Sir William Borlase's School
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"A Knight there lived in days of old when James the First was
King |
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| Sir William Borlase was descended from Taillefer of Angouleme, who fought
on the side of King William at the Battle of Hastings. John Borlase, his
father made his fortune in London and this enabled his son to establish himself in
Marlow as a country gentleman. He lived at Westhorpe Manor House in Little Marlow
and became not only Sheriff of Buckinghamshire but was a Member of Parliament for
Aylesbury. In 1603 he was knighted by James the First. In 1624 and
in memory of his son Henry who died that same year, Sir William decided to build a
"free school" in the town in order "to teach twenty-four poor
children to write, read and cast accounts, such as their parents and friends are not able
to maintain at school". Boys entered the school between the ages of ten
and fourteen and at the end of two years, six of the best were given two pounds each to
apprentice themselves to a trade. Sir William died in 1629 but the school has
survived to this day and is still one of the best grammar schools in the county of
Buckinghamshire. It became co-educational some years ago and many
changes have been made over the years to the school buildings. In 1944, I successfully passed what was then known as the "scholarship exam" and obtained a "special place" which meant that I could attend Sir William Borlase' School without paying fees. Readers should note that the school was then called Borlase' School and the term Borlase's School was never used. In that year the number of boys attending the school was 180 and five years later, when I left in 1949, it was probably about 200. I am not ashamed to say that I loved my school days - morning chapel, playing rugby, learning Latin, rowing, cross country running, acting - all of these I did for the very first time. I believe that Borlase then, as now, had superlative teachers and an excellent Headmaster in Mr Booth: my admiration for these gentlemen can be found in one of the articles that I wrote for the Borlasian magazine a few years ago. The school has an excellent website which includes an Old Borlasians' page and where you can find out about some of your old colleagues. Go to http://swbgs.bucks.sch.uk/ibody.html |
Club Secretary |
Membership Secretary |
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Mr John Barry
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Mr Tony Chubb Tele: 01494-4379
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