St Benedict's School, usually referred to as St Benedict's, is a British co-educational,

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

for pupils aged 3-18 situated in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

, West London. A

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

school, it accepts and educates pupils of all faiths.

History

Foundation

St Benedict's School, Ealing was established following the arrival of Benedictine monks from

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged 11 to 18. Both the abbey ...

into

in 1897 to found the first Benedictine Abbey in London since the Reformation. Under the leadership of Sebastian Cave, Ealing Priory School opened on 2 October 1902 with three boys enrolled, following a foundational £5 donation which later featured in the school’s first Priorian magazine. Originally a boys’ school, it was renamed St Benedict’s School in 1948, and ultimately became fully

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

in 2008.

Location

The school has occupied various premises at various times in its history, firstly in Blakesley Avenue, then taking rooms in the priory in 1904 before moving across to Orchard Dene (which currently houses the junior school) in Montpelier Avenue. In 1906 , about a mile from the main school grounds, in

Perivale Perivale () is a mainly residential suburban town of Greater London, west of Charing Cross. It is the smallest of the seven towns which make up the London Borough of Ealing. Perivale is predominately residential, with a library, community ce ...

were purchased to provide a sports ground. By the 1920s Orchard Dene was used for boarders and the school was located in two houses on Eaton Rise. A purpose built school building linking these houses was in use by 1936. During the Second World War pupils were evacuated into the now junior school – boarding ceased – and the abbey church was badly damaged by a bomb on 7 October 1940.

Sex abuse cases

In October 2009, David Pearce, a monk of Ealing Abbey and former headmaster of the junior school, was jailed for eight years, subsequently reduced to five years, for sexual abuse offences at the school in the period from 1972 to 1992 and for one further offence in 2007 after he had ceased to work in the school. In March 2011, Laurence Soper, the abbot of Ealing Abbey during the 1990s, was arrested on child abuse charges relating to the period when he was a teacher at, and the

bursar A bursar (derived from ''wikt:bursa, bursa'', Latin for 'Coin purse, purse') is a professional Administrator of the government, administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usual ...

of, St Benedict's School; it was reported in October 2011 that he had failed to answer bail and was being sought by the police.Father Laurence Soper of Ealing wanted over sex abuse
BBC News 14 October 2011 In 2016, he was arrested in Kosovo and extradited to the UK to face trial. In early December 2017, following a 10-week trial at the Old Bailey in central London, Andrew Soper (as he is now known) was found guilty on 19 counts of child sexual abuse including buggery, indecency with a child and indecent assault. He was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. Children suffered severe corporal punishment which was often used as a means to initiate sexual abuse or for sexual gratification. It was claimed that there were daily queues of boys outside the headmaster's study waiting to be caned. A stated that aged 11 he got into trouble in class. The teacher made him kneel in front of the class and continued the whole of the lesson standing on the boy's hands. Jurors at the trial were told about Soper's victims getting sadistic beatings. One survivor said in court, "I have tried countless times to take my own life as I just cannot cope any more." Following these incidents, and other alleged offences, the Abbot commissioned a report to be prepared by

Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew Alexander Charles Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, (born 12 February 1948) is a British barrister and crossbench member of the House of Lords. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Montgomeryshire from 1983 to 1997 under the banner of the ...

with a view to making recommendations on the school's governance. As a result of the changes made the

Independent Schools Inspectorate The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect private schools in England. These schools are members of associations, whi ...

said in its 2013 inspection report that the pastoral care at St Benedict's was excellent. In October 2011 the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

ordered its own enquiry into the same matters, to be conducted by then-Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster John Arnold. In 2016, Peter Allott, deputy head, and former local Conservative Party councillor who had worked at the school since 2004 was jailed for 33 months for possession of child abuse images, as well as possession of a class A substance. However, it was made clear by the CPS that there was no evidence that Allott had abused his position of trust within the school, and no offensive material was found there. In 2018–19, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) commissioned by the UK Government was investigating any institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, and the handling of complaints about Catholic schools and specifically relating to investigations at Ealing Abbey and St Benedict's school. The pope's representative in Britain, archbishop Edward Adams, refused to co-operate with the inquiry. The school was described as a "grim and beastly place" by the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), and that "a culture of cover-up and denial of sexual abuse operated at Ealing Abbey." By October 2019, the IICSA had received 18 further allegations against 8 monks and staff, and believed that the true scale of the abuse is "likely to be much higher", than those convicted the report found.

School life

Governance

Since its foundation members of the monastic community at Ealing Abbey have taught at, and provided pastoral, spiritual and educational leadership, within the school. Until the senior school's first lay headmaster, A.J. Dachs, was appointed in 1987, all headmasters were monks of the abbey. Since 1951 the senior school headmaster has been a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...

. Following the recommendations of the Carlile report (see above) the school, which had been under the trusteeship of the monks of Ealing since its foundation in 1902, became an independent charity in the form of a company limited by guarantee, independent of the Abbey Trust. New governance arrangements, with a lay chairman, came into effect from September 2012.

Student representation and the student council

The

(ISI) recommended the school consider enhancing internal student representation prompting the formation by the school of a school council with its formal powers outlined in its

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. Students may run in elections throughout the school, from the third form to the upper fifth with two representatives elected from each year. Sixth form students can run for the offices of student president and chair of the sixth form common room. The structure of the school council consists of the student president and the student president's chapter. Members are appointed to the chapter by the newly elected student president to represent students in matters regarding food and health, estates and buildings, pastoral and equality, finance and investment, sixth form, upper and middle schools, and the vice president's office. The first codified school council constitution was signed in January 2016 by the student heads of school, student president, school chaplain, headmaster, chair of the sixth form common room, leader of the upper and middle school council and the chair of the school governing body.

Ethos

The school promotes Catholic Benedictine values through its mission of ''"Teaching a way of living"'', based on the

Rule of St Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...

. Registration sessions are accompanied by prayer, in which pupils participate and sometimes lead. Mass is celebrated weekly in the school chapel or in the Ealing Abbey, for those staff and pupils who wish to attend. Retreats organized for each year group give time for reflection and for spiritual growth. Trips are organized, for instance to Rome on a study pilgrimage and to Lourdes, where pupils develop their understanding or are able to express their commitment to service. The

noted in its 2013 report that, at all ages, pupils' personal development is excellent. In line with the Benedictine mission, pupils show respect for themselves, for others and for the world around them, in 'learning how to live'. They enjoy relationships with peers and adults alike and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding.

Sport

The main sports for boys are rugby and cricket and for girls netball and hockey. The school is notably good at fencing, producing national and international fencers. Fencing is a main sport for both boys and girls. The school also offers other sports including dance, tennis, swimming, badminton, basketball, volleyball, cross country running, weight-lifting, athletics and boys' hockey. The school, under new headmaster Joe Smith, introduced football as a main sport for boys and co-curricular girls for the beginning of the 2024/2025 academic year. In rugby the school was runner-up in the

NatWest Schools Cup The National Schools Cup (currently known as the Continental Tyres Schools Cup for sponsorship reasons) are a set of annual England, English schools' rugby union cup competitions, with the U18 Cup being the main competition. The finals of the Cup ...

at under 18 level in 2008; at under 15 level it was winner in 2005 and runner-up in 1993. The school's 1st XV was undefeated in 2008 in 21 of 22 league matches, finishing top of the Canterbury Rankings, and was selected by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

to represent England in the

Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament The Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament is an international rugby union tournament for 15-a-side youth teams which is held every year during the Golden Week (Japan), Golden Week holidays (29 April – 5/6 May) in Fukuoka prefecture, ...

, losing only to the eventual winner. The under 13 side won the 2012 junior champions of the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens, the world's largest rugby tournament. The St Benedict’s 1st XV finished 3rd in the 2021 SOCS Daily Mail Schools Trophy – a national competition played under a merit table system by more than 100 teams, going undefeated in the process.

Co-curricular activities

In the senior school there are over 100 clubs and societies. Pupils run a

debating society Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

, staff a

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

and participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, as well as producing art, music and drama. The school further encourages co-curricular activities by offering scholarships in art, drama, music and sport alongside academic scholarships. Every year the school produces and holds art shows, whole school drama productions, music and sport festivals.

People

Headmasters

* Dom Sebastian Cave (1902–1916) * Dom Wulstan Pearson (1916–1917) * Dom Dennis Goolden (1917) * Dom Roger Huddleston (1917) * Dom Edward Green (1917–1919) * Dom Dominic Young (1919–1936) * Dom Austin Corney (1936–1938) * Dom Adrian Morey (1938–1939) * Dom Rupert Hall (1939–1945) * Dom Bernard Orchard (1945–1960) * Dom Gerard Hayes (1960) * Dom George Brown (1961–1965) * Dom Bernard Orchard (1965–1969) * Dom George Brown (1969–1978) * Dom Anthony Gee (1978–1987) * Tony Dachs (1987–2001) * Christopher Cleugh (2001–2016) * Andrew Johnson (2016–2023) * Joe Smith (2023 -present)

Notable alumni

Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...

, English biographer, novelist and critic, winner of the

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to ...

and two Whitbread Awards * Patrick Baty, historian of architectural paint and colour, consultant in the decoration of historic buildings * David Beaumont, diplomat for the CRO, and the

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who later served as high commissioner to Botswana * David Bermingham, member of the NatWest Three, a group of three British businessmen involved in a high-profile court battle against charges of fraud * Peter Biller, academic specialising in medieval thought, heresy, and medicine, emeritus professor of medieval history at

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

* Paul Bradley, British-born Irish actor, played Nigel Bates on ''Eastenders'' * Christopher Caudwell,

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

writer, thinker and poet *

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including n ...

, comedian and novelist * Vinny Codrington, sports administrator, latterly chief executive of

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, professor of demography University of Oxford, and advisory council member at MigrationWatchUK * Brian Cotter, Baron Cotter, politician, former member of Parliament for

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* Dimitri Coutya, MBE, wheelchair fencer who won gold medals in both Épée B and Foil B at 2024 Paris * Declan Donnellan, stage director, author and film director, founder of

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international theatre company, multiple

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winner, Chevalier de

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* Robin Devenish, retired physicist at the

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, former dean of

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* Kerry Downes, professor of

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, specialising in

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architecture * Ned Eckersley,

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er * Laurence Freeman, priest, and director of the World Community for Christian Meditation * Howard French, newspaper editor who co-ordinated the merger of the '' Sketch'' with the ''

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'', and the launch of the ''

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'' * Reginald C. Fuller, Catholic priest who was appointed

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

by cardinal

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in 2001 * John Gapper, associate editor and chief business commentator of the ''

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'' * Jonathan Glancey, architectural critic and writer who was the architecture and design editor at ''

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,'' and previously, at ''

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.'' * Sebastian Gorka, former US government official, served under President Donald Trump as Deputy Assistant to the President * Peter Hennessy, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, historian, journalist, and academic specialising in the history of government, Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

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* Jonah Holmes, Welsh international rugby union player * John Hooper, journalist, author and broadcaster, currently Italy correspondent of ''

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'' and a contributing editor of ''The Guardian'' * Damian Hopley,

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international rugby union player, Melrose Cup winner, founder and chief executive of the not-for-profit registered trade union Rugby Players' Association (RPA) *

Dominic Inglot Dominic Inglot ( ; born 6 March 1986) is a British former professional tennis player and a Davis Cup champion. A doubles specialist; he made the final of twenty seven ATP World Tour events, winning fourteen, including the Citi Open and Swiss ...

, professional tennis player, current British no. 2 in doubles * David Luckham, emeritus professor of electrical engineering at

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* George Loffhagen, professional tennis player *

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, scholar of medieval Iberia, fellow, tutor, and dean of

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, academic, writer and film producer * Angela McHale, actress and comedian, known for her variety of British television roles including roles in ''

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'', ''

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'' and ''

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''. * Duncan McNair, commercial and corporate litigation lawyer, author and charity campaigner * Tony McWalter, politician, former MP for

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in the Labour Government from 2002 until 2005; Member of Parliament for

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from 1994 to 2012 * Oriane Messina, comedy writer and performer * Douglas Murray, journalist, associate director of the

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, associate editor of ''

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,'' who appears regularly in the British broadcast media * Dom Gregory Murray OSB. Composer, organist, liturgist. * Denis O'Regan, rock photographer whose imagery is particularly associated with the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

movement,

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

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, and

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* Bernard Orchard, Catholic Benedictine monk, and

biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

who would later return as headmaster of the school * Chris Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, former cabinet minister,

chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are ...

, European commissioner, British

governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the United Kingdom, British The Crown, Crown in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executiv ...

, chairman of the

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, and governor of the

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Trust,

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

* Gary Prado Salmón, Bolivian military officer, government minister, diplomat and ambassador, who was head of the special forces unit which captured Marxist revolutionary

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in 1967 * Ben Ryan, rugby union coach who coached the Fiji sevens to two Sevens World Series titles, and a gold medal in sevens rugby at the

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, economist, and executive director of

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UK since 2008 *

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, film actor known for his roles in prominent films such ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'', '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi '' and ''

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'' *

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, singer, songwriter, musician and poet * Joe Simpson,

international rugby union player * James Smythe, novelist and screenwriter *

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'' and '' K-PAX''. * Alexander Stafford,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament for Rother Valley. *

Greg Stafford (politician) Gregory James Stafford is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Farnham and Bordon since 2024. He is a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee and an Opposition Assistant Whip. St ...

Member of Parliament for Farnham and Bordon * Billy Withall, British Army officer * John Zylinski, Polish prince

References

External links

St Benedict's School website

St Benedict's School Portal

BBC League Tables

Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...

website
The Old Priorian Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Benedict's School 1902 establishments in England Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in the United Kingdom Private co-educational schools in London Private schools in the London Borough of Ealing Educational institutions established in 1902 Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Roman Catholic private schools in the Archdiocese of Westminster Schools of the English Benedictine Congregation