Saturday, April 23, 2016

Stowe School

Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was opened on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 schoolboys. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools' Group. The headmaster,Dr Anthony Wallersteiner, was recognised as Tatler's Headmaster of the Year in 2007. The school was shortlisted for the 'most beautiful school' of the Year award in 2009 and was listed as outstanding in several categories by The Week magazine in 2013. The school is coeducational and there are 550 boys and 220 girls.

The school has been based since its beginnings at Stowe House, formerly the country seat of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos. Along with many of the other buildings on the school's estate, the main house is now a Grade 1 Listed Building and is maintained by the Stowe House Preservation Trust.

Stowe School opened with its first 99 pupils, mainly aged 13, on 11 May 1923.There were two boarding Houses, Bruce and Temple, then both in the western part of the mansion. The following term Grenville and Chandos Houses were formed in the eastern wing, with Cobham and Grafton following soon afterwards as further parts of the house were converted into accommodation and classrooms. Chatham was the first purpose-built house, designed by the school’s first architect, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. He had been instrumental in developing a vision for saving Stowe as a new centre of learning to match its crucial role in national culture and politics of the 18th Century. He had personally bought Stowe Avenue in 1922 before old Etonians presented it as birthday gift to the new school in 1924.

Helped by Harry Shaw, who had bought the estate the previous year, the new school succeeded in saving Stowe House and landscape gardens from demolition at their sale in October 1922. The school boasted a double foundation. Edward Montauban chaired the preparatory school committee seeking to found a new leading public school after the First World War and was the first to envisage the new school at Stowe. The finance came later through the Rev. Percy Warrington and the Martyrs Memorial Trust, giving rise to the group of Allied Schools.

There are 13 boarding houses: 8 boy houses, 4 girl houses and 1 mixed Sixth Form house. These boarding houses are mostly named after members of the family of Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. Each house has a number or letter assigned to it.

The first recorded match on the school cricket ground came in 1928 when Stowe School played St Paul's School.Buckinghamshire played their first Minor Counties Championship match there in 1947, when the opponents were Berkshire. Between 1947 and 1982 the ground held five Minor Counties Championship matches, the last of which saw Buckinghamshire draw against Bedfordshire.The ground has also hosted a single MCCA Knockout Trophy match which saw Buckinghamshire play Bedfordshire.

The ground has also held a single List A match for Northamptonshire in the 2005 totesport League, against Gloucestershire.and has held fourteen Second XI fixtures for the Northamptonshire Second XI in the Second XI Championship and Second XI Trophy.

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