St. Philip's School

St. Philip's School was a Roman Catholic Grammar School for boys located on Hagley Road in Birmingham, England.

History

St Philip's was founded when two priests of the Birmingham Oratory took over an existing Catholic Grammar School in 1887. It should not be confused with the Oratory school, which was founded by Cardinal Newman in 1859 and later moved to Amersham.

The school started in the Little Oratory on 19 September 1887 until the main building was complete on 13 December 1887. It functioned as a boy's Grammar School until 1976 when it became a RC Sixth Form College.

Notable alumni

*J.R.R. Tolkien and his brother Hilary Tolkien - In 1902, the Tolkien family moved to a house in Edgbaston next door to the Birmingham Oratory and the school. Tolkien had been attending King Edward's School but was moved to Saint Philip's. Later, he won a Foundation Scholarship to King Edwards and returned to his former school. [cite web|author= Friesen, Darryl |date= October 24, 1995|url=http://tolkien.cro.net/tolkien/tolktmln.html| title=The Tolkien Timeline|work = The Grey Havens|accessdate=2006-03-13]
*William Slim - Between 1903 and 1910, William Slim attended St. Phillip's and King Edward's. As Field Marshall Slim, he served as the British Commander in Chief in Southeast Asia during World War II. [ [http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FSLIM Janus, "The Papers of Field Marshal Slim"] ]
*Squardron Leader Peter Latham, later Air Vice Marshall"A History of St Philips, from Beginning to Beginning", Margaret Worsley, Wine Press, Tamworth, 1997, ISBN 1-86237-078-8]
*Don Maclean - Light Entertainer and presenter of "Crackerjack".

ee also

Saint Philip Neri

References

*"A History of St Philips, from Beginning to Beginning", Margaret Worsley, Wine Press, Tamworth, 1997, ISBN 1-86237-078-8

External links

* [http://www.virtualbrum.co.uk/tolkien_trail_start.htm Tolkien Trail]
*IoE|217210|- Former St Philips school hall, now part of the Oratory complex - Grade II*