The Minster School is a Church of England voluntary aided school with its roots in the 10th century. It has 400 pupils in the Sixth Form. The Junior Department was established over fifty years ago to provide free education for the choristers of SouthwellMinster and has special facilities for musically gifted pupils. For twenty-five years it has also provided a Junior School curriculum for other pupils who wish to develop their abilities in a musically stimulating environment; it takes pupils from the age of seven. Canon Blinston was the executive headteacher of the Minster School for 20 years. He served as the Head of Magnus School in Newark, the school with which the Minster School has joined. Mrs White was the head teacher up until December 2013. Mr C. Stevens was the acting head teacher until Matthew Parris joined the school in September 2014. The school is on Nottingham Road next to Southwell Leisure Centre.
History
The school was founded in 956 and is one of the oldest schools in England. From a gift of land by King Edwy to Oscytel, Archbishop of York thence was created a Chapter, a Church and a school to teach the singing boys Latin. The earliest named master, in 1313, was Henry de Hykeling. In 1547 the churchwardens petitioned Edward VI "that our Grammar School may also stand with such stipend as appertains the like, wherein our poor youth may be instructed" - his Commissioners replied "that the school is very meet and necessary to continue". In 1580 Hugh Baskafield, the Master, was discharged by the Chapter as "he had notoriously slacked and neglected his duties" while William Neep in 1716 ordered the school's rules to be written in English after abolishing the Latin version. The 1944 Education Act determined the Governors to seek "Aided Status". The fund-raising at that time suggested that this school's life would run from 956 A.D. to 2956 A.D. Once a selective school, known as Southwell Minster Collegiate Grammar School, and more recently until amalgamation with the local comprehensive known simply as Southwell Minster Grammar School. When comparatively small, the school was in Minster Chambers, but those premises were vacated in 1964 for a site further down Church Street on the south-eastern side of the Minster. Upon amalgamation, this site, some considerable distance from the Nottingham Road site, became difficult to integrate into the life of the much bigger school. With the decision to concentrate redevelopment at Nottingham Road the Church Street site was sold. As the 1964 premises had been built upon the site of a Roman Villa an opportunity has arisen to restore this location. Amalgamation continued the school's traditional strengths and the school obtained specialist status in music and humanities. The school will change status to an academy on 30 November 2018.
Buildings
In April 2006, work began on a new £34m school building. On 16 July 2008, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex officially opened the new school building, in operation since September 2007. The Minster School won the 2009 RIBA Sorrell Foundation Schools Award due to the highly functional design of the school. It no longer has boarding facilities.
