGS Worcester and The Alice Ottley School in September 2007. The headmaster of the school is Andrew Rattue, who was headmaster of the Royal Grammar School prior to the merger.

History

As the origin of the school lies along the two paths of both the RGS and AO, the school has a somewhat complex and interesting history. The school can trace its origins back to and before 1291.

RGS Worcester

RGS Worcester (Royal Grammar School Worcester) was originally founded as a secular monastic school in Worcester around 685 by Bishop Bosel. It was located outside the monastic precincts (as with the The King's School, Canterbury) and catered for the relatives of monks and children intending to go into the monastery. The first written reference to the school appears in 1265 when the Bishop of Worcester, Walter de Cantelupe, sent four chaplains into the city to teach.

Conclusive evidence appears in 1291 when an argument was settled by Bishop Godfrey Giffard regarding who owned the wax from the candles used at the feast of St Swithun. It was decided that the Scholars of the Worcester School owned the wax, and the Rector of Saint Nicholas Church had to rely on the generosity of the scholars in order to get candle wax. The headmaster is mentioned as Stephen of London. The letter dated December 1291 is in the County Records Office in Worcester.

The next headmaster was appointed in 1312 as Hugh of Northampton as recorded in the Bishop's register for that year. He was appointed personally by the Bishop of Worcester, Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor Walter Reynolds. The school continued to exist under the control of the city guilds through the centuries with various records of headmasters being appointed, again listed in the registers of the bishops of Worcester. One in particular was 'Sir Richard (Chaplain)', who was dismissed by the bishop of Worcester, Philip Morgan, in 1422 for taking money from the scholars for his own use. He was replaced the same year by Sir John Bredel. Sir Richard Pynnington was appointed in 1485 and is known to have given money to the Archbishop of Canterbury's fund, showing the strong connection of the school with the church.

Royal charters

Bishop Hugh Latimer wrote to Thomas Cromwell, Lord Chancellor, in 1535 asking for money to help with the City Walls, the Bridge and the School again showing the school's connection with the Bishop. Indeed the school was often referred to as the Bishop's School. After a petition by some notable citizens of Worcester to endow the school permanently, the school was given a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1561 and a governing body known as the Six Masters was set up, which remains as the governing body today. Amongst famous Six masters are John Wall, Earl Beauchamp and Sir Anthony Lechemere.

The Six Masters acquired much land for the school including its current site bought in 1562, the Pitchcroft fields, now used as the city racecourse, and land in Herefordshire still owned by the school. The 1906 Charity Commission survey also recorded a number of Pubs in Worcester which still exist today.

A second Royal Charter was granted in 1843 by Queen Victoria, and the title of 'Royal' was conferred in 1869 after the school moved to its present site in Worcester. (It is interesting to note that when Queen Victoria presented the school with three volumes, personally signed by her, she seemed to forget the title of the school. The first volume, Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands 1848 to 1861, referred to the school as the 'Royal Free School of Worcester'; whilst the second volume she presented, More Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands 1862 to 1882, had the name of the school as 'Queen Elizabeth's Free Grammar School, Worcester.)

Rival schools

In 1501 an attempt was made at establishing a rival school in the city, but the Bishop of Worcester at the time, Sylvestre de Giglis, passed a law that stated any person who set up a school in the city or monastic precincts would be excommunicated. Thus all rivals ceased to exist, and the headmaster of that said school, Hugh Cratford MA, was created headmaster of the City School in 1504.

In 1541, however, Henry VIII founded a new school in Worcester; The King's School Worcester was based on the former site of the Royal Grammar School, and to this day there still exists a level of rivalry between the two schools, which manifests itself most obviously in sports fixtures (mainly rugby) between the two schools. The most prominent of these fixtures being one that occurs once a year between the schools 1st XV on the neutral site of Worcester Rugby Club.

The Alice Ottley School

The Alice Ottley School was founded by Canon William Butler of Wantage and Alice Ottley on the 21st of June 1883, taking only 11 girls in its first year. Canon Butler had arrived in Worcester in 1881 and he noted that whilst the provision of education for boys was good (with the Royal Grammar School and the King's School), there was nothing of the same calibre for girls. The school was originally called 'The Worcester High School for Girls' before it was renamed in 1913 in honour of its first headmistress Miss Alice Ottley and became 'The Alice Ottley School'.

Ottley possessed little formal education. The daughter of a clergyman, she had a deep Christian faith, indeed, having nursed both her parents through their final illnesses, she had determined to enter an Anglican order of nuns and it was only Canon Butler's persuasion that her vocation lay in teaching that stopped her. Within two years, of its inception, the school grew to 125 pupils. Ottley remained headmistress until 1912, despite suffering bouts of ill health.

Alice Ottley died on 18th September 1912, on the first day of the new Autumn Term. On 21st September, the day of her funeral and a Saturday, saw all of Worcester's shops closed and all blinds drawn as a mark of respect for her life, Christian faith and contribution to the life of the city. She was buried at Astwood Cemetery, with the inscription 'In Thy Light we shall see Light'. In 1957, the City of Worcester added its own, more lasting commemmoration in the form of a window in the Cloisters of the Cathedral.

Miss Ottley's successor was Margaret Spurling, who was Headmistress from 1912 until 1934. Of her, Miss Ottley had written 'My successor, to my great joy, is appointed and she is all that I can desire'. Miss Spurling had received a formal education and had taken a degree in Classics at London. She had gained wide experience as a teacher, teaching even as far afield as a Church School in Canada as well as at the Francis Holland School in London. She too had a 'nun-like devoutness for faith' . Spurling modernised the school in a number of ways. She introduced the sport of Lacrosse, established three Guide Companies and created the old girls' association. She organised the day girls into Houses, embarked on a building programme and purchased land around 'Springfield' in Britannia Square for a lacrosse pitch. Underpinning all of these achievements was the excellent progress she oversaw in the academic sphere, achieving a 'hat trick' -every year for three years a girl achieved a Classics Scholarship to Oxford.

The School had well- established links with Worcester Cathedral where the annual Carol Service and Prize–giving were held. The School was associated with two great British artists – the renowned British composer Edward Elgar and the writer Lewis Carroll. Elgar was a visiting teacher of the violin in Miss Ottley’s day whilst Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland, was a great friend of Miss Ottley’s and regularly visited the school.

Merger

On Saturday, 10th December 2006, the schools announced the merger, after the news had been leaked to the press the previous day . The merger itself took place on the 1st September 2007.

School Crest

The school crest for the new school is currently being designed. It is likely to contain significant parts of each crest, like the black pears on the RGS crest, and the lilies on the AO crest. Both the current crests are shown above.

Junior Schools

The school has two junior schools:

• RGS The Grange, origianlly part of RGS Worcester.
• AO Springfield, originally part of The Alice Ottley School.

Both of the junior schools are now co-educational, completing the school's change to fully integrated co-education.

Land and buildings

Many of the current ex-RGS buildings were paid for by the great benefactor and collector Charles William Dyson Perrins, who was an Old Boy and a Six Master. Perrins Hall was named after his father James Dyson Perrins, owner of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, who went to the school. The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) was set up in 1910 and continues to this day, with a rifle range being incorporated into the basement of Perrins Hall in 1914.

The School Playing Fields are located nearby at the back of the school, next to the Birmingham and Worcester Canal. Flagge Meadow (pronounced Flag) was first levelled and used for cricket in 1886 and has seen many famous international cricketers play there. In July 2007, because of severe flooding of New Road, Worcestershire County Cricket Club played their List A game against Sri Lanka A at Flagge Meadow. The other playing field across the road from Flagge Meadow is St Oswald's Field mainly used for athletics. Athletics is one of the oldest recorded sports of the school being played before the 1860s. Today it continues as a major summer sport along with cricket, with tournaments being held against rival Public Schools from around the country.

School's halls

The Old School buildings were built in 1868 on a site owned by the school since 1562. Main Hall, Eld Hall and adjoining buildings were designed by A E Perkins in the Gothic style. It is three bays long with a central lantern. A life-size statue of Elizabeth I by R L Boulton stands above the central window.

Built in 1914 to the plans of Alfred Hill Parker, a former pupil, it is in a Jacobethan style with an Oriel Window on the staircase end and balcony looking over the hall. The interior is panelled with fitted bookcases (which make up the Dowty Library) and a plastered ceiling. The organ is on the stage. Two war memorials for the two World Wars are housed in the hall. The hall is named after James Dyson Perrins of the Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce factory and was built by his son Charles William Dyson Perrins, whose life size portrait hangs opposite the fireplace. Portraits of the 20th-century headmasters hang below.

The Clock Block is connected to the Perrins Hall and was built in 1927, and had extension work carried out in 1967 to link it to the Science Block. It has a bell tower and clock above the entrance. The clock is made of Cotswold Limestone, and is surmounted by the carved head of Old Father Time. To commemorate the millennium a stained glass window was commissioned and installed over the main entrance to the Clock Block. Other halls include, Central Hall, a grand entrance hall, in the main ex Alice ottley building. Within this building is also Main Hall, where lunch and certain assemblies are taken. This room contains portraits of all the past headmistresses of AO. It also contains the second school organ, which previously belonged to Edward Elgar, who was a benefactor to the school. There is also Cobham Sports Hall, and Little London Sports Hall.

Britannia house is where the headmaster's offices and meeting rooms are located.

Other buildings of note

The Science buildings form the third side of the courtyard. These were built in 1922 and opened in that year by the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). The science buildings were subsequently re-furbished in 1996 and thereafter re-opened by Michael Portillo. The science block features at one end of a long path which comes from the main quad of the school, which is the location of Perrins Hall and the Main block. This long path is known as Long Walk, in reference not only to its length, but the hope that pupils will not run along it!

Whiteladies House, built in the seventeenth century, was traditionally the Headmaster's house and stands opposite Clock Block across the gardens. Its West wall is part of the Whiteladies Priory chapel built in 1255. Its name derives from the White Habbit that worn by Cistercian nuns, who were based at a Nunnery, which was adjacent to Whiteladies.

Other buildings include Priory House (17th Century), Pullinger House (1980s), Gordon House (after Adam Lindsay Gordon OE) and Hillard Hall (1961, opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on her second visit to the school). The Almshouses, built in 1877 in the Arts and crafts style, were designed by the famous architect Sir Aston Webb and are an example of some of his earliest work. Sir Aston Webb designed the facade of Buckingham Palace, the Royal Naval College Dartmouth and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The most recent building work to a school building took place on the school's library. The library was refurbished in 2001, and was renamed the Philip Sawyer Library (after the former Chairman of the Governors). The library is situated above Eld Hall, and features a high vaulted roof structure.

Trees of note

The school has a rare Black Pear tree, planted in 1961, in its main courtyard. The tree is associated with Worcester after the visit of Queen Elizabeth I in 1574 (at which a scholar from her school welcomed her to the city) when she commented on the Black Pear trees. Hence the City, County, and the School have three black pears on their Arms.

Houses

The RGSAO has thirteen houses. Eight from RGS and five from the AO. The school decided to keep all of the houses because "family traditions and pupil loyalties are important" .

All girls at the school are put into one of the original RGS houses, and one of the original AO houses. Boys however, are just be put into an original RGS house. The all girl houses are solely used for girls only sports competitions. This has been done because, the RGS houses were co-ed but the AO houses were single sex.

In the future it is likely that some of the houses will be merged together and some may be axed, as the 13 house system does not work smoothly at the moment.

Notable Alumni

A more complete list of past pupils of RGS is available here

• Imran Khan
• Sheila Scott
• Benjamin Leader
• Rosemary Hawley Jarman
• Adam Lindsay Gordon
• Sir Edward Leader Williams
• Dean Headley
• William Langland
• Sir Thomas Littleton
• T J Cobden Sanderson

See also

• RGS Worcester
• The Alice Ottley School

References

1. ^ Leach, A. F. Schools of Mediaeval England,Methuen Young Books, 1969. ISBN 0-416-13360-6.
2. Craze, M. King's School, Worcester: 1541-1971., Ebenezer Baylis and Son, 1972
3. Mixed Blessings; Financial Times Magazine, 21/22 July 2007 (page 22)
4. Worcester Evening News Archive
5. ^ Wheeler, A R. Royal Grammar School Worcester, 1950 to 1991 with retrospect to 1291, Royal Grammar School Worcester, 1991. ISBN 0-9516775-0-0
6. "Worcestershire v Sri Lanka A in 2007". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
7. ^ Pevsner, N. Buildings of England: Worcestershire, Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-300-09660-7.

External links

• School Website

52°12′02″N 2°13′29″W / 52.2006°N 2.2247°W / 52.2006; -2.2247

• Educational institutions established in 2007
• Members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
• Schools with Combined Cadet Forces
• Education in Worcester
• Future
• Private schools in the United Kingdom