| Stowe School | |
| Size: | 170px |
| Latitude: | 52.0326 |
| Longitude: | -1.0190 |
| Motto: | Latin: Persto et Praesto ("I stand firm and I stand first") |
| Established: | 1923 |
| Type: | Public School, Day & Boarding |
| Religion: | Church of England |
| Head Label: | Headmaster |
| Head: | Dr Anthony Wallersteiner |
| R Head Label: | Chaplain |
| R Head: | Rev. R.B Jackson |
| Chair Label: | Chairman of Governors |
| Chair: | Christopher Honeyman Brown |
| Founder: | JF Roxburgh |
| City: | Buckingham |
| County: | Buckinghamshire |
| Country: | England |
| Postcode: | MK18 5EH |
| Lea: | Buckinghamshire |
| Ofsted: | SC023081 |
| Enrollment: | 610 |
| Gender: | Co-educational |
| Lower Age: | 13 |
| Upper Age: | 19 |
| Houses: | 11 Boarding houses |
| Colours: | Blue, Red, Gold & White |
| Publication: | The Stoic |
| Free Label 1: | Former pupils |
| Free 1: | Old Stoics |
| Website: | http://www.stowe.co.uk/ |
| Website Name: | www.stowe.co.uk |
Stowe School is a British independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, referred to as a public school. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by JF Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is currently becoming fully co-educational. , there are 493 boys in total, and 103 girls.
The school has been based since its beginnings at Stowe House, formerly the country seat of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos. Along with many of the other buildings on the school's estate, the main house is now a Grade 1 Listed Building and is maintained by the Stowe House Preservation Trust.
The school is used as a first class cricket ground by Northamptonshire CCC, and is the home ground of the Northants Second XI.
On 4 April 1963 The Beatles performed at Stowe School, for which they were paid £100. They accepted a personal request from schoolboy David Moores, a fellow Liverpudlian.
In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents.[1] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.[2]
There are 12 boarding houses: 8 boy houses and 4 girl houses. These 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.
| Name | Named After | House Number/Letter |
|---|---|---|
| Bruce | Lady Mary Campbell (Married to Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos;One of her family names was Bruce) | 1 |
| Temple | Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham | 2 |
| Grenville | George Grenville, the husband of Hester Temple, 1st Countess Temple, mother of Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, and sister of Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham | 3 |
| Chandos | Duke of Buckingham and Chandos | 4 |
| Cobham | Viscount Cobham | 5 |
| Chatham | William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, husband of Hester Grenville, sister of Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple | 6 |
| Grafton | There is no known family connection, the name coming from the local fox hunt, the Grafton Hunt, which takes its name in turn from the Duke of Grafton . Grafton also has a history of supplying the Stowe Beagles with talented Masters and Hunt Staff, many of whom have continued to become Masters of packs around the Country. | 7 |
| Walpole | This is not a family name. Named after Horace Walpole, who wrote some famous letters about his visits to Stowe in the 18th century. It was his father, Robert Walpole, who was the more notable Walpole in England's and Stowe's history, however. Viscount Cobham's political life started under Walpole but his subsequent opposition to him led Cobham to found a political dynasty that played a major part in politics until Victorian times (producing four Prime Ministers). To be named "Nugent" originally. | 8 |
| Nugent (Girls) | Lady Mary Nugent, daughter of Robert Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent, married to George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham. Was originally the 'waiting house' that some new boys entered until their preferred house had a space. | N |
| Lyttelton (Girls - formerly Boys) | Baron Lyttelton,succeeded to the Viscounty of Cobham since Charles George Lyttelton, 5th Baron Lyttelton, after the death of the Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, and into which title the Barony is now merged. Originally "Stanhope House", which became the Careers, International, and Skills Development departments of the school. Named after Lady Hester Stanhope, niece of William Pitt the Younger, who was the niece of Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple | 0 |
| Queen's (Girls) | Opened in September 2007 and officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in November 2007 and thus named after the first reigning monarch to visit the school since it was opened in 1923. | A |
Former pupils of Stowe School are known as Old Stoics and include: