“It happened that on a Monday morning in the autumn of 1859, my fellow-curate and myself walked over to Banbury to see the then Vicar of Banbury, Mr Wilson. After seeing him, my friend proposed that we should return by way of Bloxham, instead of going back the way we had come, viz. through Adderbury. It was this change of route that led to my beginning the School at Bloxham.”
The story of All Saints School, Bloxham is a remarkable one of the triumph of optimism and determination against seemingly insuperable odds. As the school celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2010, it can look back on a history of survival in the face of adversity, adapting to changing circumstances while all the time holding fast to the ideals of its founder Philip Reginald Egerton and his vision of Bloxham as a beacon of Christian education, as summed up in the school’s motto, “Justorum Semita Lux Splendens”, the path of the just is a shining light (Proverbs).
Egerton opened his new school in January 1860 with one pupil, William Pearce, and an elderly housekeeper; he had doubled his numbers within a fortnight, and by the time of his retirement in 1886 he had 180 pupils and a magnificent set of buildings designed for him by one of the greatest of all Victorian architects, George Edmund Street. Under Egerton’s successors, the school has seen a great many changes, most notably the introduction of co-education throughout the school in 1997. The present Headmaster, former Nottinghamshire cricketer and Cambridge classicist Mark Allbrook, now leads a school of 430 pupils looking forward to the 150th anniversary of Bloxham’s foundation with confidence, with accommodation and facilities to match any competitor and the ideals of Egerton and ethos of his original foundation as valid as ever.
Bloxham will mark the 150th Anniversary throughout the year via a series of celebratory events. The year starts with a concert ' Lux Aurumque' in Great Hall on 29th January. That splendid event will launch a whole weekend of celebrations involving a school dance - the Shining Light Ball, on the Saturday and a charity walk on the Sunday to raise money for a children's home in South Africa. The walk will re-enact that made by our Founder in 1859 and will start at Deddington Church and finish back at School. A celebration beer - 'The Shining Light' has been brewed by our friends at the famous Hook Norton Brewery and will be available in bottles in February and a champagne bearing the anniversary crest will also be on sale. One of the highlights of the year will be the launch of the new School history, a really lavish, image rich creation masterminded by Simon Batten. This launch and book signing will be on Founderstide on 1 May 2010 but details of how to pre-order will be found on the website under Old Bloxhamists.
It is hoped that all Old Bloxhamists and former friends of the School will find the opportunity to return during the course of the year and a number of occasions are being planned to bring this about. We will publish dates , times and how to book tickets (where appropriate) via this website.
