Finborough School
Encyclopedia
Finborough School is a small co-educational independent school
, owned by the Sinclair family. It is situated in and around Finborough Hall, in the village of Great Finborough
, near Stowmarket
, Suffolk
, England
.
near Wymondham
, Norfolk
and was set up as a military boarding school for boys whose parents were in the armed forces. After failed efforts to purchase the facilities of the HMS Ganges establishment, the school was moved to the current site at Great Finborough
in 1980. Slade's use of corporal punishment came under close scrutiny after a BBC Radio 4 Checkpoint investigation in 1982 and, although he escaped charges at the time, Slade left in 1983. The case resurfaced in 2010 after former pupils had started a campaign on Facebook. Slade was convicted of over 50 offences relating to physical and sexual abuse, sexual assault and child pornography and sentenced to 21 years in jail.
John and Sue Sinclair eventually took over ownership of the school following Slade's departure, and it was renamed Finborough School. The school has changed dramatically in recent years, with the contingent of boarders becoming less dominant. Contrary to its beginnings as a strict and harsh boarding school, the school now prides itself on the friendly, polite, respectful 'family atmosphere' between pupils and staff. In 2008, the Principal John Sinclair retired and his son James Sinclair took over as Principal. The school recently purchased Hillcroft Preparatory School
.
church.
The school offers a number leadership positions to older pupils, including Head of School, Deputy Head of School, School Council Chair, Prefects and House Captains.
Three school houses
form the basis of many events throughout the academic year. Annual events include Sports Day
and the Cross Country
Run. A House Singing
Competition also took place recently.
, hockey
, athletics, tennis
and rounders
. Boys play football, rugby
, athletics, cricket
and tennis
. Most age groups play matches against other local independent schools.
Finborough School has made a number of notable links with local sports clubs. It has successful partnerships with Stowmarket Tennis Club and the Stowmarket Golf Centre. The school also sponsor Bury Rugby Club.
Rugby has always been an important part of school sport, since the 1980s, when the rugby team was under the leadership of Simon Warr.
and various ensembles
, with regular performance nights being held in the drama studio. The school regularly participates in both the Sudbury Festival and the Suffolk Festival of Music, Dance and Speech.
Although drama is not available as a GCSE option, the drama club remains popular.
". In 2005, the competition was won by a band consisting of James Clarke (lead guitar), Tom Reed (bass) and Josh McMullan (drums), who played "Sunshine of Your Love
" and "Summer of '69
". Korrell Holley won the competition in 2006. Payne and McNaughton reclaimed the title in the autumn of 2007, singing "In the Sun
".
The audience vote system was scrapped in favour of a judging panel of 3 for the 2010 edition. However, the event ended in controversy when Arnold & George (Tenacious D
medley, guitar & drums) were crowned winners, despite allegations that Edward Payne & Jake McNaughton (Candy
/Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground
, singing & piano), competing for the third and final time, had actually won according to the judges' marks, but were instead given 5th place.
: Churchill, Marlborough and Nelson named after Winston Churchill
, the John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
and Horatio Nelson respectively.
Originally, the school was primarily for boarders and a large percentage of pupils came from military families, hence the names of the houses. The original plan for the houses was to put children of army families into Marlborough house, children of air force families into Churchill house and children from naval families into Nelson house. However, so few children came from naval or air force backgrounds that many of the army children filled in the spaces in the other houses. This plan is no longer used today; pupils are assigned a random house as soon as they join the school.
in 2005, the school was described as 'a gem of a school'.
• In December 2005, Finborough School was awarded the title of the friendliest school in Suffolk, and the 6th friendliest in the country. This was based on former pupils' activities on the Friends Reunited
website - the average number of e-mails sent by each former pupil to classmates, and the average number of pupils who sent messages on the Friends Reunited website.
, through Roger Pettiward. This led to the name of Finborough Theatre
.
• The school has strong ties with the Kids Klub organisation, which also operates on the Finborough Hall site and was actually founded there.
• Finborough School was the basis of the comic strip TTS
.
• Much of the comedy sketch show The Two Farmers was filmed in the grounds of Finborough School.
rugby club, now Principal of the school
Alex 'Bear' Rosedale, bass guitarist in the band Walkway
Simon Warr, former resident house master and rugby coach, who is now Head of Drama at the Royal Hospital School
and has made numerous appearances on TV, including 'That'll Teach 'Em'.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, owned by the Sinclair family. It is situated in and around Finborough Hall, in the village of Great Finborough
Great Finborough
Great Finborough is a rural village in Suffolk, England about south west of Stowmarket and near one of the sources of the River Gipping. It has a population of 755....
, near Stowmarket
Stowmarket
-See also:* Stowmarket Town F.C.* Stowmarket High School-External links:* * * * *...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, 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...
.
History
The original school, named St. George's School, was founded in 1977 by Derek Slade, with the financial support of various others, in WicklewoodWicklewood
Wicklewood is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. It is located west of Norwich next to the Market town of Wymondham, neighbouring the villages of Deopham, Hackford and Kimberley...
near Wymondham
Wymondham
Wymondham is a historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies 9.5 miles to the south west of the city of Norwich, on the A11 road to Thetford and London.- Before The Great Fire :...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and was set up as a military boarding school for boys whose parents were in the armed forces. After failed efforts to purchase the facilities of the HMS Ganges establishment, the school was moved to the current site at Great Finborough
Great Finborough
Great Finborough is a rural village in Suffolk, England about south west of Stowmarket and near one of the sources of the River Gipping. It has a population of 755....
in 1980. Slade's use of corporal punishment came under close scrutiny after a BBC Radio 4 Checkpoint investigation in 1982 and, although he escaped charges at the time, Slade left in 1983. The case resurfaced in 2010 after former pupils had started a campaign on Facebook. Slade was convicted of over 50 offences relating to physical and sexual abuse, sexual assault and child pornography and sentenced to 21 years in jail.
John and Sue Sinclair eventually took over ownership of the school following Slade's departure, and it was renamed Finborough School. The school has changed dramatically in recent years, with the contingent of boarders becoming less dominant. Contrary to its beginnings as a strict and harsh boarding school, the school now prides itself on the friendly, polite, respectful 'family atmosphere' between pupils and staff. In 2008, the Principal John Sinclair retired and his son James Sinclair took over as Principal. The school recently purchased Hillcroft Preparatory School
Hillcroft Preparatory School
Hillcroft Preparatory School was an independent private co-educational school, located at Walnutree Manor, Haughley Green. Established in 1911, it was the oldest co-educational preparatory day school in Suffolk....
.
The school today
The school includes Nursery, Pre-Prep, Prep School, Senior School and Sixth Form. This means that the school has pupils ranging from ages 2 to 18. The Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School are all based in the old Finborough Hall building. The Senior School uses some parts of that building, but mainly uses a classroom block located nearby. Assemblies and prizegiving ceremonies are often held in the nearby Great FinboroughGreat Finborough
Great Finborough is a rural village in Suffolk, England about south west of Stowmarket and near one of the sources of the River Gipping. It has a population of 755....
church.
The school offers a number leadership positions to older pupils, including Head of School, Deputy Head of School, School Council Chair, Prefects and House Captains.
Three school houses
House system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
form the basis of many events throughout the academic year. Annual events include Sports Day
Sports day
Sports days, sometimes referred to as Field Day, are events staged by many schools and offices in which people take part in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of winning trophies or prizes...
and the Cross Country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
Run. A House Singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Competition also took place recently.
Sport
The whole school uses extensive sports fields for both sport and other events. Girls play netballNetball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
, athletics, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and rounders
Rounders
Rounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...
. Boys play football, rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, athletics, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. Most age groups play matches against other local independent schools.
Finborough School has made a number of notable links with local sports clubs. It has successful partnerships with Stowmarket Tennis Club and the Stowmarket Golf Centre. The school also sponsor Bury Rugby Club.
Rugby has always been an important part of school sport, since the 1980s, when the rugby team was under the leadership of Simon Warr.
Music and drama
The school has a choirChoir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and various ensembles
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, with regular performance nights being held in the drama studio. The school regularly participates in both the Sudbury Festival and the Suffolk Festival of Music, Dance and Speech.
Although drama is not available as a GCSE option, the drama club remains popular.
Talent contest
Finborough School holds a regular (normally annual) talent show. The 2003/04 competition was won by a band consisting of Pete Baird, Scott Hancocks and Australian gap-year student Ward Sims. In 2004, it was won by Edward Payne and Jake McNaughton with their rendition of "I Heard It Through The GrapevineI Heard It through the Grapevine
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a landmark song in the history of Motown. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966, the single was first recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles...
". In 2005, the competition was won by a band consisting of James Clarke (lead guitar), Tom Reed (bass) and Josh McMullan (drums), who played "Sunshine of Your Love
Sunshine of Your Love
"Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British supergroup Cream. The song was originally released on the album Disraeli Gears in November 1967, and was later released as a single in January 1968. It is Cream's only gold-selling single in the United States. It features a distinctive...
" and "Summer of '69
Summer of '69
"Summer of '69" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Bryan Adams, from his fourth studio album, Reckless . The song was written by Adams and Jim Vallance, a long-time writing partner of Adams. "Summer of '69" was produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain. It was released in June 1985 under...
". Korrell Holley won the competition in 2006. Payne and McNaughton reclaimed the title in the autumn of 2007, singing "In the Sun
In the Sun
In the Sun may refer to:* "In the Sun" ** In the Sun, a charity cover of Joseph Arthur's song by Michael Stipe* "In the Sun", a song by Blondie from Blondie...
".
The audience vote system was scrapped in favour of a judging panel of 3 for the 2010 edition. However, the event ended in controversy when Arnold & George (Tenacious D
Tenacious D
Tenacious D is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Black and lead guitarist and vocalist Kyle Gass, the band has released two albums – Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny...
medley, guitar & drums) were crowned winners, despite allegations that Edward Payne & Jake McNaughton (Candy
Candy (Paolo Nutini song)
"Candy" is a song from Paolo Nutini which was released on 18 May 2009. The song is the lead single from his second studio album "Sunny Side Up".-Background and Writing:...
/Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground
Prospekt's March
-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
, singing & piano), competing for the third and final time, had actually won according to the judges' marks, but were instead given 5th place.
Houses
There are three school housesHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
: Churchill, Marlborough and Nelson named after Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, the John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
and Horatio Nelson respectively.
| House | House Colours |
|---|---|
| Churchill | White |
| Marlborough | Red |
| Nelson | Navy blue |
Originally, the school was primarily for boarders and a large percentage of pupils came from military families, hence the names of the houses. The original plan for the houses was to put children of army families into Marlborough house, children of air force families into Churchill house and children from naval families into Nelson house. However, so few children came from naval or air force backgrounds that many of the army children filled in the spaces in the other houses. This plan is no longer used today; pupils are assigned a random house as soon as they join the school.
Achievements
• After an inspection by the Independent Schools InspectorateIndependent Schools Inspectorate
The Independent Schools Inspectorate is an organisation responsible for the inspection of independent schools in England which are affiliated to the Independent Schools Council . The Inspectorate is a separate company, owned by the Independent Schools Council and has its work monitored by the...
in 2005, the school was described as 'a gem of a school'.
• In December 2005, Finborough School was awarded the title of the friendliest school in Suffolk, and the 6th friendliest in the country. This was based on former pupils' activities on the Friends Reunited
Friends Reunited
Friends Reunited is a portfolio of social networking websites based upon the themes of reunion with research , and job-hunting...
website - the average number of e-mails sent by each former pupil to classmates, and the average number of pupils who sent messages on the Friends Reunited website.
Trivia
• Finborough Hall, once owned by the Pettiward family, subsequently gave its name to Finborough Road in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, through Roger Pettiward. This led to the name of Finborough Theatre
Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty seat theatre in the Earls Court area of London, United Kingdom , which presents new British writing, UK and premieres of new plays, primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, music theatre, and rarely seen...
.
• The school has strong ties with the Kids Klub organisation, which also operates on the Finborough Hall site and was actually founded there.
• Finborough School was the basis of the comic strip TTS
TTS
TTS is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:In computing:* Text-To-Speech.* Trouble Ticket System - a former name of Issue tracking system.* Teletypesetter.In video games:* Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.In music:...
.
• Much of the comedy sketch show The Two Farmers was filmed in the grounds of Finborough School.
Notable ex-Finborians
James Sinclair, former Recruitment and Development Director for Northampton SaintsNorthampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
rugby club, now Principal of the school
Alex 'Bear' Rosedale, bass guitarist in the band Walkway
Simon Warr, former resident house master and rugby coach, who is now Head of Drama at the Royal Hospital School
Royal Hospital School
The Royal Hospital School, , is a British co-educational independent boarding school with naval traditions. It admits pupils from age 11 to 18 through Common Entrance or the school's own exam...
and has made numerous appearances on TV, including 'That'll Teach 'Em'.