UPPINGHAM
Thring
believed that the purpose of education was to find
encouraged his pupils to do it
of the
to the best of their ability.
pastoral development of the child. The legacy of
sense to this day. It is still the object of Uppingham
in all of its pupils.
to
Anyone who comes to Uppingham will
encourage: if you are willing to be helped and
guided there
out what a
child could do and
then he
He was also the first great Headmaster to understand the importance
Edward Thring remains with us in a very
try to discover and nurture the
be
real
maximum range of talents
struck by the spread of talents the School seeks to
is virtually nothing you
cannot achieve
here.
UPPINGHAM
Values We want Uppingham to be a great boarding school. We want strong communities in the houses, places where boys and girls can feel at home. We want the whole community to meet together regularly to share experiences. We want children to grow up strong and independent. We want them to care about truth and trust, and to know about friendship. We want their selfconfidence to be properly founded on self-knowledge. Most of all, we want them to be happy and responsible members of a school which respects and develops their individual gifts.
UPPINGHAM
Setting Archdeacon Johnson chose to establish the School in a small market town. Uppingham shares a beautiful part of central England with the members of a small rural community, many of whom work for the School. The safe and harmonious setting is enhanced by the soft golden stone and the distinction of the School’s buildings. Our daily life takes us in and out of the small town and the boarding houses are dotted around it; as are the academic departments. In the words of Edward Thring, our second founder, it is "a blessed placed to grow up in."
UPPINGHAM
Living The boarding house is the centre of a pupil’s life, especially in the early terms. Here pupils eat, sleep, work, socialise, and feel they belong. They also belong to the larger School community, which meets five times a week in the Chapel. But while the house provides a home base, there are 120 acres of the School site to explore, and individuals make their own decisions about where to spend any free time they have! To be busy is the aspiration of our best pupils, to be fully stretched from breakfast to bedtime. A good boarding school will provide vast and accessible opportunities.
UPPINGHAM
Learning Whether we think of schools as dream factories, laboratories of the spirit, or learning environments, it is clearly vital for teachers and learners (and the best members of our community are both) to establish productive relationships in small classes. Information technology permeates the School but dedicated teachers are at the heart of what is successful in and out of the classroom.
UPPINGHAM
Playing Games are important for fitness, to develop skills and cooperation, to develop self-esteem, and, frankly, to make sure pupils are tired at the end of each day! An eager child will find at least five opportunities a week for sport, and games range from huge public team events involving other schools, to rarer sports (fives and fencing, for example): plenty for the team player, and lots of choice for the solitary performer.
UPPINGHAM
Growing Children change enormously between 13 and 18. In a good boarding school individual maturation takes place against a backdrop of challenge and responsibility. Initially, this is the challenge and responsibility of organising one’s life efficiently and productively; but as time goes on pupils will learn to broaden and deepen their experience by undertaking new challenges, and by taking responsibility for others. Of course, they are supported in all this by individual tutors and pastoral figures and they learn towards the end of their time in the School to give to others the protection, encouragement, and support they received when they arrived. At Uppingham we continue to believe in the value of service, and we also believe that it is the things which are difficult which enable us to grow.
UPPINGHAM
Exploring Boarding schools can easily become big protective bubbles, insulating children from all risk and adventure. They can become very introverted places. Whether it is through travel, foreign tours, exchanges, Community Service, the Cadet Force, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, expeditions, careers conferences, work experience, or partnerships with other schools we think children learn more about themselves by experiencing strangeness and newness. As Christians we also feel that privilege entails responsibility. As the world gets smaller our children’s minds and competences must learn to expand.
UPPINGHAM
Sharing Community. Community. Community. The community of the whole house meeting together for meals three times a day. The community of the whole School singing hymns loudly in Chapel. The team, the orchestra, the gatherings of enthusiasts, the late night discussion groups, the meetings of prefects: hardly anything which happens in our School is not about community. Through community we learn one of the great gifts of boarding, how to understand others, how to accommodate the interests and inclinations of others. Good communities set individuals free to be themselves: a safe child can express his or her personality with confidence. Friendships made here will last for ever.
UPPINGHAM
And after? What do we want for our children? We want them to be good: good people, good workers, good wives, good husbands, good parents, good citizens, good company.
They will go on to university, move into employment, stay in touch with their friends. They will have good memories, but they will want to move forward.
They will make their own way, facing new challenges in a rapidly changing world. They will need to make good decisions under pressure, to cope with triumph and adversity.
Our aim at Uppingham is to give them the very best of foundations so that they, in turn, can build the best future for themselves, their families, their communities.
We aim for the best because, as Thring said, “For the young, only the best is good enough.” That’s our philosophy too. The future will be up to them to create.
'Whereas by God's 'grace I have founded 'and built a school in 'the town of 'Uppingham in the 'county of Rutland...'
Uppingham School is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales. Company number 8013826. Registered Charity number 1147280. Registered Office: High Street West, Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9QD The School’s prospectus pack and website, including film footage, describe the broad principles on which the School is operated and give an indication of its history and ethos. Although believed correct at the time of publication, the prospectus pack and website are not part of any agreement between the Parents and the School. If Parents wish to place specific reliance on a matter contained in the prospectus pack, website, or on a statement made by a member of staff or a pupil they should seek written confirmation of that matter from the Head. Uppingham School.
design/photography jwaltd 01753 646300 V08.17
Archdeacon Robert Johnson, founder of the school in 1584