Ludgrove School is an English
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 ...
boys
preparatory boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at
Ludgrove Hall
Ludgrove Hall is an historic manor house in the parish of Monken Hadley, formerly within the county of Middlesex. Today the property has been overtaken by the suburbs of North London, and is situated on Games Road, Cockfosters, on the edge of ...
in
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
by the
Old Etonian
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
sportsman
Arthur Dunn
Arthur Tempest Blakiston Dunn (12 August 1860 in Whitby, Yorkshire – 20 February 1902 in Ludgrove near Barnet, Hertfordshire) was a noted amateur footballer who founded the English boarding school, Ludgrove, in 1892.
Education
Dunn, son ...
. Dunn had been employed as a master at
Elstree School
Elstree School is an English preparatory school for children aged 3–13 at Woolhampton House in Woolhampton, near Newbury in the English county of Berkshire. The school has announced plans to become fully co-educational from September 2020.
H ...
, which sent boys mainly to
Harrow, and intended to nurture a school that focused on preparing boys to enter
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 ...
. His educational philosophy was atypical by the standards of the time: discipline was applied with a lighter touch, masters were neither discouraged from mixing with pupils outside the classroom, or from being on familiar terms with the headmaster.
Growing quickly thanks to the circle of friends Dunn had gathered in the course of his football and cricket career, Ludgrove soon became associated with families from the British
aristocracy
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At t ...
and
landed gentry
The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, th ...
. Successfully navigating the
challenging economic circumstances of the 1930s, since 1937 it has been based at a site near
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell.
History
Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...
in
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 ...
, having taken over the former buildings of
Wixenford School
Wixenford School, also known as Wixenford Preparatory School and Wixenford-Eversley, was an Independent school (UK), independent Preparatory school (UK), preparatory school for boys near Wokingham, founded in 1869. A wiktionary:feeder school, fe ...
.
Occupying 130 acres of grounds, Ludgrove is one of the last remaining prep schools to provide full fortnightly boarding. With its extensive sports facilities, which feature a nine-hole golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, and 11 pitches, school life is reportedly predicated on a link between sporting activity and positive academic performance. Most leavers depart for either Eton, Harrow,
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 ...
, or
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
.
Alumni, known as Old Ludgrovians, include among others, the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, the
Duke of Sussex
Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms, that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It takes its name fr ...
, British politician and
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...
, historian
Alistair Horne, investigative journalist
Paul Foot, and adventurer
Bear Grylls.
History
1892–1937
![Ludgrove Hall, Cockfosters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Ludgrove_Hall%2C_Cockfosters.jpg)
Ludgrove School was established in 1892 at
Ludgrove Hall
Ludgrove Hall is an historic manor house in the parish of Monken Hadley, formerly within the county of Middlesex. Today the property has been overtaken by the suburbs of North London, and is situated on Games Road, Cockfosters, on the edge of ...
by former footballer
Arthur Dunn
Arthur Tempest Blakiston Dunn (12 August 1860 in Whitby, Yorkshire – 20 February 1902 in Ludgrove near Barnet, Hertfordshire) was a noted amateur footballer who founded the English boarding school, Ludgrove, in 1892.
Education
Dunn, son ...
. Dunn believed the atmosphere of a prep school should be pleasant rather than repressive, which largely contrasted with the nature of other prep schools of the time. A sport enthusiast, Dunn tended to recruit teachers who were scholar-athletes like himself. Dying prematurely of a heart attack in 1902, he was succeeded by two joint headmasters,
G.O. Smith and
William Oakley, both former captains of the
England national football team
The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...
, who ran the school as a partnership until Smith retired in 1922.
On the prevalence of bullying at Ludgrove in the first decades of its existence, recollections of old boys differed.
Alistair Horne described it as "rampant", while
Roland Pym and
Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, (2 January 1920 – 3 May 2004), styled Lord Andrew Cavendish until 1944 and Marquess of Hartington from 1944 to 1950, was a British Conservative and later Social Democratic Party politic ...
claimed not to recall any. The 1930s were a difficult period for Ludgrove and the school struggled to remain solvent. Apart from the effects of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the previous two decades had seen a declining birth rate, which now led prep schools to compete for fewer potential pupils at a time when parents were already trying to save money. During this period many schools either closed or amalgamated. Meanwhile, the location of Ludgrove School could no longer be described as rural due to the ongoing spread of London. Not wishing to be a "suburban establishment", headmaster Frank Henley purchased the site of
Wixenford School
Wixenford School, also known as Wixenford Preparatory School and Wixenford-Eversley, was an Independent school (UK), independent Preparatory school (UK), preparatory school for boys near Wokingham, founded in 1869. A wiktionary:feeder school, fe ...
, a fast declining institution which would now close. Henley immediately retired after the move was completed, and the leadership passed to
Alan Barber
Alan Theodore Barber (17 June 1905 – 10 March 1985) was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1929 to 1930. He also played for Oxford University, and appeared in a total of 70 first-class ...
and Tim Shaw.
1937–1973
![Barber022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Barber022.jpg)
With the
outbreak of war, Ludgrove nearly relocated to
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, but this was abandoned at the last minute due to transport and finance problems. Instead, Ludgrove stayed put and school life was relatively untouched, bar an unsurprising shortage of teachers and a restricted menu. Under the Barber-Shaw regime there was a strong emphasis on the games field and the winning of scholarships was never a central aim, though boys reliably passed
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 ...
, with most entering
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 ...
.
Corporal punishment was present, but discipline "not invariably enforced" by the cane.
Although Ludgrove had never refused entry to any boy whose parents could pay their way, an "aura of wealth and privilege" surrounded the school during the middle decades of the 20th century. This image of Ludgrove as a fashionable school had taken root from its earliest days, with many
titled families sending their sons, who would grow up to send their sons in turn. Of the boys at the school in 1900, no fewer than ten had descendants there in 2003.
In 1968 Shaw retired, leaving Barber in charge, who stepped down himself in 1973; his son Gerald and Nichol Marston succeeding him.
1973–2004
By the start of the 1973–1974 academic year there was a record number of boys in the school, 128 in total, yet a sense of decline was apparent. Buildings were decaying, facilities were increasingly regarded as outdated and the school was in deficit, with many accounts overdue or unpaid. The "forward order book" of future entrants was also noticeably thinner than earlier years. On top of these issues, Eton and other public schools were growing critical of Ludgrove over its modest academic achievements.
[Barber, pp. 209–2011] In response, Barber and Marston had the structure of the school repaired and began placing greater emphasis on academic performance. While sport continued to play a part in the culture of the school, the "centre of gravity" shifted from field to classroom. It was no longer taken for granted that boys would pass into their preferred school, and more was asked of both staff and students.
Pastoral life also changed and there was a stronger focus on providing a happy environment for pupils, as opposed to a spartan, "
stiff upper lip
A person who is said to have a stiff upper lip displays Courage, fortitude and stoicism in the face of adversity, or exercises great self control, self-restraint in the expression of emotion.[Prince William
William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
Born in London, William was educa ...]
in 1992 and
Prince Harry
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...
in 1994, which resulted in the presence of personal protection officers operating discreetly on site.
Contemporary
In July 2004, Marston retired. In 2008, Gerald Barber followed him and the new leadership was another partnership, this time composed of Sid Inglis and Barber's son Simon. In July 2013, Inglis left the school to take up a headship at
Elstree School
Elstree School is an English preparatory school for children aged 3–13 at Woolhampton House in Woolhampton, near Newbury in the English county of Berkshire. The school has announced plans to become fully co-educational from September 2020.
H ...
, leaving Simon Barber in sole charge.
Profile
Class sizes are small, with an average of 12. It is one of only a few single-sex boarding-only prep schools that remain in England — most competitors in Berkshire are primarily geared towards day pupils. Admission is determined on a "first come first served basis" and it is possible to put a boy down for entry immediately after birth.
Ludgrove is accredited by the Royal National Children's SpringBoard Foundation, and as of 2021, 6 per cent of boys were on means-tested bursaries ranging up to 100 per cent of fees.
Cricket is regarded as the biggest sport, although football is also very popular. Most staff live on-site.
Facilities
Facilities include an all-weather
astroturf
AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...
pitch; nine-hole golf course, hard tennis courts, 20-metre indoor pool, squash courts, and
Eton fives
Eton fives, a derivative of the British game of fives, is a handball game, similar to Rugby fives, played as doubles in a three-sided court. The object is to force the other team to fail to hit the ball 'up' off the front wall, using any varie ...
courts.
In June 2021 the school welcomed back old boy
Bear Grylls to officially open the new £2.5m Exploration Centre.
Alumni
File:Derick Heathcoat-Amory.png, Derick Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Viscount Amory
Derick Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Viscount Amory, , ( ; 26 December 1899 – 20 January 1981) was a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords.
He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1958 and 1960, and later as Chance ...
File:Alec Douglas-Home (c1963).jpg, Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...
File:Coventry Scouts groups have a visit from Bear Grylls.jpg, Bear Grylls
File:The Duke of Kent (cropped).jpg, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duk ...
File:Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese, commander of the British Eighth Army in Italy, 30 April 1944. TR1759.jpg, Oliver Leese
Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, (27 October 1894 – 22 January 1978) was a senior British Army officer who saw distinguished active service during both the world wars. He is probably most notable during the ...
File:Shane Leslie LCCN2014686812 (cropped).jpg, Shane Leslie
Sir John Randolph Leslie, 3rd Baronet (Irish: ''Sir Seaghán Leslaigh''; 24 September 1885 – 14 August 1971), commonly known as Sir Shane Leslie, was an Irish-born diplomat and writer. He was a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill. In 1908 ...
File:Robert R. McCormick cph.3b30054.jpg, Robert R. McCormick
Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick (July 30, 1880 – April 1, 1955) was an American lawyer, businessman and Anti-war movement, anti-war activist.
A member of the McCormick family of Chicago, McCormick became a lawyer, Republican Party (Unite ...
File:Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore.jpg, Simon Sebag-Montefiore
Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore (; born 27 June 1965) is a British historian, television presenter and author of popular history books and novels,
including ''Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar' (2003), Monsters: History's Most Evil Men and ...
File:Osbert Sitwell in The Bookman volume 57 December 1919 p. 102.jpg, Osbert Sitwell
Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet CH CBE (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and li ...
File:Official portrait of David Tredinnick crop 2.jpg, David Tredinnick
File:William Sumbarines Crop.png, The Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...
File:Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington.jpg, Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington
Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington, 9th Prince of Waterloo, 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, 9th Duke of Victoria, 9th Marquis of Torres Vedras GE, OBE, DL (born 19 August 1945), styled Earl of Mornington between 1945 and 1 ...
Notable masters
*
Alan Barber
Alan Theodore Barber (17 June 1905 – 10 March 1985) was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1929 to 1930. He also played for Oxford University, and appeared in a total of 70 first-class ...
(1905–1985),
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
cricket captain, headmaster
*
Arthur Dunn
Arthur Tempest Blakiston Dunn (12 August 1860 in Whitby, Yorkshire – 20 February 1902 in Ludgrove near Barnet, Hertfordshire) was a noted amateur footballer who founded the English boarding school, Ludgrove, in 1892.
Education
Dunn, son ...
(1861–1902), founder of the school
*
William Oakley (1873–1934),
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
captain, joint headmaster
*
Cecil Sharp
Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English-born collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was the pre-eminent activist in the development of t ...
(1859–1924), founding father of the English folk music revival, part-time music master 1893–1910
*
G. O. Smith
Gilbert Oswald Smith (25 November 1872 – 6 December 1943
), familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G. O. ...
(1872–1943),
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
football captain and
centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, joint headmaster
*
Robin Milford
Robin Humphrey Milford (22 January 1903 – 29 December 1959) was an English composer and music teacher.
Biography
Milford was born in Oxford, son of Sir Humphrey Milford, publisher with Oxford University Press. He attended Rugby School ...
(1903–1959), composer, part-time music master
References
Further reading
* Barber, Richard. (2004) ''The Story of Ludgrove''. Guidon Publishing.
External links
Ludgrove School websiteISC Profile
{{Schools in Berkshire
Educational institutions established in 1892
Independent schools in the Borough of Wokingham
Boys' schools in Berkshire
Preparatory schools in Berkshire
Boarding schools in Berkshire
1892 establishments in England