Rossall School

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Rossall School is a British co-educational independent day and boarding school in Fleetwood, Lancashire. It was founded in 1844 as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year by The Rev. St Vincent Beechey. It was founded "with the object of giving to the sons of clergymen and others an education similar to that of the great public schools, but without the great cost of Eton or Harrow, and embracing also a more general course of instruction in modern literature and science.") Set in an 160 acre estate next to Rossall Beach, Rossall is also a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and was granted a royal charter in 1890.^[1]

[edit] School Life

The daily timetable consists of 6 one hour schools (periods) a day: with a break between schools 2 & 3 and lunch after school 3. Tea is also offered to boarders. lessons are from monday to friday and saturday morning. Every year the school choses students in the sixth form to be school monitors. It offers both A-levels and the International Baccalaureate Diploma to its Sixth form students.

[edit] The CCF

An ariel view of Rossall

Rossall is noted for being the first school in the United Kingdom to form a Combined Cadet Force (CCF),^[2] being founded in 1859 with the threat of a French/Irish Catholic invasion at its height. The institution is still present in the school today with around 100 cadets currently enlisted. In recent years the shooting team has excelled with notable victories in the Home Guard Cup and Loyal’s Regimental Cup.

[edit] The Carmen

The Rossall School song, The Carmen was composed by Dr. C.H.Lloyd, later organist at Gloucester Cathedral and Christ Church College and then Director of Music at Eton. It is sung at major school events including Old Rossallian dinners and end of term assemblies. Tradition has it that when singing it one must stand up on a bench/chair and belt it out with appropriate gusto. Usually only the first verse is sung, however there are 3 full verses. The full lyrics:

Concinamus admirantes
Propter fluctus asstuantes
Stantem te, Rossallia!
Alma mater, be tibamus,
Tui calices proscamus!
Hanc sententium decamus,
Floreat Rossallia!

Rossall School Main Square. Big School (Far Left), Rose House Under Refurbisment, Archway (Centre), Common Room (Grey Building on right), Sumner Library (Far Right)

Adsint chroro gratulanti,
Adsint choro Di pricanti!
Te juvent, Rossallia!
Auferamus post labores
E honores!
Tui manent hinc amores
Latius, Rossallia!

Ornet inconcussa virtus,
Rara Fides, honor certus;
Te colant, Rossallia!
Hinc per saecla saeculorum
Fama crescat; vox tuorum
Una surgat filiorum,
Floreat Rossallia!

[edit] Houses

Like many independent schools Rossall adopted a house system early on, with each pupil belonging to a house. It forms an integral part of life at the school and there are frequent inter-house events in sports as well as the arts. The current houses are:

• Stag's Head (Middle School - Mixed - Day)

Spread Eagle House

• Falcon (Middle School - Mixed - Day)
• Dragon Crescent (Middle School - Mixed - Day)
• Anchor (Middle School - Mixed - Boarding)
• Dolphin (Senior School - Girls - Day)
• Lugard Boys (Senior School - Boys - Boarding - New International Students)
• Lugard Girls (Senior School - Girls - Boarding - New International Students)
• Maltese Cross (Senior School - Boys - Boarding and Day)
• Mitre Fleur-de-Lys (Senior School - Boys - Boarding and Day)
• Pelican (Senior School - Boys - Boarding and Day)
• Rose (Senior School - Girls - Boarding)
• Spread Eagle (Senior School - Boys - Boarding and Day)

[edit] Some Rossallian Jargon

The Museum Theatre

• Big School - The Main Assembly Hall
• Common Room - The name of the Teachers Lounge. Teachers are known as members of Common Room.
• Moni's Lawn - The elevated area of grass next to the dining hall on which only school monitors can walk
• Nagger - The nickname for the Matron's office where laundry is cleaned etc.
• Rossall Fives - Rossall's unique version of fives - an amalgamation of Rugby, Winchester and Eton Fives - though it resembles Rugby Fives more than the other two codes.
• Rossall Hockey - A game unique to Rossall - a cross between Rugby and Hockey played on the beach in the harshest winter months.

[edit] Notable Old Rossallians

Many notable people have studied at Rossall over the years. The full list is here: Notable Old Rossallians. However a small sample includes:

• Bill Ashton - Founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra
• Sir Thomas Beecham - Conductor and founder of numerous orchestras including the London Philharmonic.

Rossall International Study Centre, formerly the largest Headmaster's House in the UK

• David Brown - Aston Martin and Lagonda owner.
• Father Thomas R.D. Byles - Catholic priest who refused to leave the Titanic so he could help fellow passengers. He perished as it sank.
• Leslie Charteris - author and creator of The Saint
• Michael Dickinson - World Record Holding National Hunt trainer
• J.G. Farrell - novelist and winner of the Booker Prize
• Wilfred Fletcher C.B.E - Designer of the first Severn Bridge
• F. W. Harvey - Poet
• Charles Kay Ogden - Linguist, psychologist and philosopher and inventor of Basic English
• Brian Redman - Successful racing car driver - 3 times Formula 5000 champion amongst other notable victories
• Walter Clopton Wingfield - The Inventor of Lawn Tennis
• Peter Winterbottom - Former England Rugby Union Captain. He also played for the Lions.

[edit] Odd Yet True Rossall Anecdotes

• In 1911 the Rossall Bursar, Major Anstead (A very peculiar chap who was always seen riding a horse in full military uniform.), was found to be attempting to enlist in London for military service in South Africa. The Rossallian who spotted him informed the police. Simultaneously Rossall was nearly forced to file for bankruptcy. After investigation it turned out that Major Anstead had been tampering with the books and had embezzled over £70,000, equivalent to more than £1million today. He had used the money to finance his extravagant lifestyle, uniforms and an expensive mistress in London.
• The original school dining hall burnt down in the 1920s. The replacement, the current dining hall, was built the wrong way around. Not only was it built the wrong way around but it was constructed from bricks covered in a weatherable coating that would dissolve away to leave it looking in the same condition as the rest of the square. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the north Lancashire climate and the Irish Sea, the bricks have yet to fully weather, or in most cases weather in any way at all. Hence its peculiar colour compared with the rest of the Rossall buildings.
• In the early 20th century one particularly unpopular school chaplain, Revd. Sleep, was subject to an assassination attempt from the students. Apparently arsenic in the sugar was the means chosen by the students to despatch the hated priest. However, the plot was outed before any of the affected sugar was consumed.

[edit] Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Rossall School

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The Gazebo	Rossall School Chapel, Monitors' Lawn and Beecham Music Schools	Rossall School Main Drive as viewed from the archway	Rossall School Libray
Rossall School Panorama	Rossall Prep School	Rossall School Archway	Another Ariel Shot of Rossall with Blackpool in the background

[edit] References

1. ^ "The Rossall Register 1844-1894" - Available on DVD-ROM from Anguline Research Archives
2. ^ "The Rossall Register 1844-1894" - Available on DVD-ROM from Anguline Research Archives

[edit] External and other links

• Notable Old Rossallians
• Official site
• Old Rossallian Club Website