We are delighted to announce that in 2024 the Old Shirburnian Society website, which includes the webpages of the School Archives, received an amazing 44,138 visitors and a staggering 80,005 views! The highest number of visits to the website were from the UK (53,617), followed by the USA (8,399), Australia (2,220), France (1,611), Canada (1,313), … Read more
Patrick Francis, a former history master at Sherborne School and author of Vivat Shirburnia and Old Yet Ever Young, delves into the history of the BBC’s Sport Personality of the Year and its first winner, Shirburnian Sir Christopher Chataway (1931-2014) (Harper House 1944-49): Christopher Chataway (1931-2014) – athlete, TV presenter, politician, businessman and humanitarian When … Read more
To get you in the mood for Christmas, we hope you might enjoy these festive offering from the School Archives: Find out about the history of Sherborne School’s Festival of Lessons and Carols. First held in the School chapel on 7 December 1919, the service was adapted by the School’s Director of Music Archibald Tester … Read more
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of Roger Ketley on 27th November 2024. Roger came to Sherborne to teach in 1961. He was housemaster of Lyon House between 1969 and 1983, second master between 1982 and 1993, and registrar between 1995 and 1997. In later years Roger remained an … Read more
Five Shirburnians have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for gallantry in action. Their names are commemorated on the plaque at the entrance to the School chapel. During the Second World War one Victoria Cross was awarded to a Shirburnian, Abbey House’s Lieutenant Jack Grayburn, who was killed in action at … Read more
Happy 60th birthday to The Digby, which opened its doors as a school boarding house on 18 September 1964 with 62 boys (including 1 day boy) under housemaster Peter Currie and house tutor Robert Glen. Find out about the history of The Digby, including why there are stone ostriches on the roof, why the house … Read more
Sherborne School has a proud Olympic heritage dating back to the Games of the IV Olympiad in 1908. To date, seven Olympic medals have been won by Shirburnians and members of staff – one gold medal, one silver medal, and five bronze medals. Top of the medal table is School House with one gold and … Read more
On 5 June 1944, 12-year-old Peter Powis was amongst a group of boys playing cricket at Sherborne Prep School when suddenly the sky above them was full of ‘hundreds and hundreds of aircraft, mostly Whitley and Halifax bombers towing strings of gliders, crossing the sky, from horizon to horizon, flying sort-of south east.’ This was … Read more
It is with sadness that we heard of the death of David Prichard who passed away on 2 April 2024, aged 89. Our thoughts go out to David’s wife Elizabeth, his family and friends. David was a former Chair of Governors at Sherborne Prep, a post to which he brought his wealth of experience as … Read more
On 23 January 1934, Sherborne Abbey’s great tenor bell arrived back in Sherborne from London, where it had been recast by Mears & Stainbank at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Traditionally, the tenor bell was known as Wolsey’s great bell because it was believed that Cardinal Thomas Wolsey had had the bell made in Tournai and … Read more