Dragon School
The Dragon School is a renowned British coeducational, preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877. The school accepts pupils from the age of 8 ("E Block") through to 13 ("A Block"), although an associated 'pre-prep', Lynams, accepts children from age 4. It is primarily known as a boarding school, although it also takes day pupils.
In September 2001, it had 840 pupils, of both sexes. Girls have been admitted as boarders since 1994. Like many other prep schools The Dragon has a long history of traditions, among the more notable being the occasional wide-spread use of nicknames for teachers (including to their face — 'Inky', 'Guv', 'Smudge', 'Bofters', etc.), and calling female teachers 'Ma' (e.g. "Ma Jones") and male teachers 'Pa' (e.g. "Pa Smith"). Temporary teaching assistants (usually in their late teens / early twenties) are known as 'Stooges'.
History of the school
The Dragon School was founded in 1877, and was originally named the Oxford Preparatory School and sometimes called Lynam's Preparatory School. Soon after its founding, it moved to its present site in Bardwell Road in central North Oxford, just to the west of the River Cherwell. The school was started by a committee of Oxford Dons, among whom the most active was a Mr. George so the first pupils decided to call themselves Dragons.
The school was run for many years by the Lynam family, and led to its becoming "arguably the best known of all preparatory schools".
Headmasters of the Dragon
- Rev A.E. Clarke 1877–1886
- C.C. Lynam ('Skipper') 1887–1921
- A.E. Lynam ('Hum') 1921–1942
- J.H.R. Lynam ('Joc') 1942–1965
- R.K. Ingram ('Inky') 1965–1989
- M.W.A. Gover ('Guv') 1972–1989
- N.P.V. Richardson 1989–1992
- H.E.P. Woodcock 1992–1993
- R.S. Trafford 1993–2002
- J.R. Baugh 2002–
Past pupils
Former pupils of the Dragon School are referred to as
- Sir John Betjeman (1906–1984), British poet, Poet Laureate from 1972
- Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903–1989), composer
- Humphry Bowen (1929–2002), British chemist and botanist
- Jonathan Bowen (born 1956), British computer scientist
- Henry Brett, English polo player, Captain England polo team 2003-2006
- Humphrey Carpenter (1946–2005), British journalist, author, and musician
- Christopher Cazenove (born 1945), actor
- Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC, OM, DSO and two bars, Baron Cheshire (1917–1992), distinguished serviceman, Wing Commander, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and founder of the Leonard Cheshire homes for the disabled
- Jack Davenport (born 1973), British actor
- R. H. C. Davis (1918-1991), mediaeval historian
- Cressida Dick (born 1960), senior police officer
- Lady Antonia Fraser (born 1932), British historical author
- Cyril Gadney, rugby player and president of the RFU
- The Rt. Hon. Hugh Gaitskell (1906–1963), British politician, leader of the Labour Party from 1955 to 1963
- J.B.S. Haldane (1892–1964), geneticist and evolutionary biologist
- Tim Henman
OBE (born 1974), British tennis player - Tom Hollander (born 1967), British actor
- Sir Tim Hunt, British biochemist and Nobel laureate
- Pico Iyer (born 1957), British-born journalist and author
- Peter Jay, British television journalist, and former Economics Editor for the BBC
- Patrick Jenkin PC (Lord Jenkin of Roding, born 1926), British politician
- David Jessel, journalist
- Stephen Jessel, journalist
- Dom Joly (born 1968), comedian
- Sir John Kendrew (1917–1997), molecular biologist and Nobel Laureate
- Hugh Laurie (born 1959), British comedian and actor (House M.D.)
- Naomi Mitchison (nee Haldane, 1897–1999), British novelist and poet
- John Paul Morrison (born 1937) Inventor/discoverer of Flow-based programming
- Sir John Mortimer (born 1923), British playwright, barrister, and novelist
- Sir Roger Norrington (born 1934), musician and conductor
- Rageh Omaar (born 1967), journalist and writer
- Julian Opie (born 1958), contemporary artist
- Ronnie Poulton-Palmer (born c.1890; killed in First World War), rugby player
- Sir Timothy Raison, British politician, journalist and author
- Jack Randle VC, distinguished serviceman, T/Captain, 2nd Bn. The Royal Norfolk Regiment, British Army
- Andrew Robinson (born 1957), author and editor
- William Leefe Robinson VC (1895–1918), distinguished serviceman, Lieutenant, 39 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps
- Nicholas Shakespeare (born 1957), British journalist and novelist
- Nevil Shute (1899–1960), British novelist
- Sir John Slessor, distinguished serviceman and Marshal of the Royal Air Force
- Sir John Smyth VC, distinguished serviceman, Lieutenant, 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, Indian Army
- Christopher Tolkien, son of J. R. R. Tolkien
- Peter Tranchell (1922–1993), musician, composer, and teacher
- Paul Watkins (born 1963), Booker Prize nominated author
- Emma Watson (born 1990), actress
- Admiral Sir Hugo White, distinguished serviceman
- Stephen Wolfram (born 1959), British physicist
- Shaun Wylie, mathematician and World War II codebreaker
- Baroness Young (1926–2002), British politician
Notes
The Dragon shown on the crest is technically a wyvern, although this is sometimes considered to be a type of dragon.[1]
External links
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