KING WILLIAM'S COLLEGE

The coat of arms in the centre of the College's crest is that of Bishop Isaac Barrow who in 1668 set up a trust to fund education in the Isle of Man. This was later used to found the College in 1833. Its name reportedly comes from King William IV who, when asked for a contribution to establish the school, replied that he would give the school his most valuable possession, his name. the school features, thinly disguised, in the Victorian schoolboy book Eric, or, Little by Little by Dean Farrar.

Contents

General Knowledge Paper (GKP)

Houses

Præpositors

Combined Cadet Force

Notable alumni

Victoria Cross Holders

References

External links

General Knowledge Paper (GKP)

Since 1904, the College has set an annual general knowledge test, known as the General Knowledge Paper (GKP). The pupils sit the test twice; once unseen on the day before the Christmas holidays, and again when they return to school in the New Year, after having spent the holiday researching the answers. However, the test is now voluntary. It is well-known to be highly difficult, a common score being just two correct answers from the list of several hundred. The best scores are 40 to 50 for the unseen test and about 270 out of 360 for the second sitting. Traditionally, the best scorers were given a free half day off school (not of bitter), while anyone doing particularly badly was given a detention.
The quiz is always introduced with the following Latin motto: "''Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis, ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est''", which translates as: "To know where to find anything is, after all, the greatest part of education."
The quiz is popular with non-pupils, and has been published in ''The Guardian'' since 1951.
The current quizmaster is Dr. Pat Cullen, a retired GP, who has been setting the quiz since 1997. He reports that he now checks questions by typing them into Google and changing them if necessary to make sure the answers cannot be found immediately.
Today the GKP is sent home to parents, there being a prize of £100 for the winning family. There is great competition between the local Manx families over this competition.

Houses

★ Colbourne House - Boys' Boarding House

★ Dickson House - Mixed Day House

★ School House - Girls' Boarding House

★ Walters House - Mixed Day House

Præpositors

A Præpositor is an equivalent of a Prefect; a member of the Upper Sixth Form who has considerable responsibility within the school. The title Head of School is the title given to the most senior Præpositor. The Head of School can either be male or female. Depending on the gender of the Head of School their subordinate colleague will be known as either the Head Boy or the Head Girl. The Head of School is a long-established post, with the first recorded appointment in 1846.

Combined Cadet Force

The school has a CCF that hosts a 50m range. One of the oldest Cadet Forces in Britain (started in 1904), King William's College has a strong military tradition. In 2005 CCF at King William's was made completely voluntary and this has caused a drop in numbers, however, it is again becoming increasingly popular. Upon joining, Cadets may choose which branch of the Combined Cadet Force they wish to participate in: Army, Navy, or Air Force.

Notable alumni

Former pupils, staff and governors of King William's College may place the letters 'OKW' after their name.

★ Sir William H. Bragg OM, KBE, FRS, CBE, Nobel Prize winner.

★ T.E. Brown, poet and writer.

★ Joseph George Cumming, MA Cantab., geologist and archaeologist.

★ Sir Joseph Davidson Qualtrough CBE SHK, former Speaker of the House of Keys.

★ The Rev. John Ellerton, hymn writer and hymnologist. "The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended".

★ The Venerable, Dean Dean Farrar, FRS, DD Cantab., teacher and author.

★ Major Robert Johnston VC, recipient of the VC - South African War.

★ The Rev. James Maurice Wilson, theologian and astronomer.

★ Sir William Arthur White, British diplomat in Eastern Europe and Turkey.

★ David Cannan MHK, former Speaker of the House of Keys, Treasury Minister and current MHK for Michael.

★ Mike Southall MBE, awarded MBE for services to Scouting.

★ Andrew Corlett, the next Deputy Deemster of the Isle of Man.

Victoria Cross Holders

Three OKWs have won the Victoria Cross:^[1]

★ Victoria Cross

★
★ Second Anglo-Afghan War

★
★
★ Lt. Gov., Field Marshal Sir George Stuart White VC, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, (1835—1912) LLD Cantab., DCL Oxon., LLD Dublin,''The Hero of Ladysmith''. He was a Major when he won the VC.

★
★ Second Boer War

★
★
★ Major Robert Johnston, VC (1872 to 1950). He was a Captain when he won the VC.

★
★ Second World War

★
★
★ Major Robert Henry Cain VC (1909 - 1974)

References

1. Michael Hoy, (2006), ''A Blessing to this Island''

External links

★ The College's website

★ The test on the College website (PDF)

★ The Buchan School's website

★ The International Baccalaureate's Website

★ I like to irritate Interview in the Guardian with the current quizmaster.

★ 2006-2007 Quiz in ''The Guardian''