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 ...
day school
A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...
situated in
Mottingham
Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of both the London Borough of Bromley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located south of Eltham, southeast of Charing Cross. It is within the historic ...
, southeast London.
Eltham
Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards o ...
The school dates back to the early Victorian era, when it was founded as the
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...
's School for the Sons and Orphans of Missionaries. Within a short time the Baptist Missionary Society joined as co-founders. A girls' school had been established in
Walthamstow
Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sout ...
in 1838 and a boys' school was opened in the same place at the beginning of 1842. The boys' school later relocated to
Mornington Crescent
Mornington Crescent is a terraced street in Camden Town, Camden, London, England. It was built in the 1820s, on a greenfield site just to the north of central London. Many of the houses were subdivided into flats during the Victorian era, an ...
in 1852 and then to a purpose-built location in the centre of Blackheath in 1857 (the building, directly adjacent to Blackheath Station, later became the headquarters of the
Church Army
The Church Army is an evangelistic organisation and mission community founded in 1882 in association with the Church of England and now operating internationally in many parts of the Anglican Communion.
History
The Church Army was founded in ...
and is now a private hospital). Missionary
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
sent his son Robert to the school during the 1850s.Rhind, N. (1993) ''Blackheath Village & Environs, 1790-1990, Vol.1 The Village and Blackheath Vale'' (Bookshop Blackheath, London), p.118.
Current site
The school moved to its present site - centred on an 18th-century mansion (Fairy Hall) in Mottingham - in 1912. The building had previously been used by the Royal Naval School from 1889 to the end of the summer term in 1910.
Eltham College began life as a small boarding school catering for children of missionaries serving overseas, mainly in India, China and Africa. From 1945 to 1976 Eltham was a
Direct Grant school
A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...
; thus, for example, the 1952 intake was roughly 20 pupils from
London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...
schools and 20 from Kent schools (all 40 of these on scholarships), and 20 fee-payers. When the Direct Grant system was abolished in 1976, the school chose to go fully independent. After the 1950s the number of missionary sons fell sharply and the school became primarily a day school for boys until it went fully co-educational in the 2020s. The sixth form has admitted girls since 1978. Reflecting the origins of the school, each of the four houses is named after a prominent LMS or BMS missionary, namely
Carey
Carey may refer to:
Names
* Carey (given name), a given name
* Carey (surname), a surname
** List of people with surname Carey
Places Canada
* Carey Group, British Columbia; in the Pacific
* Carey Island (Nunavut) in James Bay
United Kingdom
...
Moffat
Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town.
...
; coloured blue, green, red and yellow respectively.
21st century developments
Headmaster (2000-2014) Paul Henderson continued a programme of building and development started by Christopher Waller, including major refurbishments to the junior school and music school, and a car park in front of the college. The Gerald Moore Art Gallery (partly funded by and named after artist
Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore CBE (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English classical pianist best known for his career as a collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. Among those with whom he was closely associated were Dietrich Fischer-Di ...
, an Old Elthamian) opened in 2012, displaying works by Moore, students and other artists.
Also in 2012, to mark the centenary of the move to Mottingham, the college launched a campaign to raise the funds to replace the Sixth Form Centre and Jubilee Block. Construction began in July 2017 and ended in February 2019. The new Turberville building (named after Geoffrey Turberville, the college's longest serving headmaster, 1930–1959) is located on the west side of the Old Quad with a new colonnade linking it to existing buildings. A triple-height, glazed atrium forms a link between the quad and the playing fields to the east and gives access to the David Robins Sixth Form Centre.
Girls were admitted to Year 3 and Year 7 for the first time in autumn 2020 (since the late 1970s girls have been members of the sixth form). Thus Eltham College will be fully co-educational in every year from autumn 2024.
Sexual abuse allegations
As of June 2021, a newspaper article reported that former students who had collected testimonials about alleged incidents between 2016 and 2021 received letters from the school's solicitors requesting them to desist, or provide evidence. The school said: “Safeguarding remains our top priority, and we want to do everything we can to make our pupils feel safe and fully supported. We have very strong pastoral procedures and reporting systems in place, and these are kept under regular review to ensure they remain fully fit for purpose".
Headmasters
Blackheath
The school's headmasters at BlackheathRhind, N. (1993) ''Blackheath Village & Environs, 1790-1990, Vol.1 The Village and Blackheath Vale'' (Bookshop Blackheath, London), p.119. were:
*1852-1866: William George Lemon
*1866-1868: James Scott
*1869-1870: Charles Dugard Makepeace
*1870-1875: Edward J Chinnock
*1875-1892: Edward Waite
*1893-1914: Walter Brainerd Hayward (he brought the school to Mottingham in 1912)
Mottingham
*1914-1926: George Robertson
*1926-1930: Nevil Wood
*1930-1959: Geoffrey Turberville
*1959-1983: Christopher Porteous
*1983-1990: Christopher Waller
*1990-2000: Malcolm Green
*2000–2014: Paul Henderson
*2014–present: Guy Sanderson
Notable Old Elthamians
''(in alphabetical order)''
*Sir
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
, physicist, director of CERN
* Sir John Bailey, Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor
*
Philip Bailey
Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, ...
, cricket statistician
*
Stuart Ball
Stuart Ryan Ball, CBE, FRHistS, is a political historian who retired in 2016 as professor of Modern British History at the University of Leicester, having taught there for 37 years; he is now emeritus professor of Modern History there. He specia ...
, political historian
*
George Band
George Christopher Band (2 February 1929 – 26 August 2011) was an English mountaineer. He was the youngest climber on the 1953 British expedition to Mount Everest on which Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first ascent of the mountai ...
, mountaineer
*
Nicholas Barberis
Nicholas C. Barberis (born September 1971) is the Stephen & Camille Schramm Professor of Finance at the Yale School of Management. Professor Barberis' research focuses on behavioral finance and in particular, on applications of cognitive psychol ...
, professor of Finance
*
Piers Benn
Piers Benn (born 1962) is a British philosopher. His research interests include ethics, including medical ethics, philosophy of religion. and the philosophy of psychiatry.
Work
Benn grew up in Blackheath, South East London with parents June, ...
, philosopher
*
Andrew Percy Bennett
Andrew Percy Bennett (30 July 1866 – 3 November 1943) was a British diplomat.
Early life
Andrew Percy Bennett was born in Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire, where his father, the Reverend Augustus F. Bennett, was an Anglican clergyman. He attended Bla ...
Tony Brise
Anthony William Brise (28 March 1952 – 29 November 1975) was an English racing driver, who took part in ten Formula One Grand Prix events in 1975, before dying in a plane crash with Graham Hill.
Early life
Brise was born in Erith, Kent, t ...
Charlie Connelly
Charlie Connelly (born 22 August 1970, London, England) is an author of popular non-fiction books. In addition to being a writer, Connelly also appears as a presenter on radio and television shows.
Overview
Connelly's writing exhibits a self-d ...
, author and broadcaster
* Stephen Dunnett, neuroscientist, and Professor of Biosciences since 2005 at
Cardiff University
, latin_name =
, image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University
, motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord
, mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord
, established = 1 ...
*
Mike Exeter
Mike Exeter is an English sound engineer and record producer who came to prominence via his work with British rock bands Cradle of Filth, Judas Priest Black Sabbath and more.
He is also known for his work with the British guitar player Tony Io ...
, grammy winning sound engineer and producer
* Ernest Fahmy, obstetrician and gynaecologist
* Frank Farmer, physicist
* Stephen Farr, organist
*
Nick Ferrari
Nicolo Ferrari (born 31 January 1959) is a British host, television presenter and broadcast journalist.
He is best known as the host of the weekday breakfast show on the London-based radio station LBC, with 1.5 million weekly listeners. He a ...
Simon Gass
Sir Simon Lawrance Gass (born 2 November 1956) is a British civil servant. Since 2019, he has chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee and he also currently serves as the British Prime Minister's representative on Afghanistan. Between 2018 an ...
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
Brian Harris (priest)
The Ven Reginald Brian Harris (born 14 August 1934) is a British Anglican clergyman who was the Archdeacon of Manchester from 1980 to 1998.
Harris was educated at Eltham College and Christ's College, Cambridge After curacies in Wednesbury and Utt ...
David E. H. Jones
David Edward Hugh Jones (20 April 1938 – 19 July 2017) was a British chemist and author, who under the pen name Daedalus was the fictional inventor for DREADCO. Jones' columns as Daedalus were published for 38 years, starting weekly in 1964 in ...
, chemist and writer
*
Jim Knight
James Philip Knight, Baron Knight of Weymouth, (born 6 March 1965) is a British politician who served as Minister for the South West and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party an ...
, former Labour MP, Minister of State for Schools in the UK Government, MP from 2001-2010 for
South Dorset
South Dorset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Richard Drax, a Conservative. The constituency was created as a consequence of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, although the area cove ...
*
Barnaby Lenon
Barnaby John Lenon (born 10 May 1954) is a British schoolmaster who was headmaster of Harrow School until 2011. He is currently professor and dean of education at the University of Buckingham. He is chairman of the Independent Schools Council ...
, headmaster of Harrow School and academic
* Eric Liddell, Olympic athlete, after whom the sports hall is named
*
Peter Luff
Sir Peter James Luff (born 18 February 1955) is Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Formerly a British Conservative Party politician, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Worcestershire ...
, campaigner
*
Johan Malcolm
Richard Johan Anders Malcolm-Hansen (born 22 April 1986), known as Johan Malcolm, is an English-born Danish cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler who has played domestic cricket for Denmark and first-class crick ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...
county cricket player
* Alan Martin, Professor of Theoretical Physics
*
Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore CBE (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English classical pianist best known for his career as a collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. Among those with whom he was closely associated were Dietrich Fischer-Di ...
Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...
, author of ''
Gormenghast Gormenghast may refer to:
* ''Gormenghast'' (series), a trilogy of novels by Mervyn Peake
** ''Gormenghast'' (novel), second in the series
* ''Gormenghast'' (opera), an opera based on the books
* ''Gormenghast'' (TV serial), a BBC adaptatio ...
'', after whom the library is named
*
Thomas Ernest Pearce
Thomas Ernest Pearce (19 February 1883 – 19 December 1941) was a British businessman and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Pearce was born on 19 February 1883. His father Rev. Thomas William Pearce, O.B.E, LL.D. spent nearly half ...
, sportsman and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
*
Geoffrey K. Pullum
Geoffrey Keith Pullum (; born 8 March 1945) is a British and American linguist specialising in the study of English. He is Professor Emeritus of General Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh.
Pullum is a co-author of ''The Cambridge Gram ...
, Professor of General Linguistics since 2007 at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
Monetary Policy Committee Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may refer to:
* Monetary Policy Committee (India)
The Monetary Policy Committee is responsible for fixing the benchmark interest rate in India. The meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee are held at least fo ...
from 2006–11, and Chief Economist of
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
Bryan Sykes
Bryan Clifford Sykes (9 September 1947 – 10 December 2020) was a British geneticist and science writer who was a Fellow of Wolfson College and Emeritus Professor of human genetics at the University of Oxford.human geneticist and
genealogist
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
*
Alan Wolstencroft
The Ven Alan Wolstencroft (16 July 1937 - 15 September 2020) was an Anglican priest who served as Archdeacon of Manchester from 1998 to 2004.
Career
He studied for the priesthood at Ripon College Cuddesdon. After curacies in Halliwell and S ...