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
preparatoryIn 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
DurhamDurham is a city in the North East of England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county....
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with 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 CathedralThe Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly referred to as Durham Cathedral, in the city of Durham, England, is 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.
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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
preparatoryIn 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
DurhamDurham is a city in the North East of England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county....
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with 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 CathedralThe Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly referred to as Durham Cathedral, in the city of Durham, England, is 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 CloseA 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
choirboyA 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.
Notable alumni
- Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
(b. 1953), former Prime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
- Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British comedian, actor and writer, famous for his work on sitcoms such as Blackadder, The Thin Blue Line, Mr. Bean and his voiceover work in Walt Disney's The Lion King...
(b. 1955), comedian, "Mr Bean"
- Sir John Laws
Sir John Grant McKenzie Laws , styled The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Laws, has been a Lord Justice of Appeal since 1999.-Early life:...
, The Rt Hon Lord Justice Laws High Court Judge between 1992 and 1999, when he came to the Court of Appeal.
- Sir Peter Vardy
Sir Peter Vardy is a British businessman and philanthropist from Durham. His business interests have been mainly in the automotive retail business...
, businessman.
- James Wood
James Wood is an English literary critic and novelist. He is Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard University and a literary critic at The New Yorker.-Life:...
, Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
and contributor to The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry published by Condé Nast Publications...
.