Ascham St Vincent's School was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

preparatory school for boys at

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. Like other preparatory schools, its purpose was to train pupils to do well enough in the examinations (usually taken around the age of 13) to gain admission to leading "

public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

" (as private secondary schools are known in England).

History

The school was founded by the Rev William Newcombe Willis in 1889 with one pupil. Willis, a graduate of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, was appointed curate at the parish church at

Meads Meads is an area of the town of Eastbourne in the England, English county of East Sussex. It is at the westerly end of the town below the South Downs. Boundaries The local government ward of Meads is extensive, stretching from Birling Gap in ...

in Eastbourne. A year later he married Sophia Caroline Baker and he and his wife decided to use their house in Selwyn Road as a small school called Ascham. He named the school after

Roger Ascham Roger Ascham (; 30 December 1568)"Ascham, Roger" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 617. was an English scholar and didactic writer, famous for his prose style, his pr ...

, a fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge and tutor to

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Between 1891 and 1905 they had seven children at a time but in 1908 the numbers had increased. In that year they joined with St Vincent's School in Carlisle Road and became known as Ascham St Vincent's. Later, larger premises were acquired in St. Anne's Road. Willis was extremely well supported by his wife and at certain times by some of their 7 children. Ascham was very successful in preparing boys for public schools and obtaining scholarships. Willis played for Eastbourne Football Club from 1889 to 1904, part of that time as captain, and was very keen on sport for the school, including shooting. Willis retired in 1927 after 38 years as headmaster and his son Arthur took over.

Arthur Willis Arthur Willis (2 February 1920 – 7 November 1987) was a professional footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur, Swansea City, Haverfordwest and England. Football career Willis joined Spurs from Finchley F.C. in January 1944. He was a ...

had joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

the day before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and after the war joined Royal Tank Corps. He was the army high jump champion and represented his country at high jump in the 1924 Olympic games. He completed his MA degree at Cambridge and took over the school in 1927. Ascham St. Vincent's prospered, with leavers spassing entrance exams to public schools of their choice and winning scholarships to

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

, Malvern and

colleges. In 1938 Willis was worried about the threatening situation in Europe. He returned to the Royal Tank Corps and closed and sold the school. Eastbourne College bought the land and buildings of Ascham St. Vincent's and used it from 1939 for Crosby House, a boarding house of the college. On 20 June 1940 the college moved out of Eastbourne to

Radley Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfor ...

and the Royal Navy (H.M.S. Marlborough) took over all the college buildings. In Autumn 1945 the college returned to Eastbourne and the Ascham St. Vincent's site was re-opened as the college prep school "Ascham" in May 1946. In 1977 the site was sold for property development and a merger with St. Andrews took place. The school is commemorated by the Ascham Memorial Arch in Carlisle Road, Meads.Channel 4 Lost Generation
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Former pupils

A. J. Ayer Sir Alfred Jules "Freddie" Ayer ( ; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989) was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books '' Language, Truth, and Logic'' (1936) and ''The Problem of Knowledge'' (1 ...

(1910–1989), philosopher * Adm. Sir Angus Edward Malise Bontine Cunninghame Graham (1893–1981), Flag Officer Scotland, Lord Lieutenant Dunbartonshire & Keeper of Dumbarton Castle *

Terence Gray Terence James Stannus Gray (14 September 1895 – 5 January 1986) was a theatre producer who created the Cambridge Festival Theatre as an experimental theatre in Cambridge. He produced over 100 plays there between 1926 and 1933. Later in li ...

(1895–1986), known as Wei Wu Wei, Taoist philosopher * Stephen Robert Nockolds (1909–1990) geochemist and petrologist *

Michael Fish Michael Fish (born 27 April 1944) is a British weather forecasting, weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather. Career Fish was born on 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, Sussex. Educated at Osmington Sch ...

(1944 to date), meteorologist *

Vernon Dobtcheff Vernon Alexandre Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a French-British character actor, who has appeared in over 300 film, television, and stage productions in a career spanning six decades. Rupert Everett described him as a "patron saint of the ...

(1934 to date), actor * Robert B. Pynsent, Czech and Slovak Literature Professor, University of London

References

*Ben Rogers A.J. Ayer: A Life 2002 Grove Press

External links

Eastbourne Local History Society

Eastbourne Society
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1889 History of Sussex Schools in Eastbourne Boys' schools in East Sussex Preparatory schools in East Sussex 1889 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1938 1938 disestablishments in England Defunct schools in East Sussex