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St Edward’s:
150 Years
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Chapter 2 / Wardens
Programme as a choice for Sixth Formers – the first cohort
sat their exams in the summer of 2010. A great deal of
research was done by many members of the Common
Room before it was introduced as this was not a change to
be made lightly. The views of universities were sought and
departments considered what teaching the IB would mean
for them. The departments concerned had to send teachers
for training, and then the IB was launched. It is true to say
that teaching in the School has been enriched by many
aspects of the IB, such as the Extended Essay – a long essay
requiring independent research on a topic of the pupil’s
choosing. To provide similar opportunities for independent
learning for those taking A Level the Extended Project (also
a long essay and requiring a presentation at its end) was
introduced into the School in 2008, and it is now taken by all
those choosing A Level.
Music, drama and sport all flourished during Andrew
Trotman’s time. When he left numbers in the School had
risen to the record level of 653 – a very dramatic change from
Simeon’s starting point in Summertown with 63 pupils.
STEPHEN CHARLES ION JONES (b.1959),
WARDEN 2011–
Stephen Jones was educated at Hurstpierpoint College, Sussex,
and Lord Wandsworth College, Hampshire, and then Durham
University – though his education clearly did not stop at
undergraduate level with his first-class degree in Philosophy
from Durham. He continued by obtaining a first-class degree
in Mathematics from the Open University, then an MSc in
Mathematics, and an MLitt in
Philosophy. He has taught
Mathematics throughout his
career in a number of schools.
He was Head of Mathematics
at Berkhamsted School in
Hertfordshire and a Housemaster
at Radley. He became Headmaster
of Dover College in 2004 and
was appointed as Warden of St
Edward’s in 2011.
ANDREW TROTMAN (b.1954),
WARDEN 2004–11
Andrew Trotman came to St Edward’s having been Headmaster
of St Peter’s, York. He was educated at Alleynes Grammar
School and Balliol College, Oxford. His brother had taught
English at St Edward’s for several years. When Warden Trotman
first arrived, he set himself to find out how things worked at
all levels: for example, to experience what it was like to be a
Shell, he shadowed one for a day.
The North Wall, with its innovative foyer exhibition space
and remarkable theatre, came to fruition as the 12th Warden
arrived; it was designed by Haworth Tompkins Architects.
The first School production was a magical
Midsummer Night’s
Dream
with a notable performance as Puck by Sebastian
de Souza, only a Shell at the time. Beneath the building still
lies the listed indoor swimming pool with its mosaics. There
were other important additions to the School buildings during
Andrew Trotman’s time, in particular a new sports pavilion
of architectural note, and the Life Sciences Building. The
Martyrs Pavilion was finished in 2009, the only John Pawson
building in Oxford, crisp and spare in its Modernist style,
raised on a mound and set at a slight angle to the nearby third
Cricket Pavilion (an Art Deco structure, which was beautifully
restored in 2010). The Life Sciences Building, designed by
TSH Architects, houses Biology and Sports Science and
opened in 2008. It is an airy and ordered building to work in,
with a central core inspired by biological cell structures and
resulting in sweeping curves between rooms on each floor.
This curvaceous core is in contrast to the rectilinear building in
which it is housed. On the second floor is a greenhouse area
for plants that can be seen when approaching the building
from the Quad. As you would expect with rooms named after
luminaries such as Attenborough, Krebs and Dawkins, the
building has innovatory aspects to its design regarding the
environment, such as photovoltaic panels providing electricity
for computers.
A major and dramatic change to the School at this time
was the introduction of the International Baccalaureate
Above: Mike Stanfield (G, 1955–60), Chairman of the Board of Governors, with the artist James
Hart Dyke and his portrait of AndrewTrotman, 2011. The work is now hanging in the Old Library
alongside those of all the otherWardens (except, as yet, Stephen Jones).The artist was chosen by
MI6 to produce a series of works to mark its centenary in 2011 – an unprecedented project. One
of the works was shown in the opening sequence of the James Bond film
Skyfall
.
Bottom left: The Martyrs Pavilion, completed 2009. A new
cricket pavilion designed by John Pawson, raised above the
pitches and in a spare, Modernist stylewith a glass curtainwall
fronting it. It is a good venue for special events.
Bottom right: Warden Stephen Jones, 2011.
Above:TheOgston Building, opened in 2008 as the Life
Sciences Building. This matches the rest of the School
in its use of red brick but is light and airy inside and
efficient due to its state-of-the-art systems for lighting
and heating.
Above: Common Room 2004.
Back row (left to right): P. Kitovitz, S. Arnold,
R.Murray,P.Lloyd-Jones,N.Kennell,P.Loyrette,C.Bagnall,V.Abigail,D.Perkins,
R. Hegarty, S. Roche, E. Hunt, M. Boswell, J. Clapham, D. Corran.
Fifth row standing (left to right): D. Drake-Brockman, N. Williams, R. Howitt,
S.Bartholomew,J.Wiggins,J.Dowman,E.Arnold,K.Williams,B.Pyper,B.Goad,
R. Clitherow, G. Damiani, M. Taylor, N. Creed.
Fourth row standing (left to right): P. Jolley, J. Baker, N. Quartley, C. Baggs,
N.Coram-Wright,C.Bittner,M.Hiner,P.Middleton,H.Jones,J.Boyd,A.Wright,
T. Copeland, D. Moore, R. Fletcher, D. Turner.
Third row standing (left to right): D. Cundy, A. Davis, N. Eddy, N. Hunter,
J.Gidney,R.Pleming,L.Maycock,C.Schofield,J.Lambe,M.Lauder,L.Faulkner,
F. White, J. Tucker, M. Hanslip, T. Greaves, R. Anderson.
Second row standing (left to right): T. Ryan, S. Sutton, M. Mercer, G. Nagle,
S. Sephton, D. Gibbon, P. Silverwood, P. Rand, N. Grimshaw, E. Olive, M. Sellen,
O. Bunce, L. Rowlands, M. Cornes, G. Watlins.
First row standing (left to right): J. Wright, R.McA. Hughes, C. Wratten,
C.Downer,M.Taft,L.Hillier,E.Ballesteros,L.VerelaAlonso,V.Gasston,L.Baddeley.
Seated (left to right): C. Stewart-Jones, J. Young, A. Kerr-Dineen, D. Wippell,
S.Kerr-Dineen,T.James,WardenTrotman,S.WithersGreen,A.Brooks,I.Rowley,
T. Edge, S. Greaves, J. Potter.
Absent: F. Kirk.