James Surtees Phillpotts

James Surtees Phillpotts (18 July 1839 – 16 October 1930) was a reforming Headmaster of Bedford School and the author and editor of a number of educational books.

Phillpotts served as a staff member of Rugby School from 1862 to 1874, and he was appointed Headmaster of Bedford School in 1875. Bedford had an indifferent record as an educational institution, and relatively few students on roll. Phillpotts initiated school reforms in an attempt to emulate the success of Rugby School. He introduced the natural sciences into the school's curriculum, and established laboratories for both chemistry and physics. He also established workshops for carpentry and engineering. He organized school sports with the goal of fostering team spirit. He secured financial backing for more spacious premises for the school, and the new facilities had their official opening in 1891. By the time of Phillpotts' retirement in 1903, the school had nearly 900 students. The development of Bedford Grammar School from an obscure provincial institution to one of England's leading public schools had a significant effect on the economy and size of the nearby town of Bedford.

According to a caricature of Phillpotts by one of his former students, Phillpotts' small grey eyes were deadly cold when confronting an opponent, and his calm voice did not reveal his inner anger. But he inevitably came down on his opponents like a steam hammer and pulverized them."