Elstree School is 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 children aged 3–13 at Woolhampton House in

Woolhampton Woolhampton is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The village straddles the Bath road between the towns of Reading, to the east, and Newbury, to the west. Geography The village homes are clustered on the northern side o ...

, near Newbury in the English county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. The school has announced plans to become fully co-educational from September 2020.

History

1848–1938 in Elstree, Hertfordshire

As its name suggests, the school was founded in 1848 in

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of t ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, at Hill House on Elstree Hill, an 18th-century Grade II Listed Building. Today the building is used as Bupa Care Centre.

Since 1938 in Woolhampton, Berkshire

With the approach of the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in 1938, Elstree School was evacuated to Woolhampton House in the

village of

, and has remained there ever since.

The building

Woolhampton House is a 17th-century

Grade II* 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 Irel ...

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 Irel ...

Notable former pupils

*Sir Alexander Robert Badcock (1844–1907), army officer. *

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

, singer-songwriter. *

Edwin Bramall, Baron Bramall Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall, Baron Bramall, (18 December 1923 – 12 November 2019) was a British Army officer. He served as Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1979 and 1982, and as Chie ...

(1923-2019), Field Marshal. *

Sandy Wilson Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953). Biography Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow ...

(1924–2014), songwriter-lyricist. *

Christopher Bonham-Carter Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Douglas Bonham-Carter, (3 November 1907 – 3 June 1975)"Sir Christopher Douglas Bonham-Carter, Obituary", ''The Times'', Thursday, 5 June 1975; pg. 16; Issue 59414; col F was a Royal Navy officer and Treasurer to th ...

(1907–1975), naval officer. *

Felix Cassel Sir Felix Maximilian Schoenbrunn Cassel, 1st Baronet, PC, QC, JP (16 September 1869 – 22 February 1953) was a German-born British barrister and politician who served as Judge Advocate-General, the senior civilian lawyer of the War Office (a ...

(1869–1953), lawyer. *

Charles Montagu Doughty Charles Montagu Doughty (19 August 1843 – 20 January 1926) was an English poet, writer, explorer, adventurer and traveller, best known for his two-volume 1888 travel book '' Travels in Arabia Deserta''. Early life and education Son of Rev. Ch ...

(1843–1926), poet, writer, and traveller. *

Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton, CB, FRS (31 May 1845 – 15 February 1940) was a British electrical engineer, industrialist and inventor. He was a pioneer of electric lighting and public electricity supply systems. The company he formed, Crom ...

(1845–1940), engineer. *

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – ''The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', '' Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

(b. 1953), novelist. * Walter George Headlam (1866–1908), classical scholar and poet. *

J. Bruce Ismay Joseph Bruce Ismay (; 12 December 1862 – 17 October 1937) was an English businessman who served as chairman and managing director of the White Star Line. In 1912, he came to international attention as the highest-ranking White Star official t ...

(1862–1937), Managing Director of the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

and survivor of the RMS ''Titanic''. * Sir Philip Bennet Joubert de la Ferté (1887–1965), Royal Air Force Commander. * Archibald Campbell rchieMacLaren (1871–1944), cricketer. * John Whitehead (1860–1899), ornithologist and explorer. * George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848–1934), Anglican priest. *

George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books. Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...

(b. 1963), environmental activist and writer.

Notable teachers

William Bather William Henry Bather (12 December 1861 – 3 January 1939) was an English cricketer. He was born at Meole Brace near Shrewsbury, third son of John Bather of Day House, Meole Brace. He played six first-class matches for Cambridge University ...

(1861-1939), first-class cricketer, was assistant master at the school 1884-94. *

Danyl Johnson ''The X Factor'' is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The sixth series started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second ...

, singer on Series 9 of ''The X-Factor''; dance teacher *

Frederic Meyrick-Jones The Reverend Frederic Meyrick Meyrick-Jones (14 January 1867 – 25 October 1950), born Frederic Meyrick Jones, was an English clergyman, school teacher and cricketer who played in 18 first-class cricket matches between 1887 and 1896 as a wicket ...

(1867–1950), taught at the school from 1894–96 * Edgar Stogdon (1870–1951), athlete and cricketer, was headmaster from 1900 to 1903.

Sports

*During the autumn term,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

is the main sport, along with

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

and tennis. During the Lent term, rugby takes over from soccer, and hockey and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

continue. During the summer term,

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

is the main school sport, with swimming, athletics, and tennis also popular throughout the term. The school's sports day is the focus of a pupil's

summer term Summer term is the summer academic term at many British schools and universities and elsewhere in the world. In the UK, 'Summer term' runs from the Easter holiday until the end of the academic year in June or July, and so corresponds to the Easte ...

References

Bibliography

*I. C. M. Sanderson, ''A history of Elstree School and three generations of the Sanderson family'', Publ. Elstree School, 1978 (Privately Published) *John Eddison, ''A History of Elstree School'', 1979 (mentioned in: Frances Wilson, ''How to Survive the Titanic Or The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay'', Chapter 3
Note 10

External links

Elstree School web site
{{authority control Preparatory schools in Berkshire Educational institutions established in 1848 1848 establishments in England Independent schools in West Berkshire District Woolhampton