St Albans School is a Public School in
St AlbansSt Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It was a settlement of pre-Roman origin named Verlamion by the Ancient British, Catuvellauni tribe...
,
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...
. Founded in 948 by Abbot
WulsinWulsin may refer to:* Wulsin , Abbot of St Albans AbbeyPeople with the surname Wulsin:* Janet Elliott Wulsin , early 20th-century explorer* Lawson Wulsin, psychiatrist and author...
, St Albans School is not only the oldest school in
HertfordshireHertfordshire , abbreviated Herts, is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford....
but also one of the oldest in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. The
Good Schools Guide describes St Albans as a "traditional public school, with a rich history.". The school is also a member of the
Rugby GroupThe Rugby Group consists of well-known British independent schools.It is similar to other groups of independent schools known as the Eton Group and Haileybury Group, with which it also has links....
.
By c.1100 the School had built for itself such a reputation that the Norman scholar
Geoffrey de GorhamGeoffrey de Gorham , sometimes called Geoffrey of Dunstable or of Le Mans) was a Norman scholar who became Abbot of St Albans Abbey, 1119 to 1146.-Life:...
applied for the post of Master.
St Albans School is a Public School in
St AlbansSt Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It was a settlement of pre-Roman origin named Verlamion by the Ancient British, Catuvellauni tribe...
,
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...
. Founded in 948 by Abbot
WulsinWulsin may refer to:* Wulsin , Abbot of St Albans AbbeyPeople with the surname Wulsin:* Janet Elliott Wulsin , early 20th-century explorer* Lawson Wulsin, psychiatrist and author...
, St Albans School is not only the oldest school in
HertfordshireHertfordshire , abbreviated Herts, is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford....
but also one of the oldest in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. The
Good Schools Guide describes St Albans as a "traditional public school, with a rich history.". The school is also a member of the
Rugby GroupThe Rugby Group consists of well-known British independent schools.It is similar to other groups of independent schools known as the Eton Group and Haileybury Group, with which it also has links....
.
History
By c.1100 the School had built for itself such a reputation that the Norman scholar
Geoffrey de GorhamGeoffrey de Gorham , sometimes called Geoffrey of Dunstable or of Le Mans) was a Norman scholar who became Abbot of St Albans Abbey, 1119 to 1146.-Life:...
applied for the post of Master. He was later to become Abbot of St Albans, and the School then remained under the control of the Abbot until the
dissolutionThe Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, denotes the administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, nunneries and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their income, disposed...
of the Abbey in 1539.
In 1549, the last Abbot was granted the right to establish a Grammar School by a private Act of Parliament. In 1553 the Abbey Church was sold to the town for £400 and became a Protestant parish church for the new Borough of St Albans; the Lady Chapel at the east end was used as the schoolroom and maintained by the Mayor and burgesses. In 1570 Sir
Nicholas BaconSir Nicholas Bacon , was an English politician during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, notable as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal...
,
Lord Keeper of the Great SealThe Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This evolved into one of the Great Officers of State....
and then living at nearby
GorhamburyOld Gorhambury House located near St Albans, Hertfordshire, England is an Elizabethan mansion, built in 1563-8 by Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper, and twice visited by Queen Elizabeth....
, put the financing of the School on a firmer footing through a Wine Charter.
In 1871, the school moved into the Abbey Gateway (which had been built in 1365 and, following the dissolution, had been used as a prison for 300 years). Since the 19th century there have been many additions to the school site, which now comprises a very interesting architectural mixture of buildings dating from the 14th century to the 1990s. The Woollam Playing Fields, a couple of miles away to the north of the city, provides an extensive, modern, outdoor sports facility for the School and the Old Albanian Sports Club. The site was officially opened in October 2002 by
Prince Richard, The Duke of GloucesterPrince Richard, 2nd Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974...
.
The school still maintains strong links with the
AbbeySt Albans Cathedral is a Church of England Cathedral church at St Albans, England. At 84 metres , its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England...
. Services are held there every Monday and Friday morning, and special events held there include the annual Founders' Day and carol services. In addition the school's music staff are usually linked with the Abbey's musical staff.
Andrew ParnellAndrew Parnell is an organist and harpsichordist.As a boy Parnell was a choral scholar at Southwell Minster, where he began organ studies under Kenneth Beard. He won the Organ Scholarship at Christ's College, Cambridge aged 19 and studied under Nicolas Kynaston...
, organist and harpsichordist, was assistant master of music at the Abbey as well as being master of music and choirmaster at the school from 1976 to 2001.
Simon LindleySimon Lindley, British organist and choirmaster, organist at Leeds Town Hall since 1976 and Leeds Parish Church since 1975. Senior Lecturer in Music at Leeds Polytechnic from 1976 to 1987. Appointed Senior Assistant Music Officer for Leeds City Council in 1988...
had also held these posts;
John RutterJohn Milford Rutter CBE is an English composer, choral conductor, editor, arranger and record producer.Born in London, he was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He then read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the choir and then director of...
's 1974 carol
Jesus Child bears a dedication "for Simon Lindley and the choir of St Albans School".
School arms
The school
coat of armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
comprises the cross of
Saint AlbanSaint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain. Alban is listed in the Church of England calendar for 22 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox...
together with the School motto.
The cross of Saint Alban is a gold
saltireA saltire, Saint Andrew's Cross, or crux decussata , is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter X...
(a cross, signifying that Alban was martyred, but diagonal, as he was beheaded, not crucified) on a blue field (or, in heraldic terms,
Azure, a saltire Or).
The current school motto is
Non nobis nati ("Born not for ourselves"). This dates back to the family of the twelfth century Geoffrey de Gorham (Master and subsequently Abbot of St Albans), and was introduced in 1994, thereby establishing a link between the School before and after the dissolution of the monastery in 1539.
Non nobis nati replaced the previous motto
Mediocria firma ("Moderate things are surest"), the motto of the Bacon family at Gorhambury (including Sir
NicholasSir Nicholas Bacon , was an English politician during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, notable as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal...
and Sir
Francis BaconFrancis Bacon,1st Viscount St Alban KC , son of Nicholas Bacon by his second wife Anne Bacon, was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, and author. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
). This formed part of the Bacon coat of arms, which for instance can still be seen outside the Verulam Arms public house in nearby Welclose Street and inside St Mary's Church,
RedbournRedbourn is a village in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, lying on Watling Street, 3 miles from Harpenden, 4 miles from St Albans and 5 miles from Hemel Hempstead. It has a population of around 6,000.-History:...
.
General information
St Albans School is predominantly a single-sex school for boys, but has accepted girls into the Sixth Form since 1991. In its earlier days it was known as the Free School of St Albans, City of St Alban Grammar School or St Albans Grammar School. It is often (erroneously) referred to as "The Boys' School", "St Albans Boys" and "The Abbey School" (thereby causing confusion with The Abbey C of E Primary School nearby which is almost always referred to as "The Abbey School", and the adjacent but now defunct
Abbey National Boys' School, a name which is still borne by a building in nearby Spicer Street). The school has around 770 pupils, of which 35 are female.
The school operates a house system. The current system, which came into use in September 1996, assigns all members of the school to one of four houses. These are named after notable former pupils and staff: Hawking, Renfrew, Hampson and Marsh. Previously the house names were Abbey, Breakespeare, Debenham, Pemberton, Shirley, Woollams and School House. School House, the last remaining
boardingA boarding school is a school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board", that is, food and lodging...
house, closed at the end of the Summer Term 1956 and those boys in School House were integrated into other houses.
In 1967 the School acquired what was then a derelict hill farm in the
Brecon BeaconsThe Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. It forms the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park , one of Wales's three National Parks.-Range:...
. The property, Pen Arthur, was fully restored and is now a well-equipped Field Studies Centre. Academic departments use Pen Arthur for field trips and study weekends throughout the year, and it plays a key part as a base for outdoor activities organised by the
CCFThe Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
and
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award SchemeThe DofE , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 25, regardless of personal ability. DofE programmes can on average take anywhere between 1 year and 3/4 years to complete, depending upon the route taken, and around 275,000 participants are taking part in the Award...
. During their first year at the school, pupils go to Pen Arthur for a week, during which time they participate in many "outward-bound" activities such as caving, hiking and even visiting a
RomanRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
gold mineThe Dolaucothi Gold Mines , also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are Roman surface and deep mines located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales....
.
Each year the school publishes a magazine, typically of around ninety pages, called
The Albanian. It is a collection of articles, reviews, sports round-ups, art, creative writing and other features that acts as the official annual record of the school. The magazine is produced by a small editorial team comprising two teachers and a team of sixth formers. The Publications Department is also responsible for the School's advertisements, newsletters and
website.
Headmasters since 1902
- Edgar Montague-Jones 1902-1931
- William Thomas Marsh 1931-1964
- Frank Ian Kilvington 1964-1984
- Simon Court Wilkinson 1984-1993
- Andrew Robert Grant 1993-
Notable teachers
- Bruce Balden (b. 1957), mathematician and participant in TV series Seven Up!
The Up Series is a series of documentary films that have followed the lives of fourteen British children since 1964, when they were seven years old. The children were selected to represent the range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the explicit assumption that each...
- Geoffrey de Gorham
Geoffrey de Gorham , sometimes called Geoffrey of Dunstable or of Le Mans) was a Norman scholar who became Abbot of St Albans Abbey, 1119 to 1146.-Life:...
(d. 1146), scholar, Abbot of St Albans Abbey 1119-1146
- Alexander Neckam
Alexander Neckam was an English scholar and teacher.-Biography:Born at St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, on the same night as King Richard I, Neckam's mother, Hodierna, nursed the prince with her own son, who thus became Richard's foster-brother...
(1157-1217), scientist and teacher
- Tommy Hampson
Thomas "Tommy" Hampson was an English athlete, winner of the 800 metres at the 1932 Summer Olympics....
(1907-1965), middle distance runner (800m Gold Medal at the 1932 Summer OlympicsThe 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations and...
in Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
)
- Eric James Logan, founding member of the 80's pop band The Mood
The Mood were a British band from 1981 to 1984, based in York. It consisted of members John Moore, Mark James and Eric James ....
- John Mole (b. 1941), poet, critic and jazz clarinettist. City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
Poet In Residence since 1998 (under the Poetry SocietyPoetry Society is a membership organisation established in 1909, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The London-based Society's Director is presently Judith Palmer....
's Poet in the City scheme)
- Herbert Edward Palmer
Herbert Edward Palmer was an English poet and critic.He was born in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire and educated at Woodhouse Grove School, Birmingham University and Bonn University...
(1880-1961), poet
- James Shirley
James Shirley , was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
(1596-1666), playwright
- Dikran Tahta
Dikran "Dick" Tahta was a British-Armenian mathematician, teacher and author.-Biography:Dikran Tahta is a descendant of Ottoman Armenian family who settled in Manchester after the First World War...
(1928-2006), mathematician and inspiration to Stephen Hawking
- Andrew Parnell
Andrew Parnell is an organist and harpsichordist.As a boy Parnell was a choral scholar at Southwell Minster, where he began organ studies under Kenneth Beard. He won the Organ Scholarship at Christ's College, Cambridge aged 19 and studied under Nicolas Kynaston...
12th Century
- Cardinal Boso (d. c. 1181), third English Cardinal
- Nicholas Breakspear (c.1100-1159), who became Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
(1154-1159)
- Alexander Neckam
Alexander Neckam was an English scholar and teacher.-Biography:Born at St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, on the same night as King Richard I, Neckam's mother, Hodierna, nursed the prince with her own son, who thus became Richard's foster-brother...
(1157-1217), scientist and teacher (became Master of the school in later life)
15th Century
- John Whethamstede
John Whethamstede , English abbot, was a son of Hugh Bostock, and was born at Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, owing his name, the Latin form of which is Frumenlarius, to this circumstance....
(or Bostock) (c. 1392-1465), scholar, writer and Abbot of St Albans AbbeySt Albans Cathedral is a Church of England Cathedral church at St Albans, England. At 84 metres , its nave is the longest of any cathedral in England...
16th Century
- Walter Curle
Walter Curle or Curll was an English bishop, a close supporter of William Laud. Born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, he was educated at St Albans School and at Christ's College, Cambridge , transferring to Peterhouse , of which college he later was elected Fellow. He was bishop of Winchester from...
(1575-1647), Bishop of Winchester
- Robert Wright
-Life:Wright was born of humble parentage in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1560, and probably attended the refounded free school there , where preference was given to poor scholars of the borough. He matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford in 1574 at the age of 14, was elected to a scholarship in...
(1560-1643), first Warden of Wadham College, OxfordWadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
and Bishop of Lichfield & CoventryThe Bishop of Lichfield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin...
17th Century
- Sir Henry Blount
-Life:He was the third son of Sir Thomas Pope Blount of Blount's Hall, Staffordshire and Tyttenhanger, Hertfordshire and was educated at St Albans Free School and Trinity College, Oxford. He travelled extensively in Europe and the Levant and was author of Voyage into the Levant published in London...
(1602-1682), traveller and writer
- William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper
William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper FRS , Lord Chancellor of England, was the son of Sir William Cowper, 2nd Baronet, of Ratling Court, Kent, a Whig member of parliament of some mark in the two last Stuart reigns....
(c.1665-1723), Lord ChancellorThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
of Great Britain, grandfather of William CowperWilliam Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
, poet and hymnodist
- William Dobson
William Dobson was a portraitist and one of the first notable English painters, praised by his contemporary John Aubrey as "the most excellent painter that England has yet bred"....
(1611-1646), painter to King Charles I
- Major-General John Hill
Major-General John "Jack" Hill was a British army officer and courtier during the reign of Queen Anne. While of no particular military ability, his family connections brought him promotion and office until the end of Anne's reign....
(?c. 1680-1735), M.P., army officer, politician and courtier
- Sir John King, K.C. (1639-77), lawyer
- Sir Francis Pemberton
Sir Francis Pemberton was an English judge and briefly Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the course of a turbulent career.-Early life:...
(1624-1697), Lord Chief Justice
18th Century
- Sir William Domville, Bt (1742-1833), Lord Mayor of London 1813
- Thomas Walsh
Bishop Thomas Walsh was a Roman Catholic, Vicar Apostolic who served the Midlands area of the United Kingdom. He was born in London on 3 October 1776. He was ordained priest on 19 September 1801. At the age of 46, he was made Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District by the Pope, with...
(1776-1849), Roman Catholic Bishop and Vicar Apostolic, Midlands and London Districts
19th Century
- Colonel Sir Hildred Carlile, 1st Bt, M.P. (1852-1942), army officer, politician and philanthropist
- Sir Alfred Faulkner (1882-1963), civil servant - Permanent Under-Secretary for Mines
- Henry Montague Grover (1791-1866), writer and theologian
- Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish (1876-1956), founder National Playing Fields Association
The National Playing Fields Association , also known from 2007 as Fields in Trust , was founded in 1925 and granted a Royal Charter in 1933...
, Member IOCThe International Olympic Committee is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on 23 June 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees....
- Coulson Kernahan
Coulson Kernahan was an English novelist, born at Ilfracombe, Devonshire, and educated privately by his father and at St Albans School...
(1858-1943), essayist, novelist and editor
- Henry Leach (1836-79), mercantile marine physician and author
- Sir Max Pemberton
Sir Max Pemberton was a popular British novelist, working mainly in the adventure and mystery genres. He was educated at St Albans School, Merchant Taylors' School, and Caius College, Cambridge...
(1863-1950), novelist and editor
- Major-General Sir Herbert Aveling Raitt (1858-1935)
- Aubrey George Spencer
Bishop Aubrey George Spencer was the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda . He was also bishop of Jamaica.-Life:George Spencer was born at London, England...
(1795-1872), first Anglican Bishop of Newfoundland
- Colonel F. A. M. Webster (1886-1949), English javelin champion (1911, 1923), Olympic coach and author
- Sir Thomas Spencer Wells
Sir Thomas Spencer Wells, 1st Baronet was surgeon to Queen Victoria, a medical professor and president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.-Early life:...
(1818-1897), surgeon
- William Whitaker, F.R.S. (1836-1925), geologist
- Charles Williams
Charles Walter Stansby Williams was a British poet, novelist, theologian, literary critic, and a member of the Inklings.- Biography :...
(1886-1945), poet, novelist, publisher and theological writer
20th Century
- Rod Argent
Rod Argent was a founding member of the 1959 English pop group The Zombies and the 1970s band Argent.While at St Albans School, he met Paul Atkinson and Hugh Grundy...
(b. 1945), musician, founder member of The ZombiesThe Zombies are an English rock band. Formed in 1959 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent on piano and Colin Blunstone on vocals, the band scored US hits in the mid- and late-1960s with "She's Not There", "Tell Her No", and "Time of the Season"...
- Professor Keith M. Ashman
Keith M. Ashman, is a British theoretical astrophysicist, educated at St. Albans School, Hertfordshire, and Queen Mary College , University of London . He is a professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has worked as a professor at the University of Kansas, and Baker University. He...
(b. 1963), theoretical physicist and globular clusters expert
- Professor Colin Cherry
Edward Colin Cherry was a British cognitive scientist whose main contributions were in focused auditory attention, specifically regarding the cocktail party problem. This concerns the problem of following only one conversation while many other conversations are going on around us...
(1914-1975), cognitive scientist
- Ralph Chubb
Ralph Nicholas Chubb was an English poet, printer, and artist. Heavily influenced by Whitman, Blake, and the Romantics, his work was the creation of a highly intricate personal mythology, one that was anti-materialist and sexually revolutionary.-Life:Ralph Chubb was born in Harpenden,...
(1892-1960), poet, printer and artist
- Rogers Covey-Crump (b. 1944), singer (tenor), member of The Hilliard Ensemble
- Graham Dow
Geoffrey Graham Dow was the Anglican Bishop of Carlisle from 2000-2009, the 66th holder of the office. He is a well-known evangelical.-Early life:...
(b. 1942), Bishop of CarlisleThe Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York.The diocese covers the County of Cumbria except for Alston Moor...
- Chris Duffield, Town Clerk and Chief Executive of the Corporation Of the City of London 2003-
- Larry Elliott
Larry Elliott is a British journalist and author focusing on economic issues. He is currently Economics editor at The Guardian, and has published four books on related issues, often in partnership with Dan Atkinson....
, Economics Editor of the Guardian
- Professor Sir Jack Goody
Sir John Rankine Goody is a British social anthropologist. He has been a prominent teacher at Cambridge University, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1976, and he is an associate of the US National Academy of Sciences...
, FBAThe British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established by Royal Charter in 1902, and is a fellowship of more than 800 scholars...
(b. 1919), social anthropologist
- Professor Emeritus Ian Grant
Ian Grant is a British physicist and a Fellow of the Royal Society.He was Professor of Mathematical Physics, University of Oxford, 1992-98, now Emeritus Professor....
(b. 1930), mathematical physicist
- David Grossman
David Grossman is a British journalist who is currently political correspondent for Newsnight.He was educated at St Albans School and at the University of East Anglia where he graduated with a degree in politics in 1987...
, political correspondent for NewsnightNewsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for almost two decades....
- Patrick Burnet Harris
The Rt Rev Patrick Burnet Harris is a Church of England Bishop who served in two episcopal posts. He was born on the 30 September 1934, and educated at St Albans School and Keble College, Oxford. He was ordained in 1961 and his first post was as a Curate at St Ebbes, Oxford after which he became...
(b. 1934), former Bishop of Southwell
- Tim Hart
Tim Hart is a retired English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...
(b.1948), musician, founder member of electric folk band Steeleye SpanSteeleye Span is a British electric folk band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
- Professor Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is a British theoretical physicist. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes...
(b. 1942), cosmologist and theoretical physicist
- Tony Hendra
Tony Hendra is an English satirist and writer who has worked mostly in the United States. Educated at St Albans School and Cambridge University, he was a member of the Cambridge University Footlights revue in 1962, alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor.-Career:In 1964 Hendra...
(b. 1941), satirist and writer
- Major-General Sir Richard 'swagger-stick' Lawson (b. 1927), Congo hero and C-in-C Allied Forces, Northern Europe, 1982-6
- Gregory Paul Martin
Gregory Paul Martin is a British writer and television and film actor, and the eldest son of Beatles record producer Sir George Martin...
(b. 1957), actor and writer
- Herbert Mundin
Herbert Mundin was an English-born Hollywood character actor. He was frequently typecast in films as older cheeky eccentrics, a type helped by his jowelled features and cheerful Cockney disposition....
(1898-1939), Hollywood character actor
- Ed Macfarlane, Jack Savidge and Ed Gibson, members of the St Albans based Indie band Friendly Fires
Friendly Fires are a Mercury Prize nominated English dance punk band from St Albans, Hertfordshire. They are currently signed to XL Recordings. Their self-titled debut album was released on 1 September 2008 and was announced as one of the shortlisted twelve for the 2009 Mercury Prize on July 21,...
- Mike Newell
Michael Cormac "Mike" Newell is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television.-Early life:...
(b. 1942), film director
- Professor Emeritus Ray Pahl (b. 1935), sociologist
- Sir Charles Pereira
Sir Charles Pereira, tropical hydrologist, was born on May 12 1913 in London. He spent his early years in Saskatchewan on an Indian Reservation. He was educated there, then at St Albans School and the University of London, where he graduated in mathematics and physics. After postgraduate research...
, F.R.S. (1913-2004), tropical agriculturist and hydrologist
- Justin Pollard
Justin David Pollard is a British historian, television producer and writer.-Biography:Justin is a popular historian and screenwriter working in the field of feature films, television and print...
(b. 1968), writer and historian
- Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn (b. 1937), archaeologist
- Sir Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice is an English Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, author, radio personality and television gameshow panellist....
(b. 1944), lyricist
- Sir Harry Solomon
Sir Harry Solomon is the founder of Hillsdown Holdings, one of the United Kingdom's largest food businesses.-Career:Educated at St Albans School in Hertfordshire, Harry Solomon qualified as a solicitor in 1960 and went on to practise law...
(b. 1937), leading businessman
- Sir Philip Watson
Sir Philip Alexander Watson KBE, LVO was an officer of the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of vice-admiral.Philip Alexander Watson was born on 7 October 1919 at 93 Limestone Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland to Alexander Henry St Croix Watson and Gladys Margaret Watson...
(b. 1919), Vice-Admiral R.N., Chief Naval Engineer Officer, 1974-77, and chairman of Marconi Radar Systems, 1981-85, 88.
- Nicholas Tarling
Nicholas Tarling is a historian.He was born in 1931 and received his secondary education at St Albans School. As an undergraduate at Christ's College, Cambridge, he was supervised by, among others, the late Sir John H. Plumb...
Historian
- Professor Christopher Budd
Christopher Budd is a British mathematician known especially for his contribution to non-linear differential equations and their applications in industry....
Mathematician
Ex-students of St Albans School are automatically members of the Old Albanian Club
http://www.oaconnect.co.uk and are also eligible for membership of the school's
masonicFreemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around 5 million, including just under two million in the United States and around 480,000 in...
lodge, number 4999.
In popular culture
- Some scenes, including the opening croquet game, of the BBC comedy All Gas and Gaiters
All Gas and Gaiters was an ecclesiastical British television sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team. They used the pseudonym of "John Wraith" when writing the pilot. David Climie and Austin Steele co-wrote the 1968...
were filmed at the school.
- The School was used as a site of part of the film Incendiary
Incendiary is a 2008 British drama film portraying the aftermath of a terrorist attack at a football match. It is directed by Sharon Maguire and stars Michelle Williams as a young mother, Ewan McGregor as Jasper, and Matthew Macfadyen as Terrance...
(2008).
- The school was mentioned in the 2004 Film Alfie
Alfie is a 2004 American-British film starring Jude Law as the title character. The movie is written, directed and produced by Charles Shyer.-Synopsis :...
featuring Jude LawDavid Jude Heyworth Law is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
.
See also