Chorister School
Encyclopedia
The Chorister School is a co-educational independent school for the 2 to 13 age range. It consists of a nursery (opened in September 2008), a pre-preparatory and preparatory
day and boarding school in Durham
, England
. It is located at 9 The College, a Grade I listed building adjacent to Durham Cathedral
.
The majority of the pupils at the school attend on a "day" basis, with about 45 boarders of both sexes making up the balance. Boys who are Choristers all board. Girls will start as choristers in September 2009. Pupils are taught in small classes in a collection of historic buildings all of which form part of the College, or Cathedral Close
.
s. Whilst historically the school had fewer pupils, from 5 to 24, ages 8 to 20, expansion began in 1948 to reach the numbers of today. This necessitated a number of moves of building in the Cathedral area. The school became co-educational in 1994.
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
day and boarding school in Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located at 9 The College, a Grade I listed building adjacent to Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
.
The majority of the pupils at the school attend on a "day" basis, with about 45 boarders of both sexes making up the balance. Boys who are Choristers all board. Girls will start as choristers in September 2009. Pupils are taught in small classes in a collection of historic buildings all of which form part of the College, or Cathedral Close
Cathedral Close
A cathedral close is an architectural term referring to the series of buildings that serve as appendages to a cathedral. These may include buildings housing diocesan offices, schools, free-standing chapels associated with the cathedral, and the houses of the bishop and other clergy associated with...
.
History
Its creation dates back to 1416 as a school for the cathedral's choirboyChoirboy
A choirboy is a boy member of a choir, also known as a treble.As a derisive slang term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout" refers to someone who is considered honorable or conscientious.- History :The use of choirboys in Christian...
s. Whilst historically the school had fewer pupils, from 5 to 24, ages 8 to 20, expansion began in 1948 to reach the numbers of today. This necessitated a number of moves of building in the Cathedral area. The school became co-educational in 1994.
Sport
The school is not noted for major sporting success, as it is only a Preparatory school, but they have had some years of note. A major year in the schools history for sport was from 2005-2006 when the boys 1st teams went unbeaten for the whole academic year. The year started with rugby and under Head Coach Jon Bland the team went 10 games unbeaten (Played - 10 Won - 10 Points for - 486 Points Against - 0 ) and had no points scored against them. This led to the award of 2006 School Sports Matters Team of the year. They also won the Northern sevens Tournament held at Durham School. This led into the football term where the 1st XI won all 4 games, and a 5 a side competition at Newcastle School for Boys under coach Gary Brown before heading into cricket term where they went 7 games unbeaten only drawing 1 and winning the majority by 150 runs or more, once again under the Coaching of Jon Bland.Head teachers
- Henry Madden: 1876-
- F S Dennett: 1914-1929
- Henry Yorke Ganderton: 1929-1957
- John M Grove: 1957-1978
- Raymond G Lawrence: 1978-1994
- Stephen Drew: 1994-2003
- Ian Hawksby: 2003-2010
- Lin Lawrence (interim): 2010
- Yvette Day: 2011
Notable former pupils
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(born 1949), poet, journalist and literary critic - Christopher HancockChristopher HancockChristopher Hancock was a British television and theatre actor. He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. His brother is actor Stephen Hancock. He and his brother trained at the Old Vic theatre school...
(1928–2004), actor - Stephen HancockStephen HancockStephen Hancock is a British TV actor. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avonin 1929. He is most notable for his role as Ernest Bishop in Coronation Street which he played from 1969 until the character was killed off in 1978...
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, (Patrick McDermott) (born c. 1950) radio programme host - Sir Peter VardyPeter Vardy (businessman)Sir Peter Vardy is a British businessman and philanthropist from Houghton-le-Spring in Durham. His business interests have been mainly in the automotive retail business...
(born 1947), businessman - James WoodJames Wood (critic)James Wood is a literary critic, essayist and novelist. he is Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:...
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