Ascham St Vincent's School was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

. 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" (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 is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, was appointed curate at the parish church at

Meads The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a ground-mobile air and missile defense system intended to replace the Patriot missile system through a NATO-managed development. The program is a development of the United States, Germany and Ital ...

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 (; c. 151530 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, ...

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

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

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 F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City, Haverfordwest County A.F.C., Haverfordwest and England national foot ...

had joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

the day before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 dep ...

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

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 parishes in England, civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of B ...

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
/ref>

Former pupils

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

(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 (1895–1986), known as Wei Wu Wei, Taoist philosopher *

Stephen Robert Nockolds Stephen Robert Nockolds, FRS (10 May 1909 – 7 February 1990) was a geochemist, petrologist and winner of the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London. Robert Nockolds was born at St Columb Major, Cornwall, the son of Dr Stephen No ...

(1909–1990) geochemist and petrologist *

Michael Fish Michael Fish, (born 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, Sussex) is a British weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather. Career Educated at Eastbourne College and City University London, Fish was the longe ...

(1944 to date), meteorologist *

Vernon Dobtcheff Vernon Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a British actor, best known for his roles on television and film, he has acted in numerous stage productions. Biography Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Prep ...

(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