Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby
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See also Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood.
Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby (also known as Merchant Taylors' School for Boys, Crosby or, locally, Merchants) is a British public school, located in Great Crosby on Merseyside.
The school's motto is that of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors: Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt. (Small things grow in harmony.)
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History
The school was founded in 1620 under the instruction of the estate of John Harrison, and was run under the auspices of the Merchant Taylors' Company until 1910. In 1878, the school moved to its present site, some 500 yards from the previous, which now forms part of the Merchant Taylors' School for Girls, with whom the school shares a Governing Board and Bursar.
Present day
Until the late 20th century, Merchants was a boarding school. It currently caters for 800 day pupils between the ages of 11 and 19 (with an additional 150 in the Junior School). Lessons run Monday-Friday, 08:55-16:00 (A Saturday working day was abolished in the 1980s). As a result of these longer school days, holidays are frequently several weeks longer than local education authority dates.
The school is independently run, and, as such, charges tuition fees. Fees were partially subsidised by the Government under the Assisted Places Scheme until the closure of that scheme in 2001.
The school is regularly ranked in the top 100 for examination results at A-Level, and the top 250 at GCSE, with an almost 100% pass rate in both [1].
Sports
The primary sports played by the school are rugby union, field hockey and cricket, however association football has recently been introduced as an "official school" sport and looks set to challenge the more established sports in coming years. The rugby training staff includes Ian McKie, former Scottish international, and Mike Slemen, former England international and team selector. The school also has a Combined Cadet Force, run in conjunction with Merchant Taylors' School for Girls.
Headmaster
The current headmaster is David Cook, who replaced the retiring Simon Dawkins in 2005.
Notable alumni (Old Crosbeians)
- Charles James Mathews
- Robert Runcie
- James Allen
- Ben Kay
- John and William Parsons, two of the founding players of FC Barcelona, were former pupils, and gave the club its team colours, basing them on the Merchants sporting colours of the time (claret and navy; the school now plays in gold and black).