The Royal Alexandra and Albert School is an all-through co-educational boarding school near

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. The

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...

as of 2022 is Morgan Thomas. The Royal Alexandra and Albert School Act, of 1949, united The Royal Alexandra School, which was founded in 1758, and The Royal Albert orphan School, which was founded in 1864 as a national memorial to Prince Albert, late husband of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. It is one of 36 state-maintained

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

s in England and Wales, and one of the few state schools in the United Kingdom to educate children from primary school years to

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 A-l ...

History of The Royal Alexandra and Albert School

The earliest link in the school's history goes back to the Orphan Working School which was founded in 1758 by fourteen men meeting in an inn led by Edward Pickard, a

dissenting Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

minister. The school expanded under the secretaryship of

Joseph Soul Joseph Soul (1805–1881) was a nineteenth-century British reformer who worked for 36 years to assist the plight of orphaned children in London and in support of the abolition of slavery. He worked at the Orphan Working School in Hampstead and found ...

in Hampstead. It continued to expand and it opened a linked convalescent home in

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

. The other part of the school was known as the Royal Albert Orphan Asylum. It was in Camberley on the cusp of Bagshot, and was opened in 1864. The second school was intended for children between the ages of five and eight and was founded by the ''Orphan Working School'', with Joseph Soul as the first honorary secretary. In 1867 Queen Victoria planted a Wellingtonia Gigantica tree during an "Inauguration Ceremony" for the school. A stone at the site was engraved VIR 1867 and is mistakenly thought by some to be the foundation stone of the building. The Wellingtonia survives to this day. A later patron of the school was Victoria's son

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942), was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Gov ...

. After the school left, the site was for a while used as the WRAC College. Boys at the school were required to work in addition to their schooling: for example on the farm, in the gardens, in a tailor's shop and in a cobbler's workshop. The two schools, the Royal Alexandra Orphanage and the Royal Albert School, joined together in Gatton Park, near

, just after the Second World War. Over the years it evolved from an orphanage to a state boarding school. There are around 36 state boarding schools in the UK, where education is provided by the state and parents pay for board. The school's foundation still supports some children whose home circumstances make a boarding education desirable.

History of Gatton Park

The school's grounds, Gatton Park, were previously owned by

Sir Jeremiah Colman ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist i ...

Colman's mustard Colman's is an English manufacturer of mustard and other sauces, formerly based and produced for 160 years at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Owned by Unilever since 1995, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited ran ...

, and were extensively landscaped by celebrated 18th century

landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

. Gatton Hall, the stately home built within the grounds, is now used as a boarding house for Sixth Form students.

Boarding at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School

The Royal Alexandra and Albert School is a true boarding school in that all its pupils are boarders and there is school on Saturday mornings so that boarders can have longer holidays. Around half are full boarders who go home at weekends and for holidays. The rest are Flexi Boarders who stay for the extended day and stay overnight for between 7 and 10 nights a year.

Riding at the school

The School has its own riding stables and around 20 horses. Pupils can learn to ride for pleasure; lessons are arranged at lunchtimes or after school. The school is a member of the

British Horse Society The British Horse Society (BHS) is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a Society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education". It currently has m ...

Old Gattonians

Former pupils of school are known as ''Old Gattonians''.

External links

Royal Alexandra & Albert School website

Old Gattonian's website

Gatton Trust website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Alexandra and Albert School Secondary schools in Surrey Boarding schools in Surrey Educational institutions established in 1758 1758 establishments in England Voluntary aided schools in England Reigate Primary schools in Surrey