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St. Bees School was a co-educational independent school located in the West Cumbrian village of St Bees. Founded in 1583 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Edmund Grindal as a boys' "free grammar school", it was later a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.hmc.org.uk/schools/q-s.htm )〕 and was coeducational from 1978.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://reports.isi.net/DownloadReport.aspx?s=1034&t=h&r=1034_09.pdf )〕 Before closure in 2015 the school accommodated both day pupils and boarders, who lived in five boarding houses located on the school grounds and in the village, although each day pupil was also a member of a house. The last headmaster was James Davies, from September 2012 to July 2015. The school had a long and varied history, which was characterised by periods of prosperity interspersed with periods of difficulty. Although the school had a difficult start due to the Queen initially refusing to sign the letters patent establishing the school, it eventually began to grow, partially due to its ownership of the mineral rights to surrounding land. However, despite selling the mining rights for much less than they were worth and taking part in a resulting legal tussle which lasted for the latter half of the 18th century, the school expanded rapidly throughout the 19th century, building much of the campus as seen today. The school did, however, have to be rescued by former members of the school in 1938 due to a financial crisis caused by a sudden drop in pupil numbers. Before closure approximately one third of the pupils were boarders, many from China and Eastern Europe.〔 Although many boarders were members of the main school, the school has a dedicated "International Centre", where pupils were intensively tutored to improve their English to a level where they could join the main school, frequently entering the sixth form after having spent one year in the centre and passing an ESOL exam.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.st-bees-school.org/eal_centre.htm )〕 The school only catered for pupils from ages 11–18 until September 2008, when a Preparatory Department was launched to cater for pupils from 8 upwards. The school again expanded in September 2010 to include pupils from age 4. On Friday 13 March 2015, it was announced by the School Governors that due to the harsh financial climate, the school would close in Summer 2015.〔(Whitehaven news web site 13th March 2015 )〕 In response a four-point rescue plan was proposed on the 23rd March by a "rescue team" made up of interested stakeholders.〔"Rescue St Bees School" website - retrieved 23rd March〕 The plan consisted of.... *1) Work on a legal mechanism to take control from the current board of governors *2) Rescind the current closure notice and replace with a preliminary closure notice to the Summer Term of 2016. *3) Use the next nine months to raise funds and to develop a supported and sustainable business plan for the school *4) Throughout this period post frequent updates on progress on the website and issue a substantive interim report of progress before the end of the Summer Term. Then by Christmas term 2015 formally confirm or withdraw the preliminary closure notice based on the success of the rescue business plan.〔("Rescue St Bees School" website - retrieved 23rd March )〕 However, on 17 April 2015 it was confirmed by the Governors that the school would close. The formal statement said the governors are also trustees of the St Bees Foundation and they say they are committed to it having a future in education in west Cumbria and "to the use of the site as support both for the future activities of the foundation and the village of St Bees."〔(West Cumberland News and star )〕 The school formally closed in July 2015, though there are plans to reopen the school in the near future.〔http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-33380943〕 ==History== (詳細はArchbishop of Canterbury, Edmund Grindal, who was born in the village of St Bees.〔"Archbishop Grindal's Birthplace: Cross Hill, St. Bees Cumbria, By John and Mary Todd. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society 1999, Vol XCIX.〕 Having fallen out with Queen Elizabeth I, and although ill and blind, he refused to resign his position until the Queen signed the letters patent which would create the Free Grammar School at St Bees. The school was founded in 1583; a few years after Grindal's death. Thanks to his making an agreement with The Queen's College, Oxford and his purchase of local tithes, the school was both financially and academically able to prosper. Although specifically incorporated for the education of boys from Cumberland and Westmorland, as early as 1604 people from outside Cumbria were being educated at St. Bees in the original schoolroom (now one of the school dining rooms) near the Priory Church. The school slowly expanded, despite one Headmaster who worked his pupils like labourers. The school had enjoyed some financial security for many years, lessened in 1742 when the school sold Sir James Lowther an eight hundred and sixty-seven year mineral lease for much less than market value. In the nineteenth century the school started to look like it is now. Thanks to a resolution of the mineral rights issue being obtained through the Court of Chancery in 1842, the school was able to physically expand, with what is now the "Quadrangle" being built, Grindal House (formerly a hotel) purchased and the Headmaster's Residence being constructed. At the turn of the twentieth century the School Chapel was built, along with what is now the Art Department and the School Library, and the swimming baths. By the outbreak of the First World War the school had reached a peak of three hundred pupils, a figure which would not be seen again for some years. During the Great War three old boys of the school were awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for military gallantry in Britain and many of the British Commonwealth countries (see St. Bees V.C. winners for more details. Old boy Alfred Critchley became one of the youngest Brigadier-Generals in the British Empire at the age of twenty-seven for his heroic conduct (he was older than Roland Boys Bradford, V.C. but younger than Bernard Freyberg, V.C.). One hundred and eighty old boys gave their lives during the war, and a special memorial was built overlooking the sports fields where so many had previously played.〔Aldous, M.A., J.W. (1921). St. Bees School Roll of Honour and Record of Service. Edinburgh: University Press.〕 After the war the number of students remained high, but in common with many other schools the numbers decreased and then went into free-fall during the 1930s. The situation became so critical that the Governors of the School attempted to have the school nationalised. In the end, the old boys put together a rescue package and the school remained independent,〔 it being the only one of its kind at the time in Cumberland and Westmorland. In 1938, during the final stages of recovery from the Great Depression, the school's headmaster of the day, George Mallaby, made an unusual career move by becoming District Commissioner for the special area of west Cumberland, with the task of alleviating the problems of unemployment.〔Gittings, Robert, 'Mallaby, Sir (Howard) George Charles (1902–1978), public servant and headmaster' in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', (online version ) (subscription required), accessed 10 August 2008〕 During the Second World War the school had Mill Hill School join it in St. Bees after the latter's buildings in London were occupied by the government. The two schools remained independently run, however, sports teams from each school would frequently play each other. The cadet corps of the two schools combined to help form the St. Bees Home Guard, resulting in the group being better equipped than many other Home Guard groups, given that the cadets already had the necessary equipment.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.stbees.org.uk/history/ww2millhill1.htm )〕 Seventy-two old boys gave their lives during the conflict, and after the victory a Memorial Hall was erected in their honour. During the 1950s a new science block was built, formally opened by Barnes Wallis in 1959,〔http://www.st-beghian-society.co.uk/miles/1950-60/1958-59/speech%20day/speech%20day.html〕 and in the 1970s the school became coeducational. New boarding houses were purchased for both girls and boys, Bega and Abbot's Court respectively, and to celebrate the school's quatercentenary in 1983 an appeal was launched which would give the school a new sports hall, opened in 1988. The 1990s saw the opening by Prince Charles of the Whitelaw Building, a multi-function business centre and teaching area which was named after the-then Chairman of the Board of Governors, William Whitelaw. In 2000, Barony, the music centre was entirely refurbished and reopened and renamed the Fox Music Centre in memory of old boy Bill Fox. To mark the millennium, a time capsule was buried in the North-East corner of the Quadrangle. In September 2008, a Preparatory Department was launched, catering for pupils from the age of 8 until they joined the main school.〔 At this time, a nearby independent school with a prep department, Harecroft Hall, had just closed. The school again expanded in September 2010 to include pupils from age 4. On Friday 13 March 2015, it was announced by the School Governors that due to the harsh financial climate, the school was to close in Summer 2015. However a four-point rescue plan was announced on the 23rd March, and work on this is continuing〔 The school formally closed in July 2015.〔http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-33380943〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St Bees School」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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