St Peter's School, York

St Peter's School is a co-educational private boarding and day school (also referred to as a public school), in the English City of York, with extensive grounds on the banks of the River Ouse. Founded by St Paulinus of York in AD 627, it is considered to be the third oldest school in the world although some historians take a more sceptical view. It is part of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and York Boarding Schools Group.

The school accepts pupils aged two to eighteen.

History
Founded in the English city of York by St Paulinus of York in the year AD 627, the school was originally based at York Minster. An early headmaster, Alcuin (Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus), went on to be Chancellor to the Emperor Charlemagne, and founded several of the earliest schools in mainland Europe. It is the third oldest school in the world. The school existed near the present day site of the Minster until the seizure of St Mary’s Abbey prompted its reendowment and relocation to the Horsefair, outside of the city walls. During this period three conspirators in the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes, John and Christopher Wright attended the school.

During the English Civil War, the school in the Horsefair was destroyed by the Siege of York. As a result, the school site was moved to the Bedern within the city walls before moving again, in 1730, to St Andrewgate and in 1840 to the Minster Yard. It was only in 1844 that the present site was purchased and the school relocated for the final time.

For most of its history, the school was a boys' school, but welcomed girls into the sixth form from 1976 before becoming fully coeducational in 1987.



Controversies
Footpath closure (2006): In 2006, St Peter's School closed a public footpath running through the school grounds using The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. This was disputed by local people.

Initiation Rituals: In 2018 a former pupil reported in The Times that boys were subjected to humiliating and painful initiation rituals such as being shot with BB guns, hit in their genitalia with pool cues, and locked in closed spaces for hours at a time. The same pupil also reported being waterboarded with Listerine. Alistair Dunn, the school's acting headmaster, said in response that "St Peter's is a caring and nurturing school and initiation rites are unacceptable."

Residential Development: In 2022, St Peter's submitted an application to develop land in the green belt of York, behind the school. The plan would turn green fields on the flood plan into artificial sports fields and a large car and coach park. Over 100 local residents submitted complaints to the council concerning this development. York Central MP Rachael Maskell and local councillors expressed alarm over the impending removal of green belt protection. The plans have since been withdrawn.

Campus
The school grounds are located near the centre of York and stretch to the banks of the River Ouse. The main front of the school faces along Bootham; this is the oldest part of the site.

Boarding Houses Wentworth and Rise border the main campus, while Linton, Dronfield and The Manor are located across the road from the main school front accessible by footbridge. In the 2000s the school expanded its site under Headmaster Andrew Trotman to include the new lower campus, formerly the site of Queen Anne's, a state school that had been recently closed. The move was not without its challenges, including the distance between the old and new sites and the dissection of a public footpath.

St Peter's 2–8
St Peter's 2–8 (formerly Clifton Pre-preparatory School) is the pre-prep school to St Peter's School, York. St Peter's 2–8 is located on the Upper Campus of the school, next door to the senior school which runs along the main road of Bootham in the centre of York. The current Head of St Peter's 2–8 is Antonia Clarke.

In February 2018, Clifton School and Nursery was named as the best pre-prep/prep school in the annual TES Independent School Awards.

In summer 2020 Clifton Pre-Preparatory School and Nursery was renamed St Peter's 2–8 and, in April 2021, St Peter's 2–8 was named the best pre-prep school and independent school of the year in the annual TES Independent School Awards.

St Peter's 8–13
St Peter's 8–13 (formerly St Olave's School) is the junior school to St Peter's, with grounds on the banks of the River Ouse. The current Head of St Peter's 8–13 is Phil Hardy.

St Olave's was founded by Reverend Henry Andrew Wilson in 1876 and named after its original site of St Olave’s House in Marygate. The school was acquired by St Peter's School in 1901 and St Olave's was renamed St Peter's 8–13 in 2020.

In September 2001, St Olave's moved from the White House (the Chilman Building), and its half of the Queen's Building, to the newly acquired Queen Anne site. The pre-prep, St Peter's 2–8 (formerly Clifton Prep) moved from its original 19th-century building on The Avenue to occupy the buildings previously used by St Olave's.

St Peter's 8–13 is now located on the Lower Campus of the St Peter's School, which is also home to the senior school Biology and Art Departments.

Academic
The school has a history of high academic achievement across all age ranges.

Latin is compulsory for the first three years of study and also offered at GCSE and A Level. Religious Studies is a compulsory GCSE subject.

Sport
A wide range of activities are available at the school: these include rugby, football, hockey, netball, tennis, cricket, rowing, athletics, basketball, badminton, cross-country, climbing, squash, swimming, weight training, trampolining, water polo and aerobics. The school has sporting fields, gymnasiums, an indoor swimming pool, two multi-sport indoor centres, tennis courts, multi-use astroturf pitches, a rifle range, and a boathouse.

For 27 years, cricket was coached by Keith Mohan. In 2024, the school won the national schools' T20 Cricket competition after defeating Millfield School at Lord's.

In 2002 the school's U15 rugby team won the national Daily Mail Cup competition and the U18 team were narrowly beaten in 2005 in the final against Exeter College, Exeter. In 2011 the U16 team won the UCLAN Northern Schools Floodlit Competition and in 2019 the U16 sevens team won the national Rosslyn park competition. Since World War II, the school has had four unbeaten seasons in rugby.

St Peter's School Boat Club was founded in the 1850s and is one of the oldest school rowing clubs in the world. It has had success at international level with over 28 GB 'vests' earned by Peterites since 1998. The school 1st VIII first competed at Henley Royal Regatta in 1968 and has competed in both the Princess Elizabeth and the Fawley. The school has won nine medals at The National Schools' Regatta, 12 medals at The National Championships and had 25 appearances at Henley (both Men's and Women's), all since 1991.

The school's Combined Cadet Force developed from the OTC established at the school in 1913. The school's shooting contingent placed in the top three teams of the Marling Challenge Cup at Bisley Imperial meeting five times during the 1960s alone, winning twice, while the highest placing in the Ashburton was third in 1971.

The first recorded inter-school Squash match was held between Haileybury and St Peter's in the run up to the first Drysdale Cup. The school won the public schools' squash (then the Drysdale Cup) twice and came second three times.



Music
The School Choir averages over 150 members a year, but there is also a more selective Chapel Choir as well as an elite Chamber Choir. Highlights of the choral calendar include the Carol Service at York Minster, as well as Evensongs at the Minster and elsewhere including regular Evensongs at St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

The school has Barbershop Quartets, a Brass Group, Chamber Groups, a Choral Society, a Close Harmony Group, String Orchestras, String Quartets, Swing Band/Traditional Jazz, a Symphony Orchestra, Senior Wind Band, Woodwind, Quintets and Quartets.

After the closure of The Minster School, York in 2019, St Peter's 8–13 is now the choir school for the York Minster Choristers.

Notable Teachers

 * Miggy Biller
 * Lowther Clarke
 * David Kirby (cricketer)
 * Keith Mohan
 * Charles Patteson
 * Guy Shuttleworth
 * Richard Spruce
 * George Yeld

Houses
The school has ten day- and boarding houses, and each house has its own colour. Dronfield (pink) and Rise (white) are girls' boarding houses; Linton (baby blue) and The Manor (gold) are boys' boarding houses. The rest are day houses: Clifton (yellow), The Grove (red), Queens (purple), Temple (green), School (maroon), and Hope (orange). The house system is a long-standing tradition throughout the school's history. The houses are physical, located in various buildings and parts of buildings throughout the school campus.

Boarding
St Peter's has received an overall quality rating of 'Outstanding' in their 2007 Ofsted Boarding Inspection.

Religion
The school has a Chapel with compulsory services three mornings a week. Eucharist is also held once a term and there are special services to mark Festivals in the Christian calendar. A service is held on Remembrance Sunday during which all pupils place poppies on the book of remembrance in the Ante-chapel (which contains names of alumni killed in conflict). The school's Christmas Carol Service is held in York Minster.

Religious education is compulsory at the school until Sixth Form, and is taught by both academic staff and the school's two Church of England clergy.

York Minster
York Minster has a long connection with St Peter's, as the school's founder was an Archbishop of York. This relationship is also evident in the school's name, which mirrors the formal title of the Minster, The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter. At its foundation, the school was probably housed next to the earliest cathedral building.

At the end of each academic year a Commemoration and Prizegiving service is held in the Minster and a Carol Service is also held there at Christmas. The school choir often sings in the Minster and in the 2006/2007 year they participated in Verdi's Requiem, which brought together the wider York community.

St Peter’s School is now the home of York Minster’s Choristers, after the closure of the Minster School in summer 2020.

Traditions

 * Morning Prayers – all members of the school attend chapel on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays
 * Eucharist – a whole school Eucharist service takes place each term and at other significant Christian festivals.
 * Uniform – the school has a brown uniform featuring the "cross keys" of St Peter for all pupils (except members of the Sixth Form). The old woollen blazer was later replaced with a more modern cotton jacket. Other changes to the uniform have also taken place, including the removal of ties for female pupils, who now wear an open blouse. In Sixth Form, dark suits must be worn.
 * Gowns – the school has a tradition of gowns which reflect pupils' authority or commitments. These are worn during public events such as services at York Minster and during school events (including Chapel and Assembly). The Head Boy and Head Girl wear brown, followed by the Head Master's Prefects who wear navy. These are issued during the 'gowning' at First Assembly each academic year. Members of the Chapel Committee and choirs wear red gowns, which are fuller depending upon level (Chamber Choir; Chapel Choir; School Choir). School masters also wear collegiate gowns for services and public events.
 * Capping – is the practice of reward for exceptional sporting achievement and is awarded at the end of the relevant sports season.
 * 5 November – on Guy Fawkes Night, the school does not partake in the common tradition of burning a 'Guy' on the bonfire, as Guy Fawkes was an Old Peterite (alumnus). There is, however, a long tradition of putting on a firework display for the Boarders.
 * Fagging – the tradition of younger pupils serving older pupils was abolished in 1977.

Notable alumni
Below is an abridged list. A more complete listing can be found at the category link above.

Sport:
 * Andrew Springgay – professional rugby player for Aviron Bayonnais, SU Agen and England A
 * Jonny Bairstow – first class cricketer for Yorkshire and England
 * Sam Bond – professional bodybuilder and TV personality on Gladiators
 * Oli Denton – professional rugby union player for Leeds Carnegie/Leeds Tykes
 * Tom Denton – professional rugby union player for Leeds Carnegie
 * David Kirby – first class cricketer
 * Frank Mitchell – first class cricketer for Yorkshire
 * James Thompson (racing driver) – auto racing driver and commentator for Eurosport's World Touring Car Championship coverage
 * Peter Wackett – professional rugby union player for Leeds Tykes
 * Norman Yardley – English cricketer

Academics and historians:
 * Frederick Henry Marvell Blaydes – renowned classical scholar


 * Angus M. Bowie, classical scholar
 * Henry Darnley Naylor – classical scholar
 * Henry Dodwell – an Anglo-Irish writer, scholar, theologian and controversialist
 * William Fishburn Donkin – Professor of Astronomy, University College, Oxford
 * George Edmundson – academic
 * Christopher Hill – English Marxist historian
 * Daniel Lightwing – mathematics prodigy
 * C. Northcote Parkinson – naval historian and author of some sixty books, the most famous of which was his bestseller Parkinson's Law
 * Francis W. Pixley – accountant, barrister and author; was Deputy Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire
 * Harold Dennis Taylor – inventor
 * John Francis Walker – Lecturer in Chemistry, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

Artists and media figures:
 * Gareth Barlow – television presenter for the BBC
 * John Barry – composer, best known for composing 11 James Bond soundtracks
 * Katherine Downes – television presenter, specialising in sports coverage
 * Jeffery Dench – English actor
 * Laurence Eusden – became Poet Laureate in 1718
 * Harry Gration – broadcaster with the BBC
 * Rob Heaps – English actor
 * Justin Hill – English novelist
 * Charles Legh Naylor – composer and organist
 * James Pigott Pritchett – architect
 * Basil Radford – film actor
 * Mark Simpson – journalist, writer, and broadcaster specialising in pop culture, media, and masculinity credited with coining the word metrosexual
 * Jimmy Thompson – actor, writer, and director
 * Greg Wise – English actor

Political figures:
 * Neil Carmichael – British Conservative Politician
 * James Clappison – British Conservative politician and vice chair of the Conservative friends of Israel group
 * John Healey – British labour politician
 * John Arthur Jackson – British Conservative politician
 * Alan Mak – Conservative Member of Parliament for Havant
 * Sir John Rodgers, 1st Baronet – British Conservative politician
 * Frank Swettenham – British colonial official
 * James Wharton, Baron Wharton of Yarm – British Conservative politician

Religious figures:
 * George Forrest Browne – clergyman, became Bishop of Bristol
 * Maurice Harland – 20th century Bishop of Durham
 * Robert William Bilton Hornby – an antiquarian, priest, and Lord of the Manor of Heworth York
 * Thomas Morton – Bishop of Durham
 * Henry Herbert Williams – Bishop of Carlisle

Judges:
 * John Mortimer – Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and President of the Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam

Armed forces:
 * Ian Baker – Assistant chief of the General Staff
 * Frank Bingham – army officer who died in World War I
 * Walbanke Ashby Pritt – British World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He flew with the Royal Flying Corps in 1917/1918; flying Sopwith Pups.
 * Craig Lawrence – Former director of joint warfare
 * Neill Malcolm – Second World War Chief of Staff in the fifth army
 * Charles Medhurst – Air Chief Marshal and commander-in-chief of RAF Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Command

Business leaders:
 * Gordon Gibb – prominent businessman, owner of theme park Flamingo Land Resort and former director of Bradford City Football Club
 * Frank Pick – manager in transport sector including Underground Group and London Passenger Transport Board
 * Joseph Terry – confectioner who presided over Joseph Terry & Sons Ltd.

Historical figures:
 * Guy Fawkes – conspirator of the Gunpowder Plot
 * Sir Thomas Herbert, 1st Baronet – gentleman of the bedchamber of Charles I
 * Robert Middleton – Catholic Martyr
 * Edward Oldcorne – Catholic Martyr executed on suspicion of involvement in the plot
 * Oswald Tesimond – Jesuit clergyman with foreknowledge of the conspiracy
 * John and Christopher Wright – conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot

Criminals:
 * Sarah Panitzke – until 2022 "Britain's most-wanted woman"