Stowe School


The Stowe School is a public school for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It was opened on 11 May 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. Formerly the country seat of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos, it was first constructed in 1677 and served as a consulate to monarchy and aristocracy throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. J. F. Roxburgh was the school's first headmaster.
The school is a member of the 18-member Rugby Group, the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, and the G30 Schools. Originally for boys only, the school is now coeducational, with 541 boys and 374 girls - 915 students enrolled in the school. Roughly 80% of the school's pupils are in boarding houses, while the other 20% are in day houses.
Pupils in the "Day in Boarding" programme are assigned to one of the school's boarding houses and have the option to board there for a maximum of three nights per week. Pupils in one of the school's three Day Houses—Winton, Cheshire, and Croft—are charged a reduced fee per academic year. Students in the Day houses are not given the option to board. The school provides bursaries and other means of financial assistance to admitted students who exhibit outstanding abilities in the Arts, Academics, Sports, and other areas. A typical scholarship at Stowe is worth 5% of the school fee.
The tuition fee includes the provision of meals, educational services, and "extracurricular activities". In some instances, it also covers boarding accommodation. Additional costs, such as school uniforms, equipment, trips, and transportation, are billed at the end of each term in addition to the tuition fee. These extra costs can range from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds per term.

History

Stowe School opened in 1923. The main building is Stowe House, whose exterior was completed by 1779. Funding for the school came through the Rev. Percy Warrington and the Martyrs Memorial Trust. The school's first architect was Clough Williams-Ellis.
The first Headmaster was J. F. Roxburgh. He aimed to focus on the individual child and introduce them to beauty and learning; he wanted a civilised school founded on Christian values.
The Beatles played a concert at Stowe School on 4 April 1963. A recording of the concert was revealed in 2023, and leaked to the public later in the year.

Today

The school's cricket ground is used as a first class ground by Northamptonshire CCC.
The Stowe Corner of Silverstone Circuit is the closest corner to the school and is named after the school.
A Southern Railway "Schools Class" steam locomotive, No. 928, which was built in 1934 was named after the school, and is preserved at the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex.
In 2005, the school was investigated by the Office of Fair Trading for "price fixing", participating in a "fee-fixing cartel".
In 2016, a Daily Telegraph investigator posing as a parent of a Russian pupil was told by the then school registrar that while pupils would always be expected to pass the entrance exam, it would help secure a place if a borderline child's parents were able to donate "about £100,000 or something like that."

Boarding houses

There are thirteen Boarding Houses: 7 boys' houses and 6 girls' houses. There are also three Day Houses - 2 boys' houses and 1 girls' house. The boarding houses are mostly named after members of the family of Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. Each house has a number or letter assigned to it, for use as the first character of each student's school number. For instance, a student in Bruce House would have their student number start with 1.
NameNamed AfterHouse Number/Letter
Bruce Lady Mary Bruce, the daughter of Charles Bruce, 4th Earl of Elgin. Formerly a boys house from 1923-2024, and was renovated and reopened as a girls house in September 20251
Temple Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham; Earl Temple2
Grenville George Grenville3
Chandos Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, [1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos]4
Cobham Viscount Cobham; Original building renovated after construction of a new building, opened in early 2019, with the old Cobham location being used as the site for Winton and Cheshire5
Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham6
Grafton Duke of Grafton and/or the local fox hunt, the Grafton Hunt, which takes its name from him. Grafton House has a history of supplying the Stowe Beagles with Masters and Hunt Staff7
Walpole Robert Walpole, Prime Minister, and/or his son Horace Walpole, who wrote letters about his visits to Stowe House in the 18th century.8
Nugent Lady Mary Nugent, daughter of Robert Nugent, 1st Earl NugentN
Lyttelton Baron Lyttelton0
Queen's Officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in November 2007.A
Stanhope Opened in May 2009 and officially opened by Sir Nicholas Winton.B
West Opened in September 2014 as a Sixth Form House. Named after Gilbert West.W
Winton Opened in September 2019 as a day house for boys. Named after Sir Nicholas Winton.9
Cheshire Opened in September 2019 as a day house for girls. Named after Leonard Cheshire.C
Croft Opened in September 2023 as a day house for Boys. Named after Colonel Andrew Croft.T

Cricket ground

The first recorded match on the school cricket ground came in 1928 when Stowe School played St Paul's School. Buckinghamshire played their first Minor Counties Championship match there in 1947, when the opponents were Berkshire. Between 1947 and 1982 the ground held five Minor Counties Championship matches, the last of which saw Buckinghamshire draw against Bedfordshire. The ground has also hosted a single MCCA Knockout Trophy match which saw Buckinghamshire play Bedfordshire.
The ground has also held a single List A match for Northamptonshire in the 2005 totesport League, against Gloucestershire. and has held fourteen Second XI fixtures for the Northamptonshire Second XI in the Second XI Championship and Second XI Trophy.

Headmasters

Former pupils of Stowe School are known as Old Stoics. Toby Gauvain is currently the president of the Old Stoic Society.
Old Stoics include: