The Elvian School was an independent school in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, United Kingdom run by the

Licensed Trade Charity The Licensed Trade Charity (LTC) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom that cares for people working in, or retired from, the licensed drink trade and their dependents. It is constituted as a registered charity under English law, and its h ...

as a co-educational, non-denominational Christian school. It was previously the Roman Catholic boys' school Presentation College, Reading, until it went into administration in 2004. In March 2010 it was announced that the school would close at the end of the academic year.

History

The school opened in 1931 as Presentation College, Reading, an independent boys' day school run by the

Presentation Brothers The Congregation of Presentation Brothers is an international Catholic congregation of laymen founded in 1802 in Waterford, Ireland, by a local Irish businessman, Edmund Ignatius Rice, now Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice. Presentation Brothers live a ...

. In May 2003, the Presentation Brothers made the highly controversial decision to close the school the following summer. However, due to the "Save Pres" campaign by staff and students, the Presentation Brothers reversed the decision and the school was transferred to a trust. However, in mid-2004 the school went into administration and was taken over by the

and became the Elvian School. The final headteacher of the school was Paul Bevis. On Sunday, 14 June 2009, one of the school's students, 15-year-old Nicholas Rice, died in an air collision incident over Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire. His

Grob Tutor The Grob G 115 is a general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, primarily used for flight training. It is built in Germany by Grob Aircraft (Grob Aerospace before January 2009). The E variant with a 3-blade variable pitch propeller is in service wi ...

aeroplane collided with a civilian glider, during an Air Experience Flight. The pilot of the Grob Tutor, 62-year-old Michael Blee, was also killed, while the pilot of the glider, Henry Freeborn, parachuted to safety and survived.

Closure

In January 2010, staff and parents of pupils were sent letters stating that the future of Elvian School was unclear and that the feasibility of continuing to operate was being considered during a consultation period. On 3 March, a further letter and announcement by the school's director of education, Ian Mullins, stated that the consultation had unanimously agreed that the school could not run into the 2010/11 academic year. The school closed in July 2010.

Rebirth

In 2013 members of the West Reading Education Network WREN announced plans to open a Free School on the site of the former Elvian School, re-using some of the Elvian school buildings. These plans were delayed whilst developers

Taylor Wimpey Taylor Wimpey plc (formerly Taylor Woodrow plc) is one of the largest home construction companies in the United Kingdom. The company was created from the merger of rivals Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey on 3 July 2007. It is listed on the Lo ...

agreed to purchase the site subject to obtaining planning permission for 182 homes. Planning permission was refused. Taylor Wimpey appealed the refusal, and their appeal was dismissed in December 2013 after a public enquiry. Taylor Wimpey appealed to the High Court for a judicial review of the refusal, which was dismissed in June 2014. The new school opened with the name "The Wren School" in 2015.

Curriculum

The school offered a broad curriculum and included all the subjects of the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or other ...

Notable former pupils

Old Presentonians

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was a British author. He is best known for a series of fictional stories for children, featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold ...

OBE – children's author * Gerard Johnson – rock musician. * Joseph Kelly – Catholic Newspaper editor and publisher. *

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (24 August 1932 – 1 September 2017) was a British cardinal, the Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He was made cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. He s ...

– Roman Catholic cardinal. *

Damian Thompson Damian Thompson (born 1962) is an English journalist, editor and author. He is an associate editor of ''The Spectator''. Previously he worked as editor-in-chief of the ''Catholic Herald'' and for ''The Daily Telegraph'' where he was religious a ...

– journalist and author. *

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

– rock musician. *

Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager and former international footballer. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon a ...

– football player and manager. * Jonathan Bowden – Nationalist political philosopher.

References

External links

Elvian School
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1931 Defunct Catholic schools in the Diocese of Portsmouth Defunct schools in Reading, Berkshire 1931 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2010 2010 disestablishments in England