Public Schools

Rugby School is famous as the homeplace of two great institutions: the sport of rugby union; and the establishment of what has come to be regarded as the English public school tradition. The school has taken the latter a step further when, in the 1960s, the then Headmaster invited a number of prestigious boarding schools to form an informal grouping. Substantial changes to the education system were underfoot at the time of the group’s founding including the phasing out of grammar schools and the creation of a comprehensive State education system and many independent schools were greatly concerned about the impact this might have on their viability and standing.