St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School

St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School is a Church of England voluntary aided school situated in the district of Redcliffe, Bristol, England. The school was formed by a merger of Redcliffe Boys School and Temple Colston school; the former of which was founded in 1571. It provides education for approximately 1,600 students aged 11 to 18. The school's Church is St Mary Redcliffe and it is the only Church of England School for the Diocese of Bristol. The headteacher is Elisabeth Gilpin and the Director of Sixth Form is Richard Wheeler.HistorySt Mary Redcliffe school was founded as Queen Elizabeth's Free Grammar and Writing School by letters patent on 30 June 1571 when it was granted a Royal charter by Elizabeth I. The charter granted the parishioners of St Mary Redcliffe Church the Chapel of the Holy Ghost for the establishment of the school; the building had previously belonged to the Hospital of St John the Baptist, a religious foundation in Redcliffe but had been confiscated by the Crown during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The building was located in the Churchyard of St Mary Redcliffe, near the south porch and being 56 feet by 26 feet. The charter made the provision for one master and one under-master, supervised by twelve governors and for the 'education, teaching and instruction of boys and youth in grammar and learning'. It received an endowment from John Whitson in 1627. In the 1760s the school building was torn down as it was felt it spoilt the view of the church, and with the acceptance of the Bishop of Bristol, Thomas Newton the school moved into the Lady Chapel in the east end of the church. The school was recorded in 1839 as possessing a statue its founder Elizabeth I.