Liverpool College

Liverpool College is a school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' Conference.

Liverpool College
Address
Queen's Drive

, ,
L18 8BG

Coordinates53.382°N 2.922°W / 53.382; -2.922
Information
TypeAcademy (formerly private)
Day and boarding
Motto'Non solum ingenii verum etiam virtutis'
('Not only the intellect, but also the character')
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
Established1840 (1840)
Local authorityLiverpool
Department for Education URN139686 Tables
OfstedReports
PrincipalHans van Mourik Broekman
GenderMixed
Age3 to 19
Enrolment1566 [1]
Colour(s)   
Former pupilsOld Lerpoolians
Websiteliverpoolcollege.org.uk

History

The Original School on Shaw Street 1840-1907

Liverpool College was the first of many public schools founded in the Victorian Era. The foundation stone of the original building was laid on 22 October 1840 by Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby K.G. (then styled the Rt. Hon. Lord Stanley MP), the first patron of the college. A group of Christian Liverpool citizens, many of whose names are now famous in the annals of the city, then began the building of a school where education might be combined with 'sound religious knowledge'. The original building in Shaw street (now apartments) is in the so-called Tudor-Gothic style. It was designed by Mr. Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, and was erected at a cost of £35,000.

Upper School at Lodge Lane, Sefton Park

The college was opened on 6 January 1843 by the Right Hon. William Ewart Gladstone (afterwards four time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) and the same distinguished son of Liverpool showed his interest in the college by delivering a second great speech in the hall on founders' day in 1857. The College consisted of 3 institutions – Upper, Middle and Lower Schools. While these schools were under the control of one and the same Principal, they were kept entirely separate. The Lower, or Commercial School, was intended for boys who were to go into business houses at an early age. The Middle School combined literary and scientific training, with special attention to modern languages for boys leaving for business or the professions. The Upper School was a first grade public school with leaving exhibitions for Oxford and Cambridge. Though the schools were distinct in theory and fact, the foundation was unique, in that the Principal was empowered to nominate a certain number of promising boys for entrance to a higher school on the terms of the lower.

The Liverpool College for Girls at Grove Street was established in 1856. The Liverpool College for Girls, Huyton, or Huyton College as it was popularly known, was started in 1894 and intended to be parallel to the Boys Upper School. The Liverpool College Preparatory School at Fairfield was also founded in 1898. The Council of Liverpool College was therefore one of the most important governing bodies in the kingdom, with 6 schools under its control.

Liverpool College has occupied three sites since its foundation in 1840, unusual for a public school. The Upper School of what was then officially called 'Liverpool Collegiate' (since 1863), was moved from Shaw Street to Lodge Lane, Sefton Park in 1884 through the efforts of Rev. Selwyn. The erection of new school buildings started in 1887 and were completed in 1890. The first instance of a site in Mossley Hill occurred in 1896 where several acres were purchased as playing fields with the present pavilion being built in 1905. All ties with the Original building were severed in 1907 when it was sold to the Liverpool Corporation, and the masters and boys of the Middle and Lower schools remained to form the Liverpool Collegiate School. From 1917 to 1936 more land and buildings were purchased at the Site in Mossley Hill. The Junior wing (presently Mossley Vale) was opened by Lord Stanley and the foundation stone of St.Peter's chapel was laid by Mr. H. Sutton Timmis, Chairman of the governors.

The college has held land on the present 26 acre (105,000 m2) site since 1896. In 1993 the Liverpool College for Girls, Huyton or Huyton College merged with Liverpool College to become a coeducational day school.

The school is situated in Mossley Hill on North Mossley Hill Road and backing onto Queens Drive. Facilities on site include a fully equipped gymnasium and relaxation centre as well as AstroTurf courts and a Combined Cadet Force centre. It had been decided to proceed with plans to concentrate the whole school in what is currently the Lower School site, in a series of projects to construct newer and more up-to-date buildings. However, due to having planning permission rejected and also the financial situation, these plans were shelved indefinitely and instead a gradual programme of wholesale refurbishment of the school began in 2009.

In September 2013 the school formally became an Academy, an independent school that is funded by central government, and therefore non-fee paying.

Boarding and international school

In September 2010, Liverpool College became a boarding school once again. As a consequence, the College extended its provision to include international students. However, when the school became an academy in 2013, boarding places at the school were now only available for UK and EU nationals. The school has become, therefore, one of the few state boarding schools in England.[2]

For a short time Liverpool College International was a separate fee-paying international school located on the Liverpool College campus which was primarily for international students. The international school was set in its own buildings at the campus, but leased some of College's facilities.[3]

Liverpool College International was merged into the boarding program of Liverpool College in 2017[4]

Today Liverpool College retains its Boarding Programme and has expanded it in 2020, with students available to board from year 7 up to year 13.[5] it remains one of the few state boarding schools in the England.

Constitution

Liverpool College is a registered charity and its objects are "to provide for the inhabitants of Liverpool and others, by the establishment and maintenance of Lectures, School, and other like means, an education suited to their wants upon the most moderate terms; and for this purpose instruction in the doctrines and duties of Christianity, as taught by the Church of England, shall be forever communicated, in combination with literary, scientific, and commercial information."[6]

In 2006-7 it had a gross annual income of £6,803,367.[6]

Houses

Until 1992 the school was organised under a clearly defined house system, as in most public schools. In the same year two of the previous houses were removed and the school was re-organised into year groups in lieu of the traditional house structure that had existed: School House (the college's boarding house since 1917 however as of its 2017 reintroduction it is no longer the boarding house) and Howards House were removed while Brooks, Butlers, Howsons and Selwyns Houses remained.

In addition, the Lower School had its own house system for many years, named for some of the notable alumni such as Chavasse and Glazebrook. There was also a section of the school named David House for younger pupils aged 5 to 9 years old.

In 2009, the College returned to its old (Upper School) House System. The four remaining houses were re-instated and gave the school a new lease of life. Each house now has its own large house room in which Lerpoolians can socialise, study and leave their belongings. House activities have once again become a daily occurrence and pupils are registered in house groups meaning that the year system brought about in 1992 has almost vanished. In 2017, the college returned the two houses which were not reinstated in 2009 due to the college growing numbers.

The houses of the College as they currently stand:

House Colour Symbol Motto Named After
Brooks White   Stag Aeternum Progredior Rt. Rev. Richard Brook
Butlers Green   Gryphon Prensum Elevo Rev. Cannon. George Butler
Howards Purple   Horse Contemnit Pavorem Rev. Cannon. Robert Wilmot Howard
Howsons Blue   Lion Nulla Vestigia Retrorsum The Very Rev. John Saul Howson
School Yellow   Dragon Stet Fortuna Domus - [note 1]
Selwyns Red   Porcupine Toujours Prest Rev. Edward Carus Selwyn

Identity and traditions

Coat of arms

The Current Coat of Arms is based on the original 1840 design, incorporating symbolism to the colleges core values, incorporating church and state and education.[7][8]

Motto

The motto 'Non solum ingenii verum etiam virtutis' (a quotation from Cicero) means 'Not only the intellect but also the character'.[9] A local stone mason, known as Mr Spence, suggested the motto wwhile working on the original College buildings.[10] The same motto is still used today.

School Song

The School song, Carmen Lerpoolense, is sung in Latin at major school events such as the Founders' Day Service and the College Speech Night & Prize Giving. The song was written in 1891 by the Rev T Nicklin then a Classical Master at the College. The tune that is now used was written by A.L Wilkinson, an Old Lerpoolian, in 1922.[11]

Grace

There was a long tradition of saying grace at the college. It is no longer in frequent use at the college, However it is said at Old Lerpoolian dinners where the Head Boy or Head Girl of the College is invited to deliver it, the wording of the Grace is:

Oculi omnium in te sperant, domine, et tu das escam illorum in tempore opportuno. Tui sunt caeli et tua est terra, orbem terrae et plenitudinem eius tu fundasti. Confitemini, domino, quoniam bonus quoniam in aeternam, misericordia eius.

The translation is as follows:

The eyes of all men wait upon thee, O Lord, for thou givest them their meat in due season. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine, as for the world and the fullness thereof thou has founded them. O confess unto the Lord that he is good, that his mercy endureth for ever.

So be it [Amen][11]

Prefects

The School has a long history of appointing Prefects from its upper years of the school, traditionally called Gladstone Scholars (After one of the founders of the school William Ewart Gladstone[12]), These typically consist of the Heads of House, for each of the six houses of the college.

As well as the Head Boy and Head Girl who are the Heads of School [13]

Combined Cadet Force

Liverpool College has an active Combined Cadet Force (CCF) Contingent. Through the Cadet Vocational Qualifications Organisation (CVQO) the College CCF offers cadets (aged 13–18) and above the opportunity to gain internationally recognised BTEC First Diploma qualifications in Public Services. Each BTEC First Diploma is the equivalent of 4 GCSEs, grade C - A*.

Liverpool College CCF also offers The Duke of Edinburgh's Award from Bronze to Gold and sees a number of cadets successfully complete the awards every year.

Principals of Liverpool College

[14]

  • W. J. Conybare 1840-1849
  • J. S. Howson 1849- 1865
  • G. Butler  1865-1882
  • E. C. Selwyn 1882-1888
  • F. Dyson 1888-1900
  • J. B. Lancelot 1900-1917
  • H. Costley-White 1917-1919
  • R. Brook 1919-1928
  • R. W. Howard 1928-1945
  • R. G. Lunt 1945-1952
  • L. H. Collison 1952-1970
  • M. F. Robins 1970-1978
  • R. V. Haygarth 1979-1992
  • B. R. Martin 1992-1997
  • J. P. Siviter 1997-2000
  • B. Christian 2002-2007
  • H. v. Mourik Broekman 2008-

Notable Old Lerpoolians

Military honours

Mayors and Lord Mayors of Liverpool

Religious

Sports

The arts

Other

References

Notes

  1. School House - The name of this House derives from its former role of being the boarding house of the School

Further reading

  • David Wainwright (1960) Liverpool gentlemen: A history of Liverpool College, an independent day school, from 1840 (Faber)
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