Rugby School, Warwickshire

Lord Coe's Visit to Rugby School

On Thursday 30 April Lord Coe unveiled a plaque at Rugby School commemorating its legendary Head Master, Thomas Arnold, as an important inspiration behind Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the Frenchman who established the modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.

After unveiling the plaque Lord Coe said:

“Can I first of all thank you, Head Master, for the invitation to be here today and to all the competing and visiting schools and to all the competitors that are braving the elements today, particularly those guys and girls that I have just seen run the 800 which…I have always believed was the most difficult track event. So congratulations to you and congratulations also to Rugby School for so taking on board the concept of simply why we went to Singapore to bid for the right to bring the Games back to this country for the first time in 64 years. It is that it is not simply about 16 days of great Olympic or Paralympics sport. It’s about really utilising the time between now and the opening ceremony to drive those Olympic values of courage, respect, determination and friendship.

“Everything I have seen today tells me why we went to Singapore and I am delighted to be here for that. I am delighted also because it is very important, as we go towards 2012, that we understand our own history. Our own history is an important part and contribution to the development of the Olympic Movement. None more so than in this school where a predecessor of yours [Thomas Arnold]…played such a critical role in the creation of the Olympic Movement and the values for which the Olympic Movement still aspires and strives for. So, thank you for the invitation and thank all of you for braving the elements and competing so heroically and for the massive contribution that this School has played not just in the creation of the Olympic movement but the creation and nurturing of talent over so many years and the role you are helping us play over the next three and a half years.”

Thomas Arnold, Head Master of Rugby School from 1828 until his death in 1842, is best known as the hero of Thomas Hughes’ classic nineteenth century novel, Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Although Arnold died over twenty years before de Coubertin was born his educational reforms - renowned for transforming the British public school system - profoundly influenced de Coubertin’s Olympic vision.

De Coubertin, an educationalist like his hero, was deeply impressed by the athleticism and sportsmanship at Rugby and other British public schools he visited during the 1880s. De Coubertin wrote: “Thomas Arnold, the leader and classic model of English educators, gave the precise role of athletics in education.” Arnold was “one of the founders of athletic chivalry.” Recalling the often difficult journey to his Olympic dream, de Coubertin wrote: “it was to Arnold that we turned, more or less consciously, for inspiration.”

John Lucas, associate professor of physical education at Pennsylvania State University in the US, who has dedicated his life to studying the history of the Games, describes Thomas Arnold “as one of the most important, least understood, personalities in the evolution of the modern Olympics.”

Patrick Derham, the current Head Master of Rugby School, said: “It is a shame that so few people in this country are aware that one of the key figures in British nineteenth century history inspired the modern Olympics. When the games return to Britain in 2012, they return to a country whose schools contributed to their creation. We hope that the plaque will raise awareness of this and serve as a timely reminder that education is at the very heart of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Rugby School has already signed up to the London 2012 Get Set programme. As part of Rugby’s efforts to encourage other local schools to sign up, it is using the day to host a Mini Games involving over 350 pupils from 20 local schools. Events included relay races, Kwik Cricket, Tag Rugby and 800m races. An art exhibition displayed paintings and drawings by local children reflecting the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Local Schools Participating in the Mini Olympics on 30 April 2009

Ashlawn School
Lawrence Sheriff School
Abbots Farm Junior School
Paddox Primary School
English Martyrs Catholic Primary School
Henry Hinde Junior School
Long Lawford Primary School
Provost William CofE Primary School
Wolston St Margarets CofE Primary School
Northlands Primary School
St Andrews Benn Cof E Primary School
Bilton Cof E Junior
Rokeby Primary School
Boughton Leigh Junior School
Binley Woods Primary School
Clifton Upon Dunsmore Cof E Primary School
Dunchurch Boughton Cof E Junior School
Oakfield Primary School
St Maries Catholic Junior School
Princethorpe College

The de Coubertin plaque