Notes from the Head - The history we carry

Last Friday, Upper 3 and Lower 6 spent the day in the City of London. From the Guildhall and our service in Jewry to St Paul’s, Tower Bridge and the many connections between the City and our School, it was a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to experience something of the history and traditions that have shaped Freemen’s.

For me, it was also a reminder of just how deeply that history continues to influence who we are today.

The origins of City of London Freemen’s School lie in a profoundly Victorian idea: that opportunity should not be determined by birth or fortune.

Founded in 1854 as the City of London Freemen’s Orphan School, its purpose was to provide a “religious and virtuous education” for the orphaned children of Freemen of the City of London. The School was established through an Act of Parliament secured by Warren Stormes Hale, one of the great educational philanthropists of nineteenth-century London.

Hale understood personally how much a young person’s future can be shaped by circumstance. Having been orphaned himself at an early age, he rose from apprentice to successful businessman, Alderman and ultimately Lord Mayor of London. He used that success to widen educational opportunity for others.

Yet Freemen’s was never simply the work of one individual. It was also an expression of the traditions and values of the City of London Corporation – its commitment to education, opportunity, public service and civic life. Remarkably, that relationship continues today. The same organisation that helped establish the School continues to support, govern and invest in its future.

The School moved from Brixton to Ashtead Park in 1926 and has evolved considerably since then. We are now a vibrant co-educational community, educating young people from 3 to 18. The surroundings have changed; the world has changed; but some of the principles at the heart of the School remain remarkably constant.

Indeed, you can find them in the names of our Houses.

– Hale reminds us of opportunity and philanthropy. It speaks of a man who refused to forget his own beginnings and chose instead to use his success to create opportunities for others.
– Whittington represents service and stewardship. The legendary Lord Mayor’s story has come to symbolise social mobility – the idea that achievement brings responsibilities as well as rewards.
– Gresham represents enterprise, innovation and learning. Merchant, financier and founder of Gresham College, Thomas Gresham understood the value of knowledge and its contribution to the public good.

Taken together, they tell a story: opportunity, service and learning. They are not merely historical curiosities; they are expressions of values that continue to shape the School.
There is an interesting echo of this idea in the words of Noel Wills, founder of Rendcomb College, the school I attended and later led. He believed that “the true aristocracy among men is in reality simply an aristocracy of brains and character”.

It is a striking thought because it rejects the idea that distinction is inherited. What matters is what a person becomes.

I would perhaps add one thing. Brains matter. Character matters. But true distinction lies in what we choose to do with them.

That is why the School’s history still feels relevant today. Freemen’s was founded not simply to educate, but to educate for a purpose: to create opportunity, develop character and encourage young people to use their talents in ways that benefit others.

Our language today is different. We talk about learn, lead, and make a difference.

The words may be modern, but the idea behind them has been with Freemen’s from the very beginning.

One former Freemen’s pupil, Andrew Garfield, would later play Spider-Man and become associated with the famous phrase: “With great power comes great responsibility.” While hardly Victorian in origin, it captures a sentiment that Hale, Whittington, Gresham and Wills might readily have recognised.

Opportunity creates responsibility. Talent creates responsibility. Leadership creates responsibility. Education itself creates responsibility.

Perhaps that is the clearest way of expressing the philosophy that underpins Freemen’s. We are not simply here to educate young people, but to give them the opportunity to develop their talents, their character and their sense of responsibility to others.

As I watched our pupils exploring the City last Friday, I was reminded that they are not simply inheriting the history of Freemen’s. They are becoming part of it – and, in time, they will write the next chapter.