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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 * Independe ...
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 exte ...
. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. 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. 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
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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, t ...
. 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 Ber ...
, having taken over the former buildings of Wixenford School. 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, 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 rule ...
, the
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, British politician and
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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 s ...
, historian
Alistair Horne Sir Alistair Allan Horne (9 November 1925 – 25 May 2017) was a British journalist, biographer and historian of Europe, especially of 19th- and 20th-century France. He wrote more than 20 books on travel, history, and biography. Early life, ...
, investigative journalist Paul Foot, and adventurer Bear Grylls.


History


1892–1937

Ludgrove School was established in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall by former footballer Arthur Dunn. 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 Sir Alistair Allan Horne (9 November 1925 – 25 May 2017) was a British journalist, biographer and historian of Europe, especially of 19th- and 20th-century France. He wrote more than 20 books on travel, history, and biography. Early life, ...
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, a fast declining institution which would now close. Henley immediately retired after the move was completed, and the leadership passed to Alan Barber and Tim Shaw.


1937–1973

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 Univer ...
in
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, 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. 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" environment. In the mid-70s corporal punishment was abandoned when Gerald Barber misplaced his cane and simply decided from then on he would no longer bother. The profile of the school was raised further with the enrolling of Prince William 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 ...
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 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 s ...
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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, Duke ...
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 ...
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Robert R. McCormick Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick (July 30, 1880 – April 1, 1955) was an American lawyer, businessman and anti-war activist. A member of the McCormick family of Chicago, McCormick became a lawyer, Republican Chicago alderman, distinguish ...
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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 ...
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Notable masters

* Alan Barber (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 (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 ...
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 ...
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 (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 ...
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 (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