Abberley Hall School is a coeducational
preparatory day and boarding school with about 160 pupils. It is located between
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
and
Tenbury
Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a market town and civil parish in the northwestern extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Its northern border adjoins Shropshire, and at the 2011 census it had a population of 3,777. ...
, near the village of
Abberley
Abberley is a village and civil parish in north west Worcestershire, England.
It is situated on the northern slopes of Abberley Hill, which is tall, between the River Severn and River Teme. The village had a population of 830 in 2001.
Locati ...
,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
, England.
History
The school began in 1878 as the Dame School in
Blackheath,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. In 1896, it became a private school and was named Lindisfarne. The school was moved to Abberley in 1916, and the property was purchased in 1921 by Gilbert Ashton, a former pupil of Lindisfarne, who took over as headmaster and renamed it Abberley Hall.
The school became a trust in 1958, and is now managed by a board of governors, as a registered charity.
Pupils come from a variety of backgrounds, including families and service personnel living and working abroad, professionals from the
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
and Worcester areas, and traditional farming families. The pre-prep and nursery serve a more local area.
Campus
The campus comprises
Abberley Hall
Abberley Hall is a country house in the north-west of the county of Worcestershire, England. The present Italianate house is the work of Samuel Daukes and dates from 1846 to 1849. Since 1916 it has been occupied by Abberley Hall School. It is a ...
, a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
and its gardens and grounds, which are also listed as Grade II on the
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
. The grounds also contain the Grade II* listed
Abberley Clock Tower which can be seen as far away as
Clent Hill, and which was the setting for the children's book by
Gene Kemp
Gene Kemp née Rushton (27 December 1926 – 4 January 2015) was an English author known for children's books. Her first, ''The Pride of Tamworth Pig'', appeared in 1972. She won the British Carnegie Medal for her school novel '' The Turbulent ...
, ''The Clock Tower Ghost''.
Curriculum
Pupils follow a curriculum that prepares them for entrance into
public schools (
independent schools
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
), taking
Common Entrance
Common Entrance Examinations (commonly known as CE) are taken by independent school pupils in the UK as part of the selective admissions process at age 13, though ten independent schools do select at 11 using different test papers. They are set ...
, Winchester Entrance or Scholarship exams. Class sizes are small, averaging 11 pupils. Most subjects have their own dedicated classrooms and there are two science laboratories and specialist facilities for computing, DT, music and PE. The majority of pupils continue their education at
Malvern College,
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury.
Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...
,
King's Worcester,
Cheltenham College
("Work Conquers All")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Head
, head = Nicola Hugget ...
,
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...
and
Malvern St James.
[Independent Schools Inspectorate report 2005](_blank)
Retrieved 29 July 2009 The school also provides for individual pupils with special needs including dyslexia or specific learning difficulties, and moderate learning difficulties.
Retrieved 29 July 2009
All pupils take part in the major sports; an Astroturf pitch provides opportunities for hockey, golf, croquet, riding, fishing, archery, shooting, ricochet and climbing. The school has an indoor swimming pool.[Abberley Hall School](_blank)
Retrieved 29 July 2009
International activities
The school runs regular trips to France, where the pupils spend time whilst at Abberley.
Notable former pupils
*Geoffrey Howe
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British Conservative politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990.
Howe was Margaret Thatch ...
, former Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, Leader of the House of Commons
The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of t ...
, and Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
*Timothy Eggar
Timothy John Crommelin Eggar (born 19 December 1951) is a British businessman and former politician. He holds positions on the board of directors, boards of multiple organisations including Shiplake College and Cape plc, and was the Conservativ ...
, former Conservative Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs; and Minister for Trade and Industry
* Adam Fleming, billionaire, businessman
*Owen Paterson
Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minist ...
, former Conservative Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for North Shropshire, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, also referred to as the environment secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Department for Environment, Food ...
* Philip Dunne, sitting Conservative Member of Parliament for Ludlow
* Sir Anthony Quayle, actor
*Antony Beevor
Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War.
Early life
Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at tw ...
, author
* Stephen Beattie VC, naval officer, captain of HMS ''Campbeltown'' at the St Nazaire Raid
Headmasters
*Gilbert Ashton
Gilbert Ashton MC (27 September 1896 – 6 February 1981) was an English cricketer who played 62 first-class matches between the wars, mostly for Cambridge University (whom he captained in 1921, and also captained at football) and Worcesters ...
(1921–1961)
*Ronnie Yates (1961–1974)
*Michael Haggard (1974–1996)
*John Walker (1996–2014)
*Will Lockett (2014–2020)
*Jonnie Besley (2020–present)
References
External links
Profile
on the ISC #REDIRECT ISC
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
website
Profile
on the Good Schools Guide
''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent.
Overview
The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...
Brief details of garden
{{authority control
Preparatory schools in Worcestershire
Boarding schools in Worcestershire
Educational institutions established in 1878
1878 establishments in England
Grade II* listed buildings in Worcestershire