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Duke of York's Royal Military School

Coordinates: 51°08′38″N 1°19′30″E / 51.1438°N 1.3250°E / 51.1438; 1.3250
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Duke of York's Royal Military School
Location
Map
Guston
,
Kent
,
CT15 5EQ

England
Information
TypeSelective academy
state boarding school
Mottoes"Looking Forward with Confidence, Looking Back with Pride"
Former: "Sons of the Brave"
Religious affiliation(s)Protestant
Established1803; 221 years ago (1803)
Department for Education URN136177 Tables
OfstedReports
PresidentPrince Edward Duke of Kent
HeadmanAlex Foreman
GenderCo-Ed
Age11 to 18
Enrolment500
Houses11
Colour(s)Navy, maroon and white      
Former pupilsDukies[1]
Websitehttp://www.doyrms.com

The Duke of York's Royal Military School, more commonly known as the Duke of York's, is a co-educational academy (for students aged 11 to 18)[2] with military traditions in Guston, Kent.[3] Since becoming an academy in 2010, the school is now sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, and accepts applications from any student wishing to board. Before 2010, only students whose parents were serving or had served in the armed forces were eligible to apply.[4]

With the transition to academy status, the school became a state boarding school (it is a member of the State Boarding Forum and Boarding Schools Association). During this time, oversight transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Department for Education.[5]

The Duke of York has many in military traditions, such as practices that include ceremonial parades and uniforms.[6] It has a monitorial style of education modeled on the English public school system.[7]

Notable alumni include senior generals (e.g. Sir Archibald Nye, Gary Coward and David Mark Cullen), musicians (Henry Lazarus), athletes (Maurice Colclough), scientists (e.g. Professors Paul Shaw, Timothy Foster, Kevin Allmark and Mark Gardiner) and clergymen (James Jones and Bill Ind).[citation needed]

History

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Founded in 1803 by royal warrant in 1801, the school was called the Royal Military Asylum until 1892. The school's primary purpose was to educate the orphans of British servicemen killed in the Napoleonic Wars of 1793–1815. Between 1803-1909 the Royal Military Asylum was located at what is now known as the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, London.[8] The school was co-educational; this makes the Duke of York's the second co-educational boarding school in the United Kingdom. The first co-educational institution was the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin which was relocated and merged with Duke of York's after Ireland declared independence.[9] Today, the Chelsea site is home to the Saatchi Gallery.

The school adopted the "Madras system of education" developed by Dr. Andrew Bell, to which Joseph Lancaster made certain improvements. In 1812, three African youths attended the school as teachers at the invitation of the Duke of Gloucester. They were then sent by the African Institution to Sierra Leone where they were employed as teachers by the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, the Earl of Liverpool.[10]

The school's original site in Chelsea.

Between 1816-1840, the Asylum had a branch in Southampton which provided schooling for up to 400 military orphans and children serving soldiers of both sexes until 1823, after which the boys were transferred to Chelsea with the girls going to Southampton. A decline in the school numbers resulted in its closure in 1840. Starting in 1841, the building were taken over by the Ordnance Survey.[11]

One of the more notable Commandants of the Royal Military Asylum was Major General Peter Brown. A veteran of the Napoleonic Wars,[12] Brown was unusual in that he was promoted while he was in the post[13][14] (from colonel to major general), which was highly unusual given the post was not an active command and his predecessors and successors were never promoted in post.

Many of the school's pupils performed acts of gallantry in the wars in which the British Army was involved. One such individual was John Shaul. Shaul was awarded the Victoria Cross for extraordinary bravery in the Boer War.[15]

In 1892, the Royal Military Asylum was renamed The Duke of York's Royal Military School and ultimately became an all-boys school. In 1909, the school relocated to a new location constructed on the cliffs above Dover in Kent. For the duration of World War I (1914–1918), the school was evacuated to Hutton, near Brentwood, Essex. This provided the military authorities with a transit point in Dover for troops moved to and from the Western Front. In 1940, the school was evacuated to the Saunton Sands Hotel, Braunton, North Devon, while finally returning to Dover in 1946.

In 1994, the school re-admitted girls and returned to co-education.

The school's first civilian students were accepted in 2010 after the school was granted academy status.[16][17]

Academic ratings

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Between 2007-2009 more than 90% of the pupils gained 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C (including English and Mathematics). More than 13% of grades were A*/A during the same period.

During this period (2007–2009) 19% of grades gained were A/B at AS level and 12% of grades were A/B at A2 level. A total of 32% of grades gained were passed at A2 level.[18]

Exchanges with NATO member military schools

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The Duke of York's run student exchange programmes with military schools within NATO. Of these, the most notable is the programme run with the school's French equivalent, the Lycée Militaire, in Aix-en-Provence. There are also placements for recent school leavers from respective military schools to assume assistant teaching posts at corresponding schools. The Duke of York's also has connections with Missouri Military Academy, Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and Faujdarhat Cadet College located in Chittagong, Bangladesh.[19]

Boarding houses

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The school is currently divided into twelve Houses, nine of which are named after famous British generals, one after a famous admiral of the Royal Navy, and another after a famous marshal of the Royal Air Force:[20]

Junior houses (year 7)

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Senior houses (years 8-11)

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Years 12-13

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  • Centenary House (opened in September 2010)

Notable alumni

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Notable masters

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  • Regimental Sergeant Major Lincoln Perkins, British Empire Medal, Grenadier Guards, RSM at the Duke of York's Royal Military School 1979–2006, extensive career including Britain's East of Suez conflicts and service in the Royal Household. RSM Perkins, was one of the pallbearers to carry Sir Winston Churchill, in the funeral procession in 1965.[citation needed]
  • Mr C.H. Connell, Head of English at DYRMS post World War II in the 1940s to late 1970s. Operative in the Special Operations Executive during World War II, Connell was also an author with at least seventeen novels and books published, plus a number of plays.[35]
  • Colonel W.A.T. Bowly, CVO, CBE, MC, Headmaster of the DYRMS during World War II, as well as being President of the DYRMS Old Boy's Association 1937–1945, recipient of the Royal Victorian Order, the Order of the British Empire and decorated for gallantry in combat during World War I.[citation needed]
  • Lieutenant-Colonel S.G. Simpson, OBE, Headmaster of the Duke of York's Royal Military School 1922–1927, recipient of the Order of the British Empire, graduate of the universities of Cambridge, Lille, Paris and Heidelberg.[citation needed]
  • Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Priestley, CMG, Medical Officer at the Duke of York's Royal Military School 1919–1922, recipient of the Order of St Michael and St George.[citation needed]
  • Brigadier-General George Colborne Nugent, Irish Guards, Commandant of the Duke of York's Royal Military School 1913–1914, commanded the 5th London Brigade in World War I and was killed in action on 31 May 1915.[citation needed]
  • Captain William Siborne, Adjutant of the Royal Military Asylum from 1843 to 1849, having previously demonstrated that the Duke of Wellington's account of his victory at the Battle of Waterloo was erroneous, and was in fact due in considerable part to Prussian assistance.[36]
  • Major General Lloyd Howell, CBE, Director of Army Education 1976–80, Headmaster [and commandant] 1967–72.[citation needed]

Dukies' Corner in Guston Churchyard

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Some pupils of the school are buried in the churchyard of St Martin of Tours church in the nearby village of Guston.[37]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Alumni – The Duke of York's Royal Military School".
  2. ^ "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. ^ "The Duke of York's Royal Military School, State boarding school in Kent". www.doyrms.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. ^ "House of Commons – Defence Committee: Written evidence from the Duke of York's Royal Military School". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Duke of York's Royal Military School – GOV.UK". www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. ^ "The Duke of York's Royal Military School honour the former students who lost their lives in the First World War | News | State Boarding Forum – SBF". stateboarding.org.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Duke of York's Royal Military School and the Legend of the Lone Tree". The Dover Historian. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Schooling". The Army Children Archive. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  9. ^ Clarke, Howard R. (2011). A New History of the Royal Hibernian Military School. Howard R. Clarke. pp. 24–172. ISBN 978-0-9567864-0-1.
  10. ^ Third Report of the African Institution. London: African Institution. 1807. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  11. ^ Coles, R. J. (1981). Southampton's Historic Buildings. City of Southampton Society. pp. 22–23.
  12. ^ "OIL PORTRAIT MAJOR GENERAL PETER BROWN". www.jbmilitaryantiques.com.au. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  13. ^ "The Army List for July, 1844". 1844. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  14. ^ "The London Gazette 1851" (PDF). Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  15. ^ "John D F Shaul VC – victoriacross". www.vconline.org.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Emergency Ofsted probe for Duke of York's Military School". BBC News. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  17. ^ Wood, Sophie (2011). "Duke Of York's Royal Military School: Inspection report for Boarding School". Ofsted. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Examination Results 2007/2008 – Summary". Duke of York's Royal Military School. Archived from the original on 10 July 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  19. ^ "Bringing the world into the classroom – Army&You". Army&You. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  20. ^ "Boarding – The Duke of York's Royal Military School". www.doyrms.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Land Forces senior, as of September 2015 – GOV.UK".
  22. ^ "NHS England » Professor Mark Radford, BSC (Hons) RGN, PGDip (ANP), MA (Med Ed), PHD, FHEA, DSC (Hon)".
  23. ^ https://www.hee.nhs.uk/news-blogs-events/news/health-education-england-chief-nurse-honoured-alumni-award [bare URL]
  24. ^ Cook, Emma (21 June 1997). "Interview: Ramon Tikaram – The mane man". The Independent. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  25. ^ https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/appointment-of-his-honour-judge-keith-raynor-to-the-kosovo-specialist-chambers/ [dead link]
  26. ^ http://www.doyrms.com/MainFolder/Parent-Bulletin-25-May-2018.pdf [dead link]
  27. ^ "Guilty until proven innocent". Achart.ca. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  28. ^ "The Guardian profile: The Right Rev James Jones". TheGuardian.com. 8 February 2008.
  29. ^ "A Dukie seeks to prevent MRSA". Achart.ca. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  30. ^ "Archibald Edward Nye (1895–1967)". Achart.ca. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  31. ^ "George Cecil Gardiner DSO, DFC". Achart.ca. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  32. ^ "Lieutenant George William Hanna, MM". Achart.ca. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  33. ^ "Roger Tomlinson". safemusic.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  34. ^ "Anne Vanpine, apprentice cotton spinner from the Southampton Branch". Achart.ca. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  35. ^ "Dictionary of staff bios A to M". Achart.ca. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  36. ^ "Captain W. Siborne, Adjutant of the RMA (1843–1849)". Achart.ca. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  37. ^ "Duke of Yorks – Guston". www.richardgilbert.ca. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
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51°08′38″N 1°19′30″E / 51.1438°N 1.3250°E / 51.1438; 1.3250