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City of London School

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The present red-brick City of London School beside the River Thames. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the background. The Millennium Bridge is on the right. This view is occasionally seen in popular media e.g. in an early scene of the 2005 movie, The Constant Gardener.
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The present red-brick City of London School beside the River Thames. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the background. The Millennium Bridge is on the right. This view is occasionally seen in popular media e.g. in an early scene of the 2005 movie, The Constant Gardener.

The City of London School (CLS) is an independent boys' school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London in London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls (a girls' school within the Barbican). Intake is from age 10 to 18, although many of its pupils enter at age 11 and somewhat fewer at age 13.

Contents

History

Arms of the City of London and City of London School
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Arms of the City of London and City of London School

The City of London School traces its origins to a bequest of land by the town clerk of London, John Carpenter, in 1442, "for the finding and bringing up of four poor men's children with meat, drink, apparel, learning at the schools, in the universities, etc., until they be preferred, and then others in their places for ever." (Stow's Survey of London). This bequest was administered by the Corporation of London.

Over the centuries, the value of the bequest vastly exceeded the expenses of the boys' education and it was in order to make fuller use of the endowment that the City of London School was founded by a private Act of Parliament in 1834. It has always been under the governance of the Corporation of London (the governing body of the City of London, as opposed to Greater London, which has at its head the Lord Mayor of London).

Establishment at Milk Street

The foundation stone of the new school was laid by Lord Brougham at premises in Milk Street, in the City of London near Cheapside, on the site of the old Honey Lane Market, in 1835. The school was remarkable for its time in three respects. First, it did not discriminate against pupils on the grounds of religious persuasion (at a time when most public schools had an Anglican emphasis): it included many pupils from non conformist and Jewish families. Second, unlike other public schools, it was a day school (although there were in early days a handful of boarders, no boarding department ever became established). Third, and most importantly, it promoted a rigorously practical and progressive scheme of education which was well ahead of its time. 


It was the first school in England to include science on the curriculum and to include scientific experiments as part of its teaching; it was also the first school to teach English literature (and not just classical literature). It also offered education in commercial subjects. This did not, however, diminish the excellence of its teaching in the subjects traditionally favoured by public schools, and it sent many brilliant classical and mathematical scholars to Oxford and Cambridge throughout the nineteenth century.  These included the mathematician Edwin Abbott (whose exploration of a world in other than three dimensions, "Flatland", is still in print and who returned to the school as headmaster) and, among classical scholars, H H Asquith, who went on to become the British Prime Minster.



Move to Blackfriars

The school rapidly outgrew its original site, and by a further Act of Parliament (the City of London School Act 1879) it was empowered to move to a new site at Blackfriars on the Victoria Embankment overlooking the Thames (still in the City of London). A grand building said to be in the Italian Renaissance style (but actually in a high Victorian style with a steep pitched roof resembling that of a French chateau) was constructed at a cost exceeding £100,000 in the money of the time - a colossal sum in modern values.  On the front were statues of Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon, Newton and Sir Thomas More, the first four apparently nodding to its literary and scientific traditions, the last being a religious martyr, a famous lawyer, and the author of Utopia.  This building still stands and is now protected by a preservation order; it is presently occupied by the investment bank JPMorgan.  


The Victoria Embankment building remained the home of the City of London School for the next hundred years, although the site expanded to include, not only the original building on the Victoria Embankment itself, but a range of buildings at right angles along the whole of John Carpenter Street (which was named after the founder of the school) and further buildings constructed at the back along Tudor Street, with the school playground, Fives courts and cloisters enclosed within this island site.  (All but the original Victoria Embankment building were demolished when the school left the site).





An early photograph of the school building of 1883-1987

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An early photograph of the school building of 1883-1987







In this position, it was next door to the City of London School for Girls (which was founded by the Corporation of London as a sister school in 1894 and moved in 1969 to its present site in the Barbican) and to the Guildhall School of Music (which has also since moved to the Barbican).  It was also next to the traditional home of the British newspaper industry in Fleet Street. 


The musical excellence of the school was fostered by an arrangement whereby all the boy choristers of the Temple Church (the church serving the barristers and judges of the Inner and Middle Temple Inns of Court, which are two blocks west of the old Victoria Embankment site of the school) and all the boy choristers of the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace, were given scholarships at the City of London School.  They included Ernest Lough whose recording of Mendelssohn's "O for the Wings of a Dove" with the Temple Choir in 1927 made him world famous; it was the first classical record to sell (by 1962) more than a million copies. Other musicians educated at the City of London School include the cellist Stephen Isserlis.



Current premises

In 1987, the City of London School moved to its present site in purpose built buildings facing on to Queen Victoria Street (where it is opposite the College of Arms and just below St Paul's Cathedral) on one side and facing onto the banks of the River Thames on the other side.  The Millennium Bridge (a footbridge opened in 2000) is next to the school buildings. It is a wholly modern building, although some of the stained glass and sculpture from the Victoria Embankment building has been relocated to this new school.



Houses


City of London School has six Houses, named after important Old Citizens or school benefactors: Abbott, Beaufoy, Carpenter, Hale, Mortimer and Seeley.  Boys are assigned to a House in the 3rd Form, which they stay in throughout their school career.





An early photograph of the Milk Street building.

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An early photograph of the Milk Street building.







School Fees


Although the City of London School has always charged fees to most of its pupils, those fees have been low relative to other public schools, and it has always offered many scholarships, both on the basis of academic and musical ability. In addition, due to the withdrawal of the Government Assisted Places scheme in 1998, the school has been able to offer full-fee bursaries (or Sponsored Awards) to pupils from families on lower incomes. 


For the 2005-06 academic year, school fees are £10,845.



Academics

City of London School offers a number of academic subjects, these include: Geography, History and Politics, Economics , Mathematics, Language and Literature, Modern Languages, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Drama and theatre, Classical Languages/Studies, Design and Visual Arts, Religious Education, Information Technology.  Full staff listing can be found at the [CLSB website].


Some popular subjects not offered at any level, for various reasons, include Business Studies, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Geology, General Studies and Human Biology.


In 2005, the Daily Telegraph placed the school 34th (the second school in its "First Division") in its League Table of Independent School A-level results, with 89.6% of pupils gaining A or B grades at A-level. [link]



Trivia

The pedestrian crossing of busy Queen Victoria Street near the entrance to the school is monitored by Sheila Gallagher MBE, who has performed this daily duty since 1991 and is the only "lollipop lady" in the City of London.



Notable Current/Recent Teaching Staff





Famous Current Pupils


Current pupils include: 

Information about these current pupils at CLS can be found in a [publicly available school newsletter] and has also been reported on in the national press [link].





A modern (2005) photo of the 1883-1987 school. The school name is still above the door.  For 30 years, this building was prominently featured on the Thames Television logo

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A modern (2005) photo of the 1883-1987 school. The school name is still above the door.  For 30 years, this building was prominently featured on the Thames Television logo








Famous Old Citizens (Old Boys)


See also 



Further reading



External links













 




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