Liverpool Blue Coat School

The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a grammar school in Wavertree, Liverpool, England. It was founded in 1708 by Bryan Blundell and the Reverend Robert Styth as the Liverpool Blue Coat Hospital and was for many years a boys' boarding school before reverting in September 2002 to its original coeducational remit.

Liverpool Blue Coat School
Address
Church Road

Wavertree
,
Liverpool
,
L15 9EE

England
Coordinates53.393°N 2.916°W / 53.393; -2.916
Information
TypeGrammar School
MottoNon Sibi Sed Omnibus
(Not for Oneself but for All)
Established1708 (1708)
FoundersBryan Blundell and Rev. Robert Styth
Department for Education URN137916 Tables
OfstedReports
Chair of Governors ProvostJ.M. Shaw
S.W. Elliott
HeadmasterS. Yates (temporary)
ChaplainInterregnum
GenderCoeducational (since 2002)
Age11 to 18
Enrollment963
Colour(s)
PublicationThe Squirrel
Houses     Bingham
     Blundell
     Graham
     Shirley
     Styth
     Tod
Former pupilsOld Blues
School HymnPraise to the Lord, the Almighty
Websitebluecoatschoolliverpool.org.uk

The school holds a long-standing academic tradition. Examination results consistently place it top of the national GCSE and A-level tables. In 2016 Blue Coat was ranked as the best school in the country based on GCSE results.[1] In 2015 it was The Sunday Times State School of the Year.[2] The acceptance rate for admissions is around fifteen percent.

In 2004 the school received a government grant of almost £8 million, together with £1 million from its foundation governors, enabling an expansion and redevelopment of its site.[3]

History

The Bluecoat School
An engraving of the original school in the city centre

The school was founded in 1708 by Bryan Blundell and the Rev Robert Styth, a theology graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford[4] as "a school for teaching poor children to read, write and cast accounts".[5] The original charity school expanded rapidly and a new building, the present Bluecoat Arts Centre, opened in 1718. By the time of Blundell's death in 1756 there were 70 boys and 30 girls at the school, many apprenticed to local trades, especially maritime ones connected to the port. Some Old Blues became mates or masters of their ships, many emigrating to the colonies. After Blundell's death his sons further expanded the building to accommodate 200 pupils, with a new workroom, sick room, chapel and refectory. A reminder of the building's school days is some graffiti dating from the 18th century, carved into cornerstones in a secluded part of the front courtyard.[6]

Move to Wavertree
Wavertree campus
Clock tower

At the start of the 20th century it was decided that the school needed to move from the polluted town centre to somewhere quieter, and the village of Wavertree was the site chosen.[5] The architects chosen for the design of the new building were Briggs, Wolstenholme & Thornely,[7] most notable for the design of the Port of Liverpool Building.[8] In 1906 the school took possession of the building,[5] which was later designated Grade II-listed*.[9] Later additions include a clock tower and the Fenwick Memorial Chapel: used for assemblies by the school.[5]

Redevelopment

In 2004 work began on redeveloping the Wavertree site. Original buildings remained intact but the southern wing was converted into private accommodation and sold to part-fund the development. The school chapel, clock tower, board room, and former music room, together with administrative rooms and the formal entrance to the original building, were transferred to a new school foundation and made available to hire for private functions. Buildings that had been added to the north end of the site during the second half of the 20th century, including a swimming pool, a sixth-form centre, a gym and squash courts, were demolished to make way for new facilities. The North Wing of the original school was renovated and a new building extended it into the area previously known as the North Yard. This included laboratories, a new main entrance, an administration block, music rooms, recording and dance studios, and dining and sports halls. The remainder of the North Yard was upgraded to provide better outdoor sports facilities. The old dining hall, beneath Shirley Hall at the heart of the original building, became a library with a mezzanine ICT suite. The previous library space, itself a former dormitory, was refurbished as the new sixth-form facility.

Uniform

The school uniform consists of:[10]

  • navy blue blazer with school badge
  • V-neck grey school pullover or cardigan with school crest
  • white shirt
  • school tie
  • knee-length grey skirt for girls
  • grey trousers for boys
  • grey socks/tights and black shoes

Ties

The school is also known for its wide variety of school ties, the most common of which is the royal blue tie with an embroidered school coat of arms (fig. 1). Sixth Form Prefects may wear a navy blue tie with alternating blue and gold stripes (fig. 2), and those who are in the first XI may wear the school sports tie, a navy blue tie with gold school coats of arms criss-crossing it (fig. 3). The Old Blues tie, a navy blue tie with alternating squirrels (the school's crest) and blue stripes, is worn by those pupils whose father was once a student at the school (and therefore members of the Old Blues Society)(Fig. 4). Other ties occasionally seen include a navy blue tie with stripes in the four school form colours (awarded for being in the first XI for 3 separate sports teams)(Fig. 5), and a navy blue with two gold stripes (Fig. 6). Only the royal blue and prefect ties are commonly in use.

Fig.1- Royal Blue Tie
Fig. 2- Sixth Form Prefect Tie
Fig. 3- First XI Tie
Fig. 4- Old Blues Tie
Fig 5- Tie for Members of the First XI in Three Sports
Fig. 6- Navy Blue Tie with Two Gold Stripes

Shortly after the introduction of house Tod in 2017, the conventional royal blue and prefect ties were modified. Both ties now feature diagonal stripes representing the student's form's colour (below), with these stripes replacing the gold stripes on the prefect tie.

House system

The school currently has six houses. Upon entrance in Year 7, pupils are allocated a form which they will be a member of throughout their time at The Blue Coat School. As well as the students, teachers at the school are often members of a house. There are approximately thirty students in a form and approximately 250 students per house. The houses are governed by a House Council which are composed of Heads of House, House Deputies, Form Captains and a member of staff. There are regular inter-house competitions, ranging from the inter-house football competition to inter-house debating competitions, in which the houses can gain house points which are then added to a running total and published in league tables, culminating in the annual inter-house league table. The newest houses are Styth and Tod which became the fifth and sixth houses of the current school in 2015 and 2017 respectively, to accommodate the 30 new additional first year students, and named after one of the school's former Provosts. There are also a number of boarding houses that were discontinued when the school ceased to be a boarding school in the late 20th century.[11]

School Houses

  •      Bingham
  •      Blundell
  •      Graham
  •      Shirley
  •      Styth
  •      Tod

Boarding Houses

  •      Earle
  •      MacAuley
  •      Styth
  •      Tinne

Brotherly Society

The school's alumni association is the Brotherly Society, founded in 1838. Alumni are known as "Old Blues".[12] The society was set up to provide help, advice and in some cases financial assistance to students for at least two years after leaving the school.[13] Since the Second World War there has been less need for such assistance so the Society has turned its efforts towards objects that would benefit the School in general.

The generosity of the Society can be found throughout the Blue Coat School's history. In 1938, to celebrate the Society's centenary, the Society provided the oak pews in the chapel. In 1963 the Society provided the stained glass south window of the Chapel to celebrate its 125th anniversary, and in 1952 the Old Blues' Memorial Library was presented in remembrance of the Old Blues who gave their lives in the two World Wars.[13]

The Squirrel

The school's publication is The Squirrel. The magazine is currently published annually and is almost entirely written and produced by students. The magazine was first released in the Summer of 1949 under the leadership of the Provost John Bingham in order to show the 'fruits of hard work' and the activities, achievements, and involvement of the students and staff in school life.[14]

During the 1950s The Squirrel entered an era of particular popularity and enthusiasm, ultimately leading to its publication becoming a termly occurrence. It was during this period that the magazine developed some of its most memorable features, notably including De Praefectis which recorded the various humorous situations and conversations of prefects at the school and is mostly remembered for satirising the eccentricities of individual prefects, often employing a pretentious overuse of Latin to this effect. In subsequent years various other magazines written by students were produced as parodies of The Squirrel, most notably in the form of The Swivel which gained an underground following and was particularly popular on account of the strong criticisms it leveled at the school and its masters.[14]

In 2017 the school published The Squirrel both in paper form and online for the first time. A new website 'The Squirrel Blog' was created both to publish current and future editions of the magazine and to digitalise the school's archive of every issue of The Squirrel since 1949.

Headmasters and Headmistress
Headmaster/HeadmistressStart yearEnd year
Rev Robert Styth, MA (Oxon)17081713
Mr William Trenton17171723
Mr Theophilus Price17231725
Mr Horton17251775
Rev John Shakleton17761779
Mr John Smith (Old Blue)17791799
Mr Robert Parkes18001800
Mr George Chambers18011811
Mr John Fallows18121816
Mr R.W. Bamford18171819
Mr William Forster18201848
Mr Thomas Wood, BA (Cantab)18491862
Mr Thomas Haughton18631867
Mr George Tinker18681869
Mr Thomas Haughton18701888
Mr Arthur Mercer18891920
Mr Harry C. Hughes19201926
Rev R. Bruce Wilson, BA (Oxon)19271944
Rev T.C. Heritage, MA (Oxon)19441945
Mr G.G. Watcyn, BA19451968
Mr H.P. Arnold-Craft JP, MA (Oxon)19681989
Mr John C. Speller BA, MA (Ed), FRSA19891997
Mr Michael R. Bell BA (Hons) FIMgt19972001
Mr Michael George 'Sandy' Tittershill CertEd. NPQH20012008
Mrs Debbie Silcock BSc PGCE NPQH20082015
Mr Michael Pennington BSc Hons PGCE NPQH20152020

Provosts
ProvostStart yearEnd year
Rev. Robert Styth, M.A.17091713
The Rt. Hon. Bryan Blundell17131756
Richard Blundell17561760
Jonathan Blundell17601796
Nicholas Ashton17961797
The Rt. Hon. Clayton Tarleton17971798
John Bolton17981799
Edward Houghton17991800
James Gerrard, M.D.18001802
William Cubbin18021805
John Keay18051808
William Leigh18081809
George Brown18091811
Edward Sephton18111812
William Beckwith18121813
Matthew Gregson18131814
Bryan Blundell18141815
The Rt. Hon. Henry Blundell-Hollinshead18151817
James Bourne18171818
Rev. William Blundell B.A.18181819
Richard Dobson18191835
The Rt. Hon. James Aspinall18351838
Anthony Swainson18381848
Joseph Langton18481849
Richard Gibson18491854
Edward Guy Deane18541857
William Langton18571870
Hugh Perkins18701885
John Ernest Tinne18851926
Louis Cappel19261928
John J. Verdin-Cooke19281932
John A. Tinne19321933
John Bingham19331950
F.J. Williams19501955
Sir Alan Todd, C.B.E., L.L.D.19551968
J. Malcolm Harrison19681976
T.I.F. Tod, F.C.A.19761991
Peter Healey, J.P., B.A.19912006
Rodney V. McDermott20062007
Gerard A. Jolliffe20072014
Stephen W. Elliott20142017

Notable former pupils

Notable people associated with the school
  • David Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, ex-Member of Parliament, was a trustee of the school, and has a quad named in his honour.
  • the Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell family, descendants of Bryan Blundell, the founder, many have been trustees at the school. The family have gone on to produce notable military men and members of the Austrian royal family.
  • Reginald Harrison, famous British surgeon and Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons was the school's surgeon in the late 19th century.
  • David Houlder, former sub-organist at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and former organist at York Minster. Houlder was the school's Director of Music between 1981 and 1999.
  • W. H. Jude, composer and organist. Jude was the school's organist in the late 19th century.
  • The Rt. Hon. Norman Pannell finance manager, politician and conservative MP. Pannell was a governor of the school.
gollark: No.
gollark: I believe I found Nom "annoying" in some way when I used it.
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gollark: No.
gollark: I don't particularly feel like writing one manually again.

References
  1. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/leaguetables/12109955/Top-100-secondary-schools-by-GCSE-results-2015.html
  2. http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Parent_Power/
  3. Salmon, Tony (2007). "Save the Liverpool Blue Coat School". savethebluecoat.webeden.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  4. "Stermont-Synge". British History Online. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  5. "A brief history of the school". The Liverpool Blue Coat School. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  6. "Bluecoat Heritage" (PDF). Bluecoat Chambers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  7. Pollard, Pevsner, Joseph, Richard, Nikolaus, Sharples (2006). Lancashire: Liverpool and the southwest.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "The Port of Liverpool Building". liverpoolworldheritage.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  9. "The Liverpool Blue Coat School General information". Schools Net. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  10. "Prospectus: Uniform". The Blue Coat School. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  11. "Boarding House Rules (1969)". Liverpool Old Blues. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  12. Kelly, Andy (19 January 2006). "Million-Pound Target for Historic Blue Coat". Liverpool Daily Post. Liverpool. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
  13. "Brotherly Society". The Blue Coat School. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  14. "The History of the Squirrel: The Squirrel Blog". squirrel.bluecoatschoolliverpool.org.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
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