The Royal Hospital School, Holbrook

Personally, in retrospect I did not appreciate R.H.S. Holbrook as much then as I should have. It is a truly magnificent building and site - more modern than W.H., but even more stunning in its size, setting and proportions - and with an impeccable pedigree and history.

We usually expected to beat them at most sports, but to my undying shame I was in the 1st XV which lost to them in 1964, one of 3 losses in 20 matches played. We beat both Wymondham and R.G.S. Colchester that year, but lost 16-12 to the R.H.S........

Given the naval connections between the two schools, I am surprised we did not have more contact than just sport, but it was as it was.

Unlike WHS, they survive and thrive, but they have the navy behind them and we just had ILEA!


The Royal Hospital School (usually shortened as "RHS" and historically nicknamed "The Cradle of the Navy") is a British co-educational fee-charging boarding and day school with naval traditions. The school admits pupils from age 11 to 18 (Years 7 to 13) through Common Entrance or the school's own exam. The school is regulated by Acts of Parliament.

The school is located in the village of Holbrook, near Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The school's campus is of Queen Anne style and set in 200 acres (0.81 km2) countryside overlooking the River Stour, Suffolk on the Shotley Peninsula in an area known as Constable Country.

The Royal Hospital School was established by a royal charter in 1712. It was originally located at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich. The school moved in 1933 to East Anglia.

The school is the only United Kingdom independent boarding school to have ever been continuously granted the Queen's Banner and it flies its own Admiralty-approved Royal Hospital School Blue Ensign. It is one of only two UK schools whose students have the privilege of wearing Royal Navy uniforms, the other being Pangbourne College in Berkshire.

The school is affiliated to the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Bernard de Neumann, a former pupil, described the school's significance as such: "Just as, according to the Duke of Wellington, the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, it may justifiably be claimed that the establishment of the British Empire was charted and plotted in the classroom of the Royal Hospital School."

Seafaring traditions are important and integral elements of school life, and Royal Navy uniforms (sailor suits) are issued to all pupils and used for ceremonial and formal events. The school is owned by the Crown naval charity, Greenwich Hospital and as a result provides a number of means-tested bursaries for families with a seafaring background.

The school also emphasises leadership development. Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines Combined Cadet Force along with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme are the most popular extracurricular activities at the Royal Hospital School. The Combined Cadet Force also includes a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Section. HMS Illustrious is affiliated with the Royal Navy CCF. The Army Section is affiliated with Army Air Corps.

The Royal Hospital School has a partnership with America's second-oldest institution of higher education and "sister institution," The College of William and Mary in Virginia.

The Royal Hospital School is a boarding and day school with weekly boarding, three-night boarding, and 'flexi' or ad hoc boarding options.