Saint Ronan's School is an

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 ...

co-educational preparatory school for boys and girls from 3 to 13 years located in

Hawkhurst Hawkhurst is village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Nat ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. It currently has about 440 pupils, the majority of them day pupils, although boarding is available from Monday night through to Thursday night for all pupils from Year 4 upwards. The present headmaster is William Trelawny-Vernon. The school was named Tatler UK Prep School of the Year in 2017-2018 and TES Prep School of the Year 2021.

History

The school was founded in 1883 and was originally located in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. During the Second World War, the school was evacuated to Bicton Park near

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, but afterwards moved to its present location in Tongswood House. The house was remodelled in the late 19th century for William Cotterill, owner c. 1868 to 1892, of a mercantile family from Birmingham. Tongswood later belonged to Charles Eugene Gunther (died 1931), head of the Liebig Extract of Meat Company which later became known as OXO, who was High Sheriff of Kent in 1926. Sir Richard Vassar-Smith, 3rd Baronet, was headmaster from 1957 to 1971, and was succeeded by his son, Sir John Vassar-Smith, 4th Baronet, who was headmaster of the school until his retirement in 1997.

Notable alumni

Former pupils of Saint Ronan's School include: *

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for h ...

, film and theatre director *

Julian Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith Julian Edward George Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (22 April 1916 – 16 January 2011) was a British colonial administrator and hereditary peer. Background and education Asquith was the only son of Katharine (née Horner) and Raymon ...

, colonial administrator and hereditary peer *

Christopher Battiscombe Christopher Charles Richard Battiscombe (born 27 April 1940) is a retired British diplomat. After he retired from the foreign service he became director general of the society of London Art Dealers. He was educated at Wellington College, Ber ...

, diplomat *

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...

, composer * Bill Benyon,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Mark Bonham Carter, Baron Bonham-Carter Mark Raymond Bonham Carter, Baron Bonham-Carter (11 February 1922 – 4 September 1994) was an English publisher and politician. He was created a life peer in 1986. Early life He was the son of the Liberal activists Sir Maurice Bonham-Car ...

and publisher *

Raymond Bonham Carter Raymond Henry Bonham Carter (19 June 1929 – 17 January 2004) was a British banker and a member of the prominent Bonham Carter family. Early life He was born in Paddington, London, to Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter (1880–1960), a politician and ...

, banker *

Robert Bray Robert E. Bray (October 23, 1917 – March 7, 1983) was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series ''Lassie'', He also starred in ''Stagecoach West'' and as Mike Hammer in the mo ...

, soldier *

Richard Bridgeman, 7th Earl of Bradford Richard Thomas Orlando Bridgeman, 7th Earl of Bradford (born 3 October 1947), styled Viscount Newport from 1957 to 1981, is a British peer and businessman. Background and education Bradford is the son of Gerald Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford, ...

, peer and restaurateur *

Nick Brown Nicholas Hugh Brown (born 13 June 1950) is a British Independent politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne East since 1983, making him the fifth longest serving MP in the House of Commons. He is the longest ...

* Patrick Chichester, 8th Marquess of Donegall, peer *

Iain Cochrane, 15th Earl of Dundonald Iain Alexander Douglas Blair Cochrane, 15th Earl of Dundonald (born 17 February 1961), styled Lord Cochrane until 1986, is a Scottish peer. He was a member of the House of Lords from 1986 until the reforms made by the House of Lords Act 1999. Ea ...

, peer * Sampson Collins, cricket journalist *

Peter Dickinson Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL (16 December 1927 – 16 December 2015) was an English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories. Dickinson won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association ...

, author and poet * Frank Gardner, journalist (BBC Security Correspondent) *

Michael Grylls Sir William Michael John Grylls (21 February 1934 – 7 February 2001) was a British Conservative politician. He was implicated in the cash-for-questions affair, a political scandal of the 1990s. He was the father of adventurer and the Scout Ass ...

Patrick Hadley Patrick Arthur Sheldon Hadley (5 March 1899 – 17 December 1973) was a British composer. Biography Patrick Sheldon Hadley was born on 5 March 1899 in Cambridge. His father, William Sheldon Hadley, was at that time a fellow of Pembroke Co ...

, composer *

David Heathcoat-Amory David Philip Heathcoat-Amory (born 21 March 1949) is a British politician, accountant, and farmer. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Wells from 1983 until he lost the seat in the 2010 general election. He became a member of the ...

Osbert Lancaster Sir Osbert Lancaster, CBE (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general p ...

, cartoonist *

Laddie Lucas Percy Belgrave Lucas, (2 September 1915 – 20 March 1998), commonly known as Laddie Lucas, was a Royal Air Force officer, left-handed golfer, author and Member of Parliament (MP). Early life and family Lucas was born on 2 September 1915 in the ...

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officer, left-handed golfer, author and

Donald Maclean (spy) Donald Duart Maclean (; 25 May 1913 – 6 March 1983) was a British diplomat who conveyed government secrets to the Soviet Union. As an undergraduate, Maclean openly proclaimed his left-wing views, and was recruited into the Soviet intelligenc ...

Christopher Makins, 2nd Baron Sherfield Christopher James Makins, 2nd Baron Sherfield (23 July 1942 – 28 January 2006) was an United Kingdom, Anglo-American diplomat, foreign policy expert, and author. Early life Christopher James Makins was born at Southampton (town), New York, Sou ...

, peer, Anglo-American diplomat, foreign policy expert, and author * César Mange de Hauke, art dealer * Airey Neave, British soldier, lawyer and

* Francis Newall, 2nd Baron Newall, peer *

Martin Nourse Sir Martin Charles Nourse (3 April 1932 – 28 November 2017) was a Lord Justice of Appeal of England and Wales, who served as Vice-President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales from 2003 until his retirement from the ...

, Lord Justice of Appeal of England and Wales *

John Palmer, 4th Earl of Selborne John Roundell Palmer, 4th Earl of Selborne, (24 March 1940 – 12 February 2021), was a British peer, ecological expert, and businessman. He was one of the hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the enactment of the H ...

, British peer, ecological expert, and businessman * Matthew Parish, olympic rower * Thomas Ponsonby, 3rd Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, Chairman of the

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, Labour Chief Whip 1982-1990 *

John Raven John Earle Raven (13 December 1914 – 5 March 1980) was an English classical scholar, notable for his work on presocratic philosophy, and amateur botanist. Early life and education John Raven was born on 13 December 1914 in Cambridge, the ...

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and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

''John Raven by his Friends'', edited by John Lipscomb and R. W. David. Published privately by Faith Raven, 1981, , page 12 * Sir Charles Richardson, army general * E. Clive Rouse, archaeologist *

Charles Saumarez Smith Sir Charles Robert Saumarez Smith (born 28 May 1954) is a British cultural historian specialising in the history of art, design and architecture. He was the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 2007 until ...

, British cultural historian specialising in the history of art, design and architecture *

Mark Shand Mark Roland Shand (28 June 1951 – 23 April 2014) was a British travel writer and conservationist and the brother of Queen Camilla. Shand was the author of four travel books and as a BBC conservationist, appeared in documentaries related to hi ...

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and conservationist *

Philip Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle Philip John Algernon Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle, (born 21 April 1945) is a British peer and former soldier. Life and career Lord De L'Isle is the only son of William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle and his wife Jacqueline (née Vereker), a ...

, peer * James Simpson, naval officer and explorer *

Michael Whinney Michael Humphrey Dickens Whinney (8 July 19303 February 2017) was a Church of England bishop who served in two episcopal posts; he was also a great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens. He was born in Chelsea, London on 8 July 1930 and educated at ...

, Church of England bishop

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ronan's School Preparatory schools in Kent Hawkhurst Church of England independent schools in the Diocese of Rochester Educational institutions established in 1883 1883 establishments in England