St Edward's School is an independent co-educational

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

school in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

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The majority of pupils come to the school from St Edward's Preparatory School, its associated preparatory school, although a significant number come from schools across the county each year. St Edward's is Cheltenham's only independent day school. The current headmaster is Matthew Burke.

History

The school site, Charlton Park, was a hunting lodge that belonged to

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

(1003-1066), the only English monarch to have been canonised. The manor of Cheltenham which included Charlton was royal property – hence the local area's name, Charlton Kings – and is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086. Later the property was owned by a succession of families, and the original medieval manor house, known as Forden House, was rebuilt several times. It now is substantially as it was in the 18th century, though incorporating 16th-century beams and brickwork. In 1935 the property was acquired by a religious order, the Sisters of La Sainte Union, originally from France, who established a convent in the house and added new buildings for classrooms. Charlton Park School was opened as a Roman Catholic school for girls in 1939. An area on the edge of the site was given for the building of a new Catholic parish church, Sacred Hearts, in 1957. The need for a similar Catholic school for boys in the Cheltenham area was met in 1958 when the Carmelite order of priests and brothers acquired another historic site, Ashley Manor, less than a mile away on the London road. Here they opened Whitefriars School. The two schools had many natural links, with families educating their sons and daughters at them. For some years Catholic children who passed their 11+ were awarded places at the schools by the local education authority. Both schools attracted many pupils of other denominations, while retaining their Catholic ethos. New buildings were added on both sites as the schools grew. By the 1980s, the numbers of L.S.U. sisters and Carmelite friars had fallen, and both orders were leaving the field of education. The parents at Charlton Park and Whitefriars were keen that the Christian education provided in the schools should continue. A new lay-run trust was set up, and St Edward's School was created as a fully independent school. The main school (Years 7 - 13) took over the Charlton Park site, while the Whitefriars site became St Edward's Junior School (Years 1 - 6).

Development

St Edward's building programme has continued: in summer 2008, a new block, the Abbot Building, was opened which includes a large new refectory, a drama studio and a new base for geography.

Notable alumni

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...

Josh O'Connor Josh O'Connor (born in 1989/1990) is a British actor. He portrayed a young Charles III (Prince Charles) in the Netflix drama ''The Crown'' (2019–2020), for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and th ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Edward's School Schools in Cheltenham Private schools in Gloucestershire Roman Catholic private schools in the Diocese of Clifton

Saint Edward's School Saint Edward's School is a coeducational independent college-preparatory school in Vero Beach, Florida, United States. It enrolls children grades pre-K through 12. History The school opened on September 22, 1965, to 31 students in grades five ...

1987 establishments in England