Summer Fields is a fee-paying boys' independent day and boarding preparatory school in Summertown, Oxford. It was originally called Summerfield and used to have a subsidiary school, Summerfields, St Leonards-on-Sea (known as "Summers mi").

History

Summerfield became a boys' preparatory school in 1864, with seven pupils. Its owner, Archibald MacLaren, had been educated at

Dollar Academy Dollar Academy, founded in 1818 by John McNabb, is an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Scotland. The open campus occupies a site in the centre of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, at the foot of the Ochil Hills. Overview As of 20 ...

and was a fencing teacher who ran a gymnasium in Oxford. He believed strongly in the importance of physical fitness. His wife, Gertrude, was a classical scholar and teacher, a daughter of David Alphonso Talboys. The school motto is ''

Mens sana in corpore sano ''Mens sana in corpore sano'' () is a Latin phrase, usually translated as "a healthy mind in a healthy body". The phrase is widely used in sporting and educational contexts to express that physical exercise is an important or essential part of men ...

'', "A healthy mind in a healthy body". The school grew and needed more staff, two of whom married into the Maclaren family: the Reverend Dr Charles Williams ("Doctor"), who took over the scholarship form from Mrs Maclaren and married Mabel Maclaren in 1879, and the Reverend Hugh Alington, who married Margaret Maclaren in 1885 and took over the boys' games. The school remained in the hands of the Maclaren, Williams, and Alington families for its first 75 years. At the end of the 19th century, "Doctor" became headmaster and there was much building at the school. A second school, "Summers mi", was opened at

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...

, Sussex, for boys to benefit from the sea air. In 1918 Doctor passed the headmastership on to Hugh Alington. There was a lean spell in the 1930s, and numbers fell, but John Evans and Geoffrey Bolton ("G.B.") took over in 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

three other schools were evacuated to Summer Fields - Famborough School, Hampshire, Summers mi, and St Cyprian's School from

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...

- and this restored the numbers. In 1955, the school became a charitable trust, with a board of governors, including

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as " Supermac", ...

, who had been at the school as a boy and was soon to become Prime Minister. During the 1960s, Pat Savage was headmaster, with the assistance of Jimmy Bell and Pat Marston. By the centenary year in 1964, the school's appearance had changed relatively little (see illustration), but it was thriving and energetic enough to celebrate with a hardback book of 332 pages, with contributions from "O.S.", or Old Summerfieldians, including stories about

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell Field Marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War ...

, and Harold Macmillan, and a friendly greeting in verse from the arch-rival Horris Hill School. A former pupil recollected Pat Marston as follows: However, another former pupil described a culture of brutality at the school, epitomised by 'the Ogre': "Any honest account would have described Pat Marston as a brutal sadist. 'Bend over the arm of that sofa and pull down your pyjama trousers, boy. And then the beating would begin ... The result was a web of welts and cuts that descended as far as the back of your knees, or even lower." In 1975, Nigel Talbot Rice took over as headmaster. He put the school on a sound financial footing through a series of appeals which paid for an ambitious building programme: new classrooms, the Macmillan Hall and Music Centre, an indoor swimming-pool, the Wavell Arts and Technology Centre (named after Earl Wavell), and the Sports Hall. In 1997, Talbot Rice retired and was succeeded by Robin Badham-Thornhill. In 2010 David Faber, an old boy and governor, took over as headmaster. In 2002 a new lodge called "Savage's" was built. Later a new year group was added at the bottom of the school.

Summer Fields today

The boys are organised into four "leagues". One of them is named Maclaren, after the Founder; the others are Moseley, after

Henry Moseley Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley (; 23 November 1887 – 10 August 1915) was an English physicist, whose contribution to the science of physics was the justification from physical laws of the previous empirical and chemical concept of the atomic num ...

, Congreve, after William La Touche Congreve, and Case, after William Sterndale Case, a master from 1910 to 1922. Each league has its own identifying colour: Case red, Congreve yellow, Maclaren green, and Moseley blue. In leagues, the boys wear a polo shirt in the league colour, along with the rest of the uniform, blue corduroys, and black shoes. On Sundays as well as on special days, such as the school concert, and the end of term, boys wear a tweed jacket, with a light blue coloured shirt, black shoes, and grey flannel trousers. Their ties are in their league colours. The school has traditionally been a rival of the

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

, which is also in north Oxford.

Notable Old Summerfieldians

:See also :People educated at Summer Fields School *

Gubby Allen Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen CBE (31 July 190229 November 1989) was a cricketer who captained England in eleven Test matches. In first-class matches, he played for Middlesex and Cambridge University. A fast bowler and hard-hitt ...

(1902–1989), cricketer *

Julian Amery Harold Julian Amery, Baron Amery of Lustleigh, (27 March 1919 – 3 September 1996) was a British Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 39 of the 42 years between 1950 and 1992. He was appointed to the P ...

(1919–1996), politician * Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe (1901–1984), politician *

Anthony Asquith Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on '' The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among ot ...

(1902–1968), film director * Cyril Asquith, Baron Asquith of Bishopstone (1890–1954), judge *

Cuthbert Bardsley Cuthbert Killick Norman Bardsley (28 March 1907 – 9 January 1991) was an Anglican bishop and evangelist who served as Bishop of Croydon from 1947 to 1956 and Bishop of Coventry from 1956 to 1976. It was during his tenure at Coventry that ...

(1907–1991), bishop * Tom Parker Bowles (1974– ), writer *

Harold Caccia, Baron Caccia Harold Anthony Caccia, Baron Caccia, (21 December 1905 Pachmarhi, India – 31 October 1990 Builth Wells, Wales) was a British diplomat. Caccia was the son of Major Anthony Mario Felix Caccia, Conservator of the Imperial Forest Service, and hi ...

(1905–1990), diplomat * Sir

Olaf Caroe Sir Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe, (15 November 1892 – 23 November 1981) was an administrator in British India, working for the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Political Service. He served as the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India ...

(1892–1981), colonial administrator *

Mark Colvin Mark Colvin (13 March 1952 – 11 May 2017) was an Australian journalist and radio and television broadcaster for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and worked on most of the flagship current affairs programs. Notably, based in Sydne ...

(1952-2017), broadcaster and journalist * William La Touche Congreve VC, DSO, MC (1891–1916) *

Hugh Dalton Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton, (16 August 1887 – 13 February 1962) was a British Labour Party economist and politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947. He shaped Labour Party foreign policy in the 19 ...

, (1887–1962), politician * Robin Durnford-Slater (1902–1984), admiral * David Faber (1961– ), politician, schoolmaster'Faber, David James Christian', in ''Who's Who 2010'' (London: A. & C. Black, 2009) *

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Hugh Christopher Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall (born 14 January 1965) is an English celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer, and campaigner on food and environmental issues. Fearnley-Whittingstall hosted the '' River ...

(1965–), chef and food writer * Neville Ford (1906–2000), cricketer * Harold Freeman-Attwood (1897–1963), soldier * Julian Grenfell (1888–1915), poet *

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...

Lord Inge Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ...

, Chief of the General Staff * Monsignor

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic The Catholic Church in England and Wales ( la, Ecclesia Catholica in Anglia et Cambria; cy, Yr Eglwys Gatholig yng Nghymru a Lloegr) is part of the worl ...

(1888–1957), theologian * Sir Christopher Lee (1922–2015), actor *

(1894–1986),

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 ...

Sir William Macpherson Sir William Alan Macpherson of Cluny, 6th of Blairgowrie (1 April 1926 – 14 February 2021) was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales, and the 27th Hereditary Chief of Clan Macpherson. He was a common law barrister who served as the re ...

(1926–2021), judge and Chief of the

Clan Macpherson Clan Macpherson (, ) is a Highland Scottish clan and a member of the Chattan Confederation. History Origins The Scottish Gaelic surname for Macpherson is ''Mac a' Phearsain'' which means ''son of the parson''. The Celtic church allowed priest ...

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

(1922–2015), actor * Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley (1887–1915), physicist * Adam Nicolson (1957–), writerAdam Nicolson. ''Prepared for Anything''. The Times Magazine, June 25, 1994. pages 24-30. *

Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet (13 September 1831 – 22 October 1915) was a Scottish physicist noted for his work on ballistics and gunnery. Early life Born at Greenock, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy and at the Royal Military Academy, W ...

(1831–1915), physicist *

Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. ...

(1908–1998), artist and architect''Summer Fields Register 1864–1960'', Oxonian Press, 1960. * Sir James Pitman (1901–1985), inventor of the Initial Teaching Alphabet *

(1883–1950), Viceroy of India File:Henry Moseley.jpg,

, physicist File:Archibald Wavell2.jpg,

Archibald Wavell Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded i ...

, Viceroy of India File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-1-17(cropped).jpg,

, Prime Minister File:Christopher Lee at the Berlin International Film Festival 2013.jpg,

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

, actor File:Hugh fearnley whittingstall.jpg,

, celebrity chef

Notes

References

Sources

* ''Summerfields School Register 1864-1960'', Oxonian Press 1960 * * Nicholas Aldridge, ''Time to spare? A History of Summer Fields'', 1989

External links

Summerfields.com, official school website

Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busine ...

website {{authority control Boys' schools in Oxfordshire Educational institutions established in 1864 Schools in Oxford Boarding schools in Oxfordshire Preparatory schools in Oxfordshire 1864 establishments in England