Our Stamford Endowed Schools' Archivist, Mr James Buckman, has discovered the history of Stamford School's assistant master, John Henry Collinson, who worked at the Schools in 1884."For John Henry Collinson, the role of assistant master at Stamford Grammar School in 1884 was only his first job after he came down from Queen’s College, Cambridge. During his time in Stamford, John got very actively involved with sports. He played football and cricket, and served as Hon. Treasurer on the committees for both cricket and athletic sports. He also played the piano in School Concerts. Additionally somehow, he was able to balance his duties at the School with his studies for an M.A., which he obtained in 1888.In 1891, John left Stamford and emigrated to Canada. Here, he became an assistant master at Upper Canada College in Toronto, and then held the same post at Trinity College, Port Hope. His most notable achievement was the founding of Highfield School. It was the first private residential and day school for boys in the city of Hamilton, Ontario. John was their first Headmaster from 1901-20. The root cause of his departure may have been a fire on 5th May 1918 which severely damaged Highfield School. A new school named Hillcrest was established as a temporary solution to the rebuilding of a new successor for Highfield. These two schools are now merged and form the Hillfield Strathallan College, but the campus does have a block named the Collinson Building.In 1921, John returned to England where he retired to Scarborough. Outside of teaching, he was a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute, and Member of the Council of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society.John died on 20th January 1941 at the age of 79."
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