Donhead is an all-male

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, preparatory day school located in Wimbledon, in the

London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton () is a borough in Southwest London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton ...

. The school is under the governance of the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, a Catholic religious order founded by

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

in 1540. Independent Schools Inspectorate
Donhead
retrieved 28 October 2021 Donhead takes boys aged 4 to 11, after which they often continue their secondary education at various independent schools across London.Jerry Hawthorne,
A Wandering Soul
', ShieldCrest, Aylesbury, 2020, pp. 165-168

History

The name Donhead perhaps originates from the Anglo-Saxon "head" meaning top and "don" meaning hill – "the top of the hill" and was first occupied by a barrister, a Mr Oliver Haynes. From 1880, it was owned by Mary Arnold. Until 1902, she used the building as a school for ladies. In 1932, the owner Henry Small left to the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

after his wife died. The first headmaster was Fr Miller. Donhead's first pupils consisted of three classes named Elements, Preparatory, and Lower Preparatory, and numbered approximately 67 boys in total. The first day of the school was 5 September 1933. From the late 1980s,

Merton London Borough Council Merton London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Merton in Greater London, England. It is one of the 32 councils that form Greater London. History There were previously a number of local authorities responsible ...

decided to close middle schools, resulting in the lowering of the age when students would go from Donhead to

Wimbledon College Wimbledon College is a government-maintained, voluntary-aided, Jesuit Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 19 in Wimbledon, London. The college was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning for the g ...

from 13 years old to 11 years old. After this lowering of the top age group, like other schools in the borough, Donhead started admitting pupils at a lower age, so that they would still be at Donhead for the same amount of years.

Recent

In 2011, the school's

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

Under 11A team were the National champions. They beat Blundell's in the final. In September 2018, the school's ten-year £8m facilities development plan was completed.

National Churches Trust The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK". It carries out th ...

Donhead Preparatory School Chapel
retrieved 28 October 2021 The school had a new chapel built that has capacity for 50 pupils, and uses the Donhead has more than doubled in size between 2006 and 2016.

Traditions

The school runs over three terms: michaelmas, lent and trinity. Following Jesuit teaching, students are expected to sign off with the Latin inscriptions AMDG (''Ad maiorem Dei gloriam) and'' LDS (''Laus Deo Semper)'' before and after finishing each piece of work they complete. Each year is known by a name, drawn from the Jesuit

Ratio Studiorum The ''Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Iesu'' (''Method and System of the Studies of the Society of Jesus''), often abbreviated as ''Ratio Studiorum'' (Latin: ''Plan of Studies''), was a document that standardized the globally influen ...

, for the prep school: Year 3 (Lower Prep 1), Year 4 (Lower Prep 2), Year 5 (Prep) and Year 6 (Elements). The 1st XV kit acquires and extra red hoop in addition to the blue and white resulting in a tri-colour jersey.

Old Wimbledonians Association

The Old Wimbledonians Association (OWA) came into being in 1905 and was founded by old boys of its Alma Mater, Wimbledon College. Members of the OWA can be old boys of either Wimbledon College or Donhead Preparatory School.

Notable alumni

* Fr Peter Milward, Jesuit scholar (literature) * Donal Donat Conor Bradley, physicist *

Michael Kenny (political scientist) Michael Kenny is professor of public policy at the University of Cambridge. Kenny was the first director of the Mile End Institute and sits on the Leverhulme Trust's advisory committee. He is co-director of the British Academy's "Governing England ...

* Danny Cipriani, English rugby union player *

Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, a Guinness World Record and an appearance on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list. Some publications h ...

, actor and dancer * Sir Michael Quinlan, British civil servant * The Rt Rev Nicholas Hudson, Auxiliary Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster The Catholic Diocese of Westminster is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in England. The diocese consists of most of London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, the borough of Spelthorne (in Surrey), and ...

Headmasters

* Fr Edmund Millar, SJ (1933–1939) * Fr Francis Moran, SJ (1939–1942) * Fr Edmund Basset, SJ (1942–1945) * Fr Christopher Farwell, SJ (1945–1949) * Fr Bernard Egan, SJ (1949–1971) * Fr Philip Wetz, SJ (1971–1985) * Mr Denis O'Leary (1985–1997) * Mr Chris McGrath (1997–2017) * Mr Philip Barr (2017–present)

References

External links

Old Wimbledonians Association website

Donhead profile
isc.co.uk; accessed 30 September 2014. * ISI Inspectio
Reports
accessed 30 September 2014, {{DEFAULTSORT:Donhead 1933 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1933 Independent boys' schools in London Independent schools in the London Borough of Merton Jesuit schools in the United Kingdom Preparatory schools in London Roman Catholic independent schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark Buildings and structures in Wimbledon, London