MERCHANT TAYLORS' SCHOOL, CROSBY

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Merchant Taylors' armorial bearings

'Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby' (also known as 'Merchant Taylors' School for Boys, Crosby') is a British Independent school, located in Great Crosby on Merseyside.
The school's motto is that of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors: ''Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt.'' (Small things grow in harmony.)

Contents
History
Present day
Sports and extracurricular activities
Headmaster
Notable alumni
References
External links

History


The school was founded in 1620 under the instruction of the estate of John Harrison, a citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, who was born in Great Crosby, and was run under the auspices of the Merchant Taylors' Company until 1910. In 1878, the school moved to its present site, some 1000 yards from the previous, which now forms part of the Merchant Taylors' School for Girls, with whom the school shares a Governing Board and Bursar.

Present day


Until the late 20th century, Merchants was a boarding school. It currently caters for 800 day pupils between the ages of 11 and 19 (with an additional 120 in the Junior School). Lessons run Monday-Friday, 08:55-16:00 (A Saturday working day was abolished in the 1980s). As a result of these longer school days, holidays are frequently several weeks longer than local education authority dates.
The school is independently run, and, as such, charges tuition fees. Fees were partially subsidised by the Government under the Assisted Places Scheme until the closure of that scheme in 2001.
The school is regularly ranked in the top 100 for examination results at A-Level, and the top 250 at GCSE, with an almost 100% pass rate in both [1].

Sports and extracurricular activities


The primary sports played by the school are rugby union, field hockey and cricket, however association football has recently been introduced as an 'official' school sport and looks set to challenge the more established sports over the coming years.
The school also has a boat house in the nearby town of Southport for its rowing team. The rowing team is rapidly gaining a reputation for one of the best in the region and country.
The rugby coaching staff includes Mike Slemen, former England and British and Irish Lions international and England team selector; former Scottish international Ian McKie, and Ian "Robbo" Robinson.
In July 2007, members of the rugby team were involved in an accident whilst on tour in Australia. Ian Robinson was killed after a white-water raft capsized on the Tully River [2]
[3].
The school also has a Combined Cadet Force, run in conjunction with Merchant Taylors' School for Girls, headed by Contingent Commander, Lieutenant Colonel (CCF), Paul Irvine. The Army section of MTS CCF is badged as Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Regiment until July 2006).

Headmaster


The current headmaster is David Cook, who replaced the retired Simon Dawkins in 2005.

Notable alumni


''Alumni of MTS Crosby are known as "Old Crosbeians"''

Charles James Mathews

Robert Runcie

Nigel Rees

James Allen

Ben Kay of the England Rugby World Cup winning side of 2003.

Ian Bayley

★ The Witty brothers; Arthur Witty, played for FC Barcelona in the first Copa del Rey final and later served as club president between 1903 and 1905. Ernest Witty, younger brother of above, also played for FC Barcelona, and was also a founding member of the Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona and a Spanish national tennis champion. Legend has it that the Witty brothers also modelled the legendary Barcelona colours, the ''blaugrana'', after the original colours used by Merchant Taylors' rugby team. However, FC Basel - and other Swiss clubs that the club founder Joan Gamper played for - and his home canton of Zürich have also been credited with and/or claimed to be the inspiration.

References


1.
BBC News - League Tables - Merchant Taylors' Boys' School

2. British PE teacher killed on trip
3.


External links



School website

HMC inspection report, 1998

Independent Schools' Inspectorate report, 2004

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