March Newsletter. Marlborough College and Uppingham School.

Thursday September 29th, 2016

Spring term is about to come to an end. Easter holidays are another opportunity to hit that revision before the exams in the Summer or to catch the last of the snow in the Alps, which is what I am planning!
The clock is going to the Summer time on the 26th of March and, hopefully, the weather is now going to allow those regattas, cricket and tennis tournaments to become very enjoyable affairs indeed. Please have a look at the Social Calendar of this Summer’s events.

Just a few months to go until the so nearly-royal wedding of the year. On May 20th, at St Mark’s Church in Englefield, Berkshire, the world’s most famous bridesmaid, Pippa Middleton, 33, will be the bride herself and will be marrying James Matthews, 41, the CEO of Eden Rock capital management.
We are hoping to see Prince George, nearly four, as a page boy and, Princess Charlotte, who will be two by then, as a flower girl.
Among royal and famous guests there will be Pippa’s friends who went to Marlborough College with her and Kate and, possibly, one or two James’s schoolmates from Uppingham.
The Middleton family moved back to the UK from Jordan where they worked for the airlines. The move was mainly for the sake of educating their children in the UK. Although they did not have much money at the time, Pippa’s mom had an idea of a business of party supplies, which she started while still pregnant with her youngest son James and that grew into a huge success and paid for the education of all three children in the most prestigious schools.

The Middleton sisters went to Marlborough College, straight from their co-ed prep St Andrew’s, Pangbourne, where Pippa had been a sports star, always winning prizes. Pippa Middleton had won a sporting/all rounder’s scholarship to Marlborough, and spent much of her time on the sports fields. Her little brother James joined his sisters at Marlborough later.

The groom, James Matthews, 41, is the CEO of Eden Rock capital management.

James had two brothers, Spencer and Michael. Michael, died in 1999 in a mountaineering accident on Everest, hours after becoming the youngest Briton to conquer the peak. James and his brother Michael both boarded at Uppingham School, which helped James prepare for a career in finance.
Their younger brother, now a TV celebrity from Made in Chelsea, Spencer, was educated at Eton.
James launched his own firm Eden Rock Capital Management in 2001, named after his parents’ hotel in the Caribbean, where James and his brothers spent a lot of their childhood. By 2007, Eden Rock had reached £1 billion in investments. He has also made brilliant and highly lucrative investments in the London real estate market. James has a £17 million London home and his own private jet!
Ever since their schooldays, both Pippa and James are still very active sportsmen. In 2008 James ran 156 mile marathon des Sables through the Sahara desert. In September Pippa and James completed a 50 mile swimming and running race together.
James also plays tennis.
Here is the information on Kate and Pippa Middleton senior school

Marlborough College

Marlborough College is a mainstream independent school for 937 13 to 19 year olds in Wiltshire. It is situated 75 miles from central London, or about 1,5 hours drive.
Marlborough College dominates its quaint Wiltshire market town, with its Victorian chapel, graceful quadrangle, trout ponds and sprawling campus.

The eclectic mix of ancient and modern across the school estate embodies the breadth and quality of a Marlborough education.

The Good Schools Guide described Marlborough as a “famous, designer label, co-ed boarding school still riding high”.

Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Marlborough educates the sons and daughters of the prosperous upper middle classes, with a few children of aristocrats, plutocrats and oligarchs thrown in.

There is a real energy and buzz at Marlborough; pupils are busy, busy, busy. Maybe too busy, sometimes. In 2016, 57 per cent A*/A grades at A level and Pre-U equivalent; at GCSE, 75 per cent A*/A grades. Stand out results in A level art, drama, sciences, geography and maths.
There’s so much on offer beyond the academic timetable.

Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Exeter, Durham and Leeds are popular destinations; much the most popular courses are in history, art history, modern languages.
Curiously, the singer Chris de Burgh is also an old Marlburian. Like many other public schools, Marlborough College has the old pupils club. https://www.marlburianclub.org/membersnews
Here is some information on James’s school.

Uppingham school.

It’s an independent school with 790 pupils aged from 13 to 18.
Although the emphasis is on holistic education, academic matters do not suffer. The teachers relish challenging the most able, to get as far as they can. All abilities are making excellent progress and exam results are strong, although Uppingham is not an academic hothouse. In 2016, at GCSE, 68 per cent were A*/A grades and 45 per cent of A*/A at A levels with 70 per cent of pupils going on to Russell Group unis, and 10 to Oxbridge.
The school considers all subjects to be strong, pointing to outstanding results and large numbers taking both science and arts subjects at A level. Pupils enthuse about the history, business, religious studies and politics, but also approve of the various innovations that the stunning new science block has inspired.
The school’s USP are a) full boarding, and b) the music.
Of the 790 pupils, all but 10 board. Uppingham’s music has always been sublime: the whole school gets together in chapel on Friday mornings for ‘congers’ (singing practice) and the chapel choir rocked Raffles hotel on their recent tour of South-East Asia.
Even though it is big and spreads throughout the small market town of Uppingham the school has a homely feel. Uppingham is a charming English small market town, with its own theatres (owned and run by the school) and its own cafés and shops that the pupils wonder round relatively freely. Parents and pupils love it.
Other famous alumni include Stephen Fry (who was actually expelled), Rick Stein – celebrity chef, Charles Dunstone – the chairman and co-founder of mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse and chairman of Talk Talk Group, British composer Andrew Hewitt.