Birkenhead School is an independent school located on the Wirral, in the north-west of England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... The Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference (HMC) is an association of the headmasters or headmistressess of 242 leading day and boarding independent boys and coeducational schools in the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and the Republic of Ireland. ... Oxton is a suburb in the Wirral, Merseyside, England, situated to the west of Birkenhead town centre. ... Map showing the location of the Wirral at grid reference SJ285850 Wirral or The Wirral (IPA: [wɪɹəɫ]) is a peninsula in the north west of England, bounded by the River Dee to the west and the River Mersey to the east. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Wirral is a peninsula in North West England bounded by the River Dee to the west and the River Mersey to the east. ... The Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference (HMC) is an association of the headmasters or headmistressess of 242 leading day and boarding independent boys and coeducational schools in the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and the Republic of Ireland. ...

Overview

The School is subdivided into

• Nursery Department (for children aged three months to three years),
• Pre-Prep (for pupils aged three to five),
• Preparatory (six years from ages five to eleven),
• "Overdale" (two years from ages eleven to thirteen)^[1]
• Senior School (five years from thirteen up to the sixth form at about eighteen).

Entrance is via the Prep School, by open competitive examination at 11, by Common Entrance at 13, or by interview at the sixth-form level. The school offers some assistance with fees to pupils who would not otherwise be able to take up a place at the school through a bursary scheme financed by the Birkenhead School Foundation Trust. This charity was established in 1998 and is currently supporting about sixty pupils in the school. A few scholarships are also awarded, based principally on academic ability, but occasionally as a result of exceptional sporting or musical potential. These give a fixed reduction in fee, independent of the parents’ financial circumstances. The school no longer has boarders. In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school (usually abbreviated to prep school) is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are called public schools. ... England, Wales, Northern Ireland The sixth form, in the English, Welsh and Northern Irish education systems, is the term used to refer to the final two years of secondary schooling (when students are about sixteen to eighteen years of age), during which students normally prepare for their GCE A-level... The Common Entrance Examinations for girls (at age 11-12) or boys (at 12-13), are academic entrance examinations common to almost all private or independent schools (often known as Public Schools) in England & Wales. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into sixth form college. ...

The current headmaster is John Clark (since 2003). Previous headmasters include Stuart Haggett (1988-2003) and John Gwilliam (1963-1988). John Albert Gwilliam captained the Welsh Rugby Team when they achieved Grand Slams in 1950 and 1952. ...

As well as a strong sporting tradition, the School has a large Combined Cadet Force contingent. The school also has a student council, created in 2003, which seeks to improve the lives of Birkenhead School pupils. The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. ...

History

Birkenhead School was opened in Park Road North, Birkenhead in 1860, and moved to its present site in Oxton in 1871. The Chapel was opened in 1883. The Preparatory Department was established in 1889 and moved to Beresford Road in 1893. During 1899 the ground alongside Beresford Road was leveled to create the school’s playing field.^[2] For other uses, see Birkenhead (disambiguation). ... Oxton is a suburb in the Wirral, Merseyside, England, situated to the west of Birkenhead town centre. ...

In 1905 the Noctorum ground, approximately 2.3 hectares (5.5 acres), was rented and subsequently bought in 1910. Buildings on Bidston Road were acquired in 1920 for use as a science block and in 1921 the Lodge in Beresford Road was purchased for the use of the school. The Fender Ground, 9.3 hectares, was acquired in 1922 and part was used by the newly formed Old Birkonian Football Club, prior to moving to an adjacent ground in 1926. Matches were played here until 1976, when the club merged with Birkenhead Park Rugby Club. As playing fields nearer the school were developed, Fender Field was later sold.^[2] birkenhead park smell ov poo ...

In 1931, "Junior School" was started in Overdale at the top of Beresford Road. The junior and senior schools became a Direct Grant School in 1935 and became then fully independent in 1976. A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom. ...

In 1948 the L.C. McAllester Memorial Ground, 4.7 hectares, was presented to the school. It was officially opened in 1952. A purpose-built science block on Bidston Road was built in 1958, and has since been expanded. In 1982 the Bushell Hall was opened for use by the main school, and the Preparatory School moved into the vacated Shrewsbury Road buildings. These included the original "big school" dating back to 1871, and the recently closed boarding house which at its peak had catered for over forty boarders. The vacated Preparatory School building in Beresford Road was then adapted to provide an extensive Music School.^[2]

What was the headmaster’s house on Shrewsbury Road was acquired in 1988 so that by then the school owned all the properties in the block apart from the Holy Name Church on Beresford Road. In 1992, the Sports Hall was completed. In conjunction with Oxton Sports Club, an all-weather pitch was completed on the McAllester Field site, and also in 1992 the Preparatory Department’s purpose built Little School was opened in Kingsmead Road South. In 2001 a climbing wall was added to the Sports Hall.^[2]

In 2000 the sixth form became co-educational. In 2006 the Nursery Department and the Pre-Prep Department (kindergarten) also became co-educational. In response to the decision of Birkenhead High School to become a city academy, Birkenhead School announced in October 2007 that it would become wholly co-educational in 2008^[3], and thereby will be the only independent school providing education for girls in the Wirral area. A survey conducted by the school in 2006, according to Headmaster John Clark, showed that parents were "evenly divided" on the issue of co-education, but he said that "since the survey, several parents have rated independence as an even more important consideration"^[4]. England, Wales, Northern Ireland The sixth form, in the English, Welsh and Northern Irish education systems, is the term used to refer to the final two years of secondary schooling (when students are about sixteen to eighteen years of age), during which students normally prepare for their GCE A-level... Coeducation is the integrated education of men and women. ... For other uses, see Kindergarten (disambiguation). ... Birkenhead High School is currently an independent academically selective private girls school on the Wirral in the North West of England. ...

Notable Old Birkonians

• Charles Harrison Townsend (1851–1928), architect
• Cecil Reddie (1858–1932), Founder and Headmaster of Abbotsholme School, 1889–1927
• Leslie Brooke (1862–1940), children's writer and illustrator
• Wynfrid Duckworth (1870–1956), anatomist, and Master of Jesus College, Cambridge, 1940–1945
• F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead (1872–1930), barrister, Attorney-General, 1916–1919, Lord Chancellor, 1919–1922, and Secretary of State for India, 1924–1928
• Douglas Laurie (1874–1953), Professor of Zoology, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1922–1940, and Founding Honorary General Secretary, Association of University Teachers, 1919–1953
• Lieutenant-General Sir Wilfrid Lindsell (1884–1973), Quartermaster-General, British Expeditionary Force, 1939–1940, Lieutenant-General i/c Administration, Middle East, 1942–1943, and Principal Administration Officer, Fourteenth Army, 1943–1945
• Sir Melvill Jones (1887–1975), Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical Engineering, University of Cambridge, 1919–1952
• Martin Percival Charlesworth (1895–1950), classicist
• Geoffrey Webb (1898–1970), Slade Professor of Fine Art, University of Cambridge, 1938–1949, and Secretary, Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1948–1962
• Sir Gordon Willmer (1899–1983), Lord Justice of Appeal
• Andrew Irvine (1902–1924), mountaineer who attempted the summit of Mount Everest with George Mallory
• Nevill Willmer (1902–2001), Professor of Histology, University of Cambridge, 1966–1969
• Brigadier Sir Philip Toosey (1904–1975), merchant banker, Territorial Army officer, and senior Allied officer during the building of the Bridge on the River Kwai
• Henry Pelling (1920–1997), historian
• Air Chief Marshal Sir John Aiken (1921–2005), Director of Training, Royal Air Force, 1971–1973, and Commander, British Forces in Cyprus, 1973–1976
• Gruffydd Evans, Baron Evans of Claughton (1928–1992), lawyer and politician
• Clifford Embleton (1931–1994), Professor of Geography, King's College London, 1982–1994
• William Wade, Baron Wade of Chorlton (born 1932), businessman, and Joint Treasurer of the Conservative Party, 1982–1990
• Donald Nicholls, Baron Nicholls of Birkenhead (born 1933), Vice-Chancellor, High Court of Justice, 1991–1994, and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, 1994–2007
• Andreas Whittam Smith (born 1937), journalist and co-founder of The Independent
• Barry Porter (1939–1996), Conservative politician
• Timothy Mason (1940–1990), historian
• Michael F. Land (born 1942), Professor of Neurobiology, University of Sussex
• Tony Hall (born 1951), Chief Executive, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
• Alan Rouse (1951–1986), mountaineer, and first Briton to reach the summit of K2.

This article is about building architecture. ... Abbotsholme School is a private boarding and day school located at Rocester in Staffordshire, England. ... Human heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ... College name The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge Named after The Virgin Mary Saint John the Evangelist Saint Radegund Jesus Lane and Jesus Parish Established 1496 Location Jesus Lane Admittance Men and women Master Prof. ... Time magazine, 20 August 1923 Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, GCSI, PC (12 July 1872–30 September 1930) was a British Conservative statesman and lawyer of the early 20th century. ... For the musician, see Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. ... Her Majestys Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known as the Attorney General, is the chief legal adviser of the Crown in England and Wales. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ... The office of Secretary of State for India or India Secretary was created in 1858 when India was brought under direct British rule (British Raj). ... Zoology (from Greek: ζῴον, zoion, animal; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... Affiliations University of Wales AMBA ACU Universities UK HiPACT Website http://www. ... The term General Secretary (alternatively First Secretary) denotes a leader of various unions, parties or associations. ... The Association of University Teachers (AUT) is the trade union and professional association that represents academic (teaching and research) and academic-related (librarians, IT managers and senior administrators) at pre-1992 universities in the United Kingdom. ... A Quartermaster general is the staff officer in charge of supplies for a whole army. ... The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939–1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War in case the... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... The British Fourteenth Army was a multinational force comprising units from Commonwealth countries during World War II. Many of its units were from the Indian Army as well as British units and there were also significant contributions from East African divisions within the British Army. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical Engineering is a professorship in the University of Cambridge. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. ... For other uses, see Classics (disambiguation). ... The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the senior professorship of art at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and London. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. ... The Right Honourable Sir Henry Gordon Willmer OBE, TD, Lord Justice Willmer (1899–1983), was an English lawyer. ... The Lord Justice of Appeal, with the title of Vice-President of the Criminal Division, assists the Lord Chief Justice on the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. ... Andrew Sandy Irvine (April 8, 1902 – 8-9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the third British Expedition to Mount Everest in 1924. ... An open crevasse. ... Everest redirects here. ... George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 June/9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s. ... Professor (Edward) Nevill Willmer, FRS, (1902-2001) was sometime Professor of Histology at Cambridge University. ... A thin section of lung tissue stained with hematoxylin and eosin. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. ... Brigadier Sir Philip John Denton Toosey (12 August 1904 - 22 December 1975) was (as a Lieutenant-Colonel) the senior Allied officer in the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp at Tamarkan in Thailand during World War II. The men under his command built the Bridge on the River Kwai which was... In banking, a merchant bank is a traditional term for an Investment Bank. ... The Territorial Army (TA) is the principal and Volunteer reserve force of the British Army, the land armed forces branch of the United Kingdom, and composed mostly of part-time soldiers paid at a similar rate, while engaged on military activities, as their Regular equivalents. ... The Bridge on the River Kwai is an Academy Award-winning 1957 World War II war film based on the novel Le Pont de la Rivière Kwaï by French writer Pierre Boulle. ... Henry Mathison Pelling (1920-1997), British historian, is best known for his works on the history of the British Labour Party, including The Origins of the Labour Party (1954) and A Short History of the Labour Party (1993). ... This article is about the study of the past in human terms. ... Air Chief Marshall John Alexander Carlisle Aiken, KCB, CB, (22 December 1921–31 May 2005) was Commander of British forces in Cyprus at the time of the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974. ... RAF redirects here. ... David Thomas Gruffydd Evans, Baron Evans of Claughton DL (1928–1992), was a British solicitor and politician. ... For other uses, see Kings College. ... The Right Honourable Sir William Oulton Wade, JP, Baron Wade of Chorlton (born 24 December 1932) is a British politician, businessman and agriculturalist. ... The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is currently the largest majortiy opposition party in the United Knigdom. ... The Right Honourable Sir Donald James Nicholls, Baron Nicholls of Birkenhead (born 25 January 1933), is a British lawyer and Law Lord (Lord of Appeal in Ordinary). ... The Vice-Chancellor is the Lord Chancellors deputy in the British legal system, and the head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. ... Her Majestys High Court of Justice (usually known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales (which under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, is to be known as the... Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are Life peers entrusted since the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 with carrying out the judicial functions of the House of Lords. ... Andreas Whittam Smith CBE, (born 13 June 1937), British financial journalist, was one of the co-founders of The Independent newspaper in October 1986, and is a former president of the British Board of Film Classification. ... For other uses, see The Independent (disambiguation). ... George Barrington Porter, known as Barry Porter (7 June 1939–3 November 1996) was a British lawyer and Conservative Party politician Porter was first elected at the 1979 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bebington and Ellesmere Port. ... Timothy Wright Mason (March 2, 1940–March 5, 1990) was a British Marxist historian of Nazi Germany. ... This article is about the study of the past in human terms. ... The University of Sussex (also known colloquially as Sussex Uni) is an English campus university which is situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, and is four miles from Brighton. ... Tony Hall CBE (born 3 March 1951 in Birkenhead, Cheshire) has been chief executive of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden since 2001. ... The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is a performing arts venue in London. ... Alan Paul Rouse (b. ... An open crevasse. ... For other uses, see K2 (disambiguation). ...

Notable masters

• John Gwilliam
• Ewan Anderson
• Edward O'Hara

John Albert Gwilliam captained the Welsh Rugby Team when they achieved Grand Slams in 1950 and 1952. ... Professor Ewan William Anderson (b 28 March 1938), is a British academic expert on geopolitics, economic and social geography. ... Edward OHara (born 1 October 1937, Bootle, near Liverpool) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ...

References

External links

• Birkenhead School
• Birkenhead School Combined Cadet Force
• Old Birkonians Online
• 2001 inspection report by Independent Schools Inspectorate
• Article from Time Magazine, 1926, reporting speech by F. E. Smith at the school.
• Memories of Birkenhead School in the 1950s