Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school in the city of York in North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1823. It is close to York Minster. Jonathan Taylor is the current headmaster who replaced Ian Small in 2004. The school's motto: 'Membra Sumus Corporis Magni', meaning 'We are all members of one great body' quotes Seneca the Younger (Epistle 95, 52). Bootham school treats every pupil equally which creates a close and friendly atmosphere. Students are allowed to call teachers by their first names if they wish.

William Tuke (1732-1822) first raised the idea in 1818 of establishing a boys? school in York for the sons of Friends (Quakers) who were not eligible for Ackworth School, near Pontefract. In 1822 premises on Lawrence Street were leased from the Retreat, (the Hospital run by the Quaker committee), and the school opened in early 1823. It was run as a private concern until January 1829, when John Ford took over as ?Superintendent of the Establishment? and a Quarterly Meeting committee was appointed to run the school. It then became known as Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting Boys? School, and this was its official name until 1915 despite the move to new premises at 20 Bootham in 1846. Further buildings and land were gradually acquired in the following years. Boys whose parents were not members of the Society of Friends were admitted for the first time in 1891. In 1899 the school suffered a serious fire, caused by the inattention of a student to some snails he was heating for a science experiment, and rebuilding of the premises used for teaching was necessary; the official reopening took place in 1902, and one of the new buildings was the Library named after John Bright, who had been one of the first scholars at Lawrence Street.

Bootham did not set out to cultivate a progressive image but offered a ?whole school? approach distinctly in advance of the education offered by more prestigious nineteenth century public schools, where there had been a transition from ?godliness and classical learning? to ?manliness and games?. Quaker teachers were often trained at the Flounders Institute at Ackworth and sometimes took a London external degree while teaching. Many had a keen interest in natural history which was enthusiastically shared by the pupils and led to a serious interest in science at the school which went on to produce a number of distinguished scientists in many areas.

This scientific interest was in keeping with the intellectual developments in the city of York which in 1822 had formed the Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS). In 1854 Bootham became one of the first schools to have its own observatory, equipped with a refracting telescope manufactured by the notable York instrument maker Thomas Cooke.

Quakers stressed the importance of a constructive use of leisure time. Many boys produced impressive essays and classified collections. Some, such as Silvanus P. Thompson (Bootham 1858-67) became eminent in their field ? he was a professor of science and worked with Michael Faraday on electromagnetism. In the late nineteenth century many of the Rowntree family sons were educated at Bootham, one of them, Arthur Rowntree, becoming Headmaster (1899-1927).

Although there are not many Quaker students in proportion to non-Quakers, the school still adheres to many Quaker principles such as equality and searching for "that of God in everyone".

Further reading

• Bootham School Register. Compiled under the direction of a committee of O.Y.S.A., 1914, with revised eds. 1935, 1971.
• JS Rowntree, Friends? Boys? School, York a Sketch of its History 1829-1878 (1879)
• FE Pollard Bootham School 1823-1923 (JM Dent and Sons, 1926)
• SK Brown Bootham School York 1823-1973 (author, 1973)

Well known old scholars include the 19th century parliamentary leader John Bright, mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson ('father of fractals'), the Nobel peace prize winner of 1959 Philip John Noel-Baker and Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer

The school is particularly well known for its strength in the natural and physical sciences, but not for its sporting achievements (although recently the basketball teams have provided the school with trophies). However, its much marginalised minor sports teams have achieved highly in the recent past, including the school fencing team. The school also boasts the oldest school natural history society in the country. Many pupils achieve successful exam results, and in keeping with its Quaker ethos, the school is also well known for maintaining a very friendly and informal environment. According to UK League Tables, Bootham is among the top 10 independent and grammar schools in England ranked for A-level results, and the top public school.

The school welcomes you into its network of Friends

Notable Old Scholars

Former pupils and teachers of Bootham School are known as Old Scholars.

• John Bright (1811–1889), Rochdale mill owner, Anti-Corn Law League leader, President of the Board of Trade, 1868–1870, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 1873–1874, 1880–1882
• John Crosfield (1832–1901), chemical manufacturer
• Frederic Seebohm (1833–1912), banker and historian
• Joseph Rowntree (1836–1925), chocolate manufacturer
• John Wigham Richardson (1837–1908), shipbuilder
• Joshua Rowntree (1844–1915), politician and social reformer
• William Dent Priestman (1847–1936), mechanical engineer
• Silvanus P. Thompson (1851–1916), Professor of Physics, University College, Bristol, 1878–1885, and Principal and Professor of Electrical Engineering, Finsbury Technical College, 1885–1916
• John Theodore Cash (1854–1936), physician, pharmacologist, Regius Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, University of Aberdeen, 1886–1919
• Edward Grubb (1854–1939), pacifist and social reformer
• Francis Oliver (1864–1951), palaeobotanist, Quain Professor of Botany, University College, London, 1890–1929, and Professor of Botany, University of Cairo, 1929–1935
• John Wilhelm Rowntree (1868–1905), chocolate manufacturer and Quaker activist
• Sir George Newman (1870–1948), Chief Medical Officer to the Board of Education, 1907–1919, and Chief Medical Officer to the Ministry of Health, 1919–1935
• Sir Alan Pim (1871–1958), administrator in India and adviser to the Colonial Office
• James William Corder (1868-1953). A historian best remembered for documenting family history in Sunderland.
• Seebohm Rowntree (1871–1954), chocolate manufacturer and sociologist
• Charles Hesterman Merz (1874–1940), electrical engineer
• Egbert Morland (1874–1955), physician, medical writer, and tuberculosis specialist
• Hilary Pepler (1878–1951), printer, puppeteer and social reformer
• Lewis Fry Richardson (1881–1953), mathematician, physicist, psychologist, and pacifist
• Sir George Pepler (1882–1959), town planner
• Alfred Joseph Clark (1885–1941), physician, and Professor of Pharmacology, University of Cape Town, 1918–1920, Professor of Pharmacology, University College, London, 1920–1926, and Professor of Materia Medica, University of Edinburgh, 1926–1941
• Horace Alexander (1889–1989), Quaker envoy and mediator
• Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker (1889–1982), Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs, 1947–1950, Minister of Fuel and Power, 1950–1951, and Nobel Peace Laureate
• Eric Holttum (1895–1990), Director, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1925–1949, and Professor of Botany, University of Singapore, 1949–1954
• Richard Bevan Braithwaite (1900–1990), Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy, University of Cambridge, 1953–1967
• Sir Joseph Burtt Hutchinson (1902–1988), Geneticist, Empire Cotton Growing Corporation, 1937–1957, and Draper's Professor of Agriculture, University of Cambridge, 1957–1969
• Thomas Maxwell Harris (1903–1983), palaeobotanist, and Professor of Botany, University of Reading, 1934–1968
• Sir Ashley Miles (1904–1988), Professor of Bacteriology, University College Hospital, London, 1937–1952, Deputy Director, National Institute for Medical Research, 1946–1952, Director, Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, 1952–1971, and Professor of Experimental Pathology, University of London, 1952–1988
• A.J.P. Taylor (1906–1990), historian and left-wing campaigner
• Geoffrey Barraclough (1908–1984), Professor of Medieval History, University of Liverpool, 1945–1956, Stevenson Research Professor, University of London, 1956–1962, Chichele Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford, 1970–1972, and Professor of History, Brandeis University, 1968–1970, 1972–1981
• Sir Alec Clegg (1909–1986), Chief Education Officer of the West Riding of Yorkshire, 1945–1974
• Geoffrey Appleyard (1916–1943), engineer, skier, oarsman, soldier
• Christopher Dow (1916–1998), economist, Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Economist, OECD, 1963–1973, and Executive Director (Economics), Bank of England, 1973–1981
• George Mosse (1918–1999), historian
• Brian Rix, Baron Rix (born 1924), actor and charity worker
• Michael Ruse (born 1940), historian and philosopher of science
• Peter Murray-Rust (born 1941), chemist
• Stuart Rose (born 1949), Chief Executive, Marks & Spencer

See also

• List of Friends Schools

External links

• Official site