A school for St Paul’s choristers was formed in 1123 for
eight boys, and for centuries the boys’ education and singing practise
co-existed. Then the Grammar school side
was more formally pursued in 1511 when John Colet (1466-1519) founded the St
Paul’s School for 153 boys. The school
buildings stood to the north of the cathedral.
Colet was a bold and inspirational minister and deeply influenced men
like Erasmus and Thomas More. That
school eventually moved to Hammersmith in 1884.
Meanwhile the education of chorister’s remained here. Small and focused.
Today schooling for day students is available from ages 4+,
but the main focus is the Choristers (boys only) who are admitted to boarding
school from the age of seven. Applicants
have an informal music audition, a formal audition and academic testing to be
admitted. Around 34 choristers are
resident at any time, and places are hard to come by often requiring registration
of interest four years ahead of time.
This is an excerpt from the FREE tour St Paul's Precincts found on www.obelisktours.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment