Truro School
Truro School is a mixed independent school in the city of
Truro,
Cornwall,
UK. It was founded in
1880 and is a
Methodist school. Its name upon foundation was "Truro Middle Class College for Boys". It became fully co-educational in 1990 after a successful integration of sixth-form girls into the school.
It has 810 pupils in the 2005-2006 academic year.
The current headmaster of Truro School is Paul Smith. The deputy headteachers are Simon Price and Anita Firth.
Pupils have to take an entrance exam, the equivalent of an
11+ exam, although some pupils take this aged 13, as some local schools still teach up to year 9 (year 3). Academic, (and occasionally music, artistic and sporting) scholarships are awarded, as are means-tested bursaries as part of the
assisted place scheme.
Current Fees (from September 2006) are £5753pa. for boarders, and £2950pa. for day pupils. In November 2005 the school was one of the 50 independent schools named by
The Times newspaper for allegations of price-fixing and in February 2006 was fined £10,000. The headmaster, Paul Smith, appeared on the front page of the Cornish Guardian (Truro/Falmouth Edition) defending his actions by pleading his ignorance of the law.
Built on a hilltop overlooking the city of
Truro, and its nineteenth century
Cathedral, its facilities include the School Chapel, Burrell Theatre, a covered and heated
swimming pool, two s, 40 acres of sports fields, a running track,
tennis and
squash facilities, and an
astro-turf pitch. However the school has poor disabled access, being almost entirely situated on a hill with only two of the buildings having a disabled access lift situated within.
The school still uses the old-fashioned numbering system for year groups: The lower school - years 1 to 5, and the sixth form - lower- and upper-sixth years. This is equivalent to years 7 to 13 in modern state schools.
In years 1 to three, the year is split into forms which most lessons are taken with. Maths and Foreign languages are split according to ability. For the GCSE years, 4 and 5, the forms are split into slightly smaller groups, with lessons taught according to subject choices. This continues into the sixth form.
Each pupil is placed into a school 'house' used for inter-house competitions and for sports matches:
*Wickett (Red)
*Vinter (Gold)
*School (Green)
*Smith (Blue)
Though the majority of students are day-pupils, the school has three separate boarding houses.
*
Trennick - Senior boys, 4th year to sixth form
*
Poltisco - Junior Boys, years 1 - 3
*
Pentreve - All girls, years 1 to sixth form.
Trennick boarding house is the only one situated in the original 'Main Building' of the school, although all three are still on the campus. They are family-run communties with married house staff and other teachers resident on site. A fourth house
Malvern was used for the senior girls, but these have now moved into Pentreve. There are approximately 95 boarders, of which a quarter are foreign nationals, including a dozen
German temporary students who spend up to three terms in the Lower Sixth.
Truro School has its own feeder school from age 3 - 11. Formerly known as
Treliske School from its founding in
1936, it is situated in the grounds of Truro Golf Course, near Treliske Hospital. It has recently been rebranded as
Truro School Preparatory School, or
TruroPrep. It became co-educational in 1989, and the Pre-Preparatory building
Willday House was added in 1991. Its current headmaster is Matthew Lovett.
The school uniform for the lower years consists of a yellow with black and brown diagonal striped tie and navy blazer with the white school crest on the breast pocket. This is worn with a white shirt/blouse, with black trousers and school kilt for the girls. In 2004, the sixth form moved away from the more traditional dress to a more business-like approach. Jackets must still be worn, with a formal shirt and tie for the boys, plain blouse for the girls.
*
Michael Adams,
Chess Grandmaster.
*
Ben Ainslie, Olympic
sailor and two-times gold medallist.
*
Julia Goldsworthy,
Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament.
*
Benjamin Luxon,
Baritone (Opera Singer).
*
David Penhaligon,
Liberal Member of Parliament.
*
John Rhys-Davies,
actor, (
Lord of the Rings trilogy,
Raiders of the Lost Ark).
*
Robert Shaw,
actor (
From Russia With Love,
The Sting,
Jaws).
*
Roger Taylor, drummer and vocalist for pop group
Queen.
*
Luke Vibert, musician and recording artist within the
electronica genre.
The students produce two long-standing school magazines:
Apparatus Criticus (English) and
Rigor Mortis (History, both enjoy a modest following among the pupils; The proposed publication of "Strings" music magazine (formerly "Magazinus Rockus") is likely to end with the graduation of the 2006 UVI students.
In 2005, a book was produced commemerating 125 years of the school. Entitled
High on the Hill, the 208 page book written by the school archivist, Joanna Wood, is published by Blue Hills.
*
Official Truro School website*
Official TruroPrep website*
Former Pupils' Association
