Moreton Hall is an independent

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: ** Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where ho ...

and day school for girls aged 6 months to 18 and boys aged 6 months to 13, situated in North Shropshire four miles from the market town of

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough ...

. Founded in 1913, Moreton Hall celebrated its centenary in 2012/13. Much of the early history of the school is unrecorded, but Michael Charlesworth, chairman of the Governors for twelve years, wrote the "Story of Moreton Hall" to mark the ninetieth anniversary.

History

Beginnings

Ellen Augusta Crawley Lloyd-Williams was left with a family of two sons and nine daughters to care for on the death of her husband, John Jordan Lloyd-Williams, who had been headmaster of

Oswestry School Oswestry School is an ancient public school (English independent day and boarding school), located in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was founded in 1407 as a 'free' school, being independent of the church. This gives it the distinction of b ...

. She had already addressed the problem of educating her family by setting up a small school in 1913, in Lloran house, which was once a boarding house for

. Among the boarders were her three youngest daughters, some of their cousins and friends. There were also two boys on the rolls. Elder sisters Grace and Mary joined the teaching staff. Ellen bought Moreton Hall in 1919.

Development

Ellen died in 1940. She was succeeded by her daughter, Mary, a musician. Mary died in 1945 at a relatively young age and was commemorated by a bronze sculpture by Karel Vogel depicting three pupils playing musical instruments. Her sister Bronwyn Lloyd-Williams had trained at the Bedford College of Physical Training and was a freelance journalist in London. She had frequently visited Moreton Hall, choreographing dance productions, teaching lacrosse (she had captained Wales) and cricket and leading rambles in the surrounding countryside. She left her career to take on the headship and continued in this role until her resignation, soon followed by her death in 1973. This ended the "family" period of the school which continued its development as an educational trust. Roger Goolden (1933–2014), appointed by Bronwen Lloyd-Williams in 1963, held the position of Clerk of Works until 1993. He oversaw a significant extension of the school buildings, including a boarding block and swimming pool.

Present day

The school, a private limited company, is set in of parkland on the Shropshire/North Wales border, four miles from the market town of Oswestry and an hour from

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those ...

and

Birmingham Airport, West Midlands Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Borou ...

. The school is made up of two parts: Moreton Hall Prep (the Junior School) for boys and girls aged 3–11 and the senior school for girls aged 11 and over and boys up to the age of 13. First Steps Nursery opened in 2007 for 1- to 3-year-olds. The Principal is Sarah Davis and the Head of Moreton Hall Prep, John Bond. Sarah Davis has been appointed the new Principal of Moreton Hall as of September 2022. Shropshire-countryside

Academics

Moreton Hall offers a range of subjects at both

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

and

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

. The Midyis Value Added League Table produced by

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

in 2010 and again in 2011 ranks Moreton Hall as the top school nationally in value added ratings.

Pastoral care

The school has a pastoral system, whereby each girl has her own personal tutor who monitors her academic and pastoral progress.

Boarding houses

There are six boarding houses, each with its own Housemistress, Assistant Housemistress and Tutor team, which includes resident tutors who assist in the running of the house. Day girls are also attached to one of the boarding houses and have the option to sleep over. *The Stables Junior Dorm (up to Year 6, age 11) and Years 7–8 (age 11–13) *Pilkington House for Years 9 (age 13–14) *Gem House for Years 10 (age 14–15) *Lloyd-Williams House for Year 11 (age 15–16) *Rylands House for Year 12 (age 16–17) *Charlesworth House for Year 13 (age 17–18) Due to its semi-rural location, Moreton Hall is predominantly a boarding school. Flexible, weekly and full boarding is available to girls aged 8 and above. Most

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for ...

ers are full boarders while day girls are welcome to board on an ad hoc basis. Moreton Hall has four Divisions, which are separate from the boarding house system, called Calvert, Norton, Roberts and Vincent for which the pupils can earn points for work, sport, drama, music etc.

Extra-curricular

Music

Moreton Hall has a music department offering a wide range of musical activities to GCSE and A Level. The school has a range of musical groups and ensembles for all ages and abilities.

Sport

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

are the principal winter sports; regularly girls are selected from the senior teams to represent the Junior Midlands Lacrosse team at the national territorial tournament. The school 2nd team are the current

Welsh Lacrosse Association The Welsh Lacrosse Association (WLA) is the governing body for lacrosse in Wales. It was recognized by the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations in 1972, the first year of the IFWLA. It is one of 34 full members of the Federa ...

Rally champions. Hockey is also played, with at least one team every year representing Shropshire at the Midland Regional Hockey Association Finals. Cross-country is another key winter sport, with many junior and senior girls being selected to represent the county and in 2010 the Junior team qualified for the English Schools' Cross Country National Finals. Fourteen outdoor courts and one county-size indoor court are available for tennis. Athletics continues to grow as a major sport at Moreton during the summer term. Students have the opportunity to train at a track in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

Drama and public speaking

Performing arts activities include music, drama, verse speaking, public speaking and debating. The Senior and Middle School put on two major plays/musicals every year and the Junior School put on plays throughout the year. Students regularly take part in speaking and debating competitions such as the Business and Professional Women's Public Speaking Competition, the Shropshire Festival of Verse and Prose and Thomas Cranmer Awards.

Moreton Enterprises

Moreton Enterprises is a business venture which was established at the school 25 years ago. There are seven retail businesses and two service based businesses (Events Management and Environmental Services). The businesses are all managed by the Lower Sixth (Year 12) girls. An early Enterprise was the re-opening of nearby

Gobowen railway station Gobowen railway station is a railway station on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line of the former Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside via Birmingham Snow Hill line, serving the village of Gobowen in Shropshire, Engla ...

, headed by geography teacher David Lloyd and pupils at the school. David Lloyd is remembered by having a locomotive of the

Wrexham & Shropshire Wrexham & Shropshire (legally ''Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway Company Limited'') was an open access operator that provided passenger rail services in the United Kingdom. Services between Wrexham and London Marylebone operated from A ...

Railway company named after him.

Noted Old Moretonians

Lois Baxter Lois Ann Baxter (born 26 April 1947) is a British actress, known for playing Marie Stanton in ''Coronation Street'' from 1976 to 1977, and Lady Caroline in the period drama '' When the Boat Comes In''. Baxter was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, ...

- actress *

Zanny Minton Beddoes Susan Jean Elisabeth "Zanny" Minton Beddoes (born July 1967) is a British journalist. She is the editor-in-chief of ''The Economist'', the first woman to hold the position. She began working for the magazine in 1994 as its emerging markets co ...

– editor of ''The Economist'' * Dame Linda Dobbs – high court judge * Sas Metcalfe – President, Global Creative, of Kobalt Music *

Thea Musgrave Thea Musgrave CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972. Biography Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Musgrave was educated at Moreton Hall School, a boarding independ ...

– composer and musician * Shahnaz Pakravan – TV and radio presenter *

Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Madge Harvey in the ITV sitcom ''Benidorm'' (2007–2016). An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film ve ...

– actress *

Kyffin Williams Sir John Kyffin Williams, (9 May 1918 – 1 September 2006) was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, on the Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining artist of Wales during the 20th century. Pe ...

– landscape painter * Amanda Milling - Conservative politician *

Jugnu Mohsin Syeda Maimanat Mohsin (born 1959), commonly known as Jugnu Mohsin, is a Pakistani politician and journalist. She was an independent member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab until 31 March 2022 and then joined PML(N) on 1 April 2022. Previo ...

– Pakistani journalist

References

External links

Moreton Hall SchoolProfile
on the

ISC #REDIRECT ISC {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

website
Profile
on

MyDaughter MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Scho ...

{{authority control Boarding schools in Shropshire Independent schools in Shropshire Girls' schools in Shropshire Oswestry Educational institutions established in 1913 1913 establishments in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association