Alleyn's School
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent,
day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...
and
sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...
in
Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's
College of God's Gift The College of God's Gift, often referred to as the Old (Dulwich) College, was a historic Foundation (charity), charity founded in 1619 by the Elizabethan actor and businessman Edward Alleyn who endowed it with the ancient Manor of Dulwich in so ...
charitable foundation, which also included James Allen's Girls' School (JAGS) and
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
. It has been a member school of the
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...
since 1919.


History


Edward Alleyn

In 1619, Edward Alleyn established his 'College of God's Gift' (the gift of love) with twelve poor scholars. Alleyn's School is a direct descendant of Edward Alleyn's original foundation and was established as a boys' school in 1882. It still exists as part of a foundation alongside
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
and JAGS; For the original College of God's Gift, 24 students had to be chosen from the four parishes with which Edward Alleyn had been connected. Saint Giles, Camberwell (in which Dulwich was situated), Saint Saviour, Southwark (where the Bear Pit stood on Bankside), Saint Botolph, Bishopsgate (where Alleyn was born), and Saint Giles, Cripplegate (home to the Fortune Theatre). Alleyn's became a public school with the election of the Headmaster to the Headmasters' Conference (HMC) in 1919.


The Lower School

The 1857 ''Act for confirming a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners for the College of God's Gift in Dulwich in the County of Surrey'', also known as the ''Dulwich College Act'', mandated that the
College of God's Gift The College of God's Gift, often referred to as the Old (Dulwich) College, was a historic Foundation (charity), charity founded in 1619 by the Elizabethan actor and businessman Edward Alleyn who endowed it with the ancient Manor of Dulwich in so ...
be separated into an "Upper School", which became
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
, and a "Lower School" which became Alleyn's. It was redone in 2018 to provide extra classrooms, an assembly room and a play area.


Separation from the College of God's Gift

In 1882, the upper school moved to a new site further south and the lower school stayed put, becoming an independent boys' school. In 1887 it moved to its own site, where the school currently stands. The original school is now the foundation chapel and the offices for the Dulwich Estate, which belongs to the foundation schools.


Independence and co-education

It was one of 179 direct grant grammar schools from 1958 until the abolition of that status in 1976; at which point the school was still boys-only. The Governors then opted for outright independence and co-education; Chairman Lord Wolfenden explained the decision in the House of Lords on 12 November 1975:
As a responsible body of Governors, we were confronted with an extremely difficult decision. The dilemma is this. Should we, as the phrase goes, "take our place within the pattern of the local education authority", or should we, on the other hand, go independent? In relation to the former of those alternatives, there are two relevant considerations. The first is whether the past history and present nature of a school fits in with the overall structure of the pattern of the local education authority for children in the Dulwich area. The answer is that it clearly does not. A long-established grammar school, annually recruited to carry out what has for long been recognised by a substantial number of LEAs as its specific academic purpose, does not easily transform itself overnight into a comprehensive school to serve a limited catchment area. Even if it could do that, with extraordinary metamorphoses of staff and objectives, there is no evidence whatever that any local education authority would be prepared to absorb it. So the dilemma is resolved, your Lordships may say. Yes, but at what cost? Alleyn's School has no option, whatever its wishes might have been, but to go independent.
Doctrines and ideologies apart, what does this mean in real life? It means that there will now be in Dulwich two independent day grammar schools, one of 1,300 boys and the other of 800 boys, within a couple of miles of each other. It also means that in order to maintain Alleyn's as an independent school its fees, with the removal of direct grant, will have to be put up to something like those of its consistently independent neighbour, Dulwich College. What sense does it make to have over 2,000 places in independent boys' grammar schools, at independent school fees, in one district of South London? We, the Governors of Alleyn's 1847 School think it makes no sense at all, so we are intending to make Alleyn's into a co-educational school. Then, in the Dulwich area, there will be an independent boys' school, Dulwich College, an independent girls' school, James Allen's School, and an independent coeducational school, Alleyn's.


Development

Alleyn's started developing a new theatre complex, named the Edward Alleyn Building, on 10 February 2007. The £8.5 million building was completed in 2008 and had a Grand Gala Opening in 2009.


Extra-curricular activities

The school has one of the largest Combined Cadet Forces in the country, where students can choose between joining the Royal Navy Section, Army Section or RAF Section. The Alleyn's CCF is led mainly by its Cadet NCOs who are Sixth Form students responsible for teaching the younger cadets. These are led by a team of Senior Cadet NCOs under the Cadet RSM and members of adult staff. These Cadet Force adult volunteers have a range of military, civilian or teaching backgrounds. The Alleyn's CCF offers a JNCO CADRE, a unique leadership and advanced infantry training programme, as well as visits to European Battlefields, military bases in England and Wales, and recent courses in Northern Sweden and
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. The Alleyn's CCF takes part in annual parades in Dulwich Village with the contingents of
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
and JAGS on Remembrance Sunday. For Remembrance Sunday 2022, Alleyn's was invited to provide a stair party of cadets from the Army Section for the arrival of HM the King at the Cenotaph in London. The CCF is also closely linked to the Alleyn's School Rifle Club which competes in various cadet smallbore and fullbore target rifle competitions. DofE is also offered, with students taking part in volunteering, skills based activities and a final expedition at the end of the year. Music and Drama also form a large part of life at Alleyn's with the Michael Croft Theatre (MCT) being a point of pride for the school's Drama department who put on shows there. The music at Alleyn's is equally distinguished, with performances at the Royal Festival Hall and St John's, Smith Square, as well as music tours to Italy, France and Poland.


Heads of the school

*1882–1902: Rev. J. Henry Smith (head of the Lower School at Dulwich, 1875–1882) *1919–1940: R. B. Henderson *1945–1963: S. R. Hudson *1963–1966: Charles W. Lloyd *1967–1976: J. L. Fanner *1976–1990: D. A. Fenner *1992–2002: Dr Colin H. R. Niven *2002 - 2010: Dr Colin Diggory *2010–2020: Dr Gary Savage *2020: Mr Andy Skinnard *2021– : Jane Lunnon


Alleyn's Old Boys and Girls

School alumni are known as ''Alleyn Old Boys and Girls'', or ''Alleyn's Old Boys and Girls''. This should not be confused with ''Old Alleynians'', the name of
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
alumni. * Felix Barrett, theatre director * Stuart Blanch, Baron Blanch (1918–1994), Bishop of Liverpool, 1966–1975, Archbishop of York, 1975–1983 * Tom Brooke * Nancy Carroll (born 1974), actress * Jack Chalker (1918–2014), artist * Eden Cheng * Cyrus Chothia * Jonathan Clark, bishop * Donal Coonan * Ray Cooney (born 1932), playwright and actor * Sir Henry Cotton (1907–1987), golfer * Francis Cubbon * Theo Dan * Peter Darling, choreographer * Nicholas Day, actor * Luc de Fougerolles * Mike Edwards, cricketer * Kenneth Farrington * C. S. Forester (1899–1966), novelist * Rich Fownes * Pixie Geldof * Julian Glover (born 1935), actor * Victor Groom * Harry Guntrip (1901–1975),
psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
and Congregational minister * Eddie Hardin * Chris Harper, RAF officer * Michael Hastings, playwright * David Hemmings * Terence Higgins, Baron Higgins * Douglas Higgs * Sir Joe Hooper (1914–1994), director, Government Communications Headquarters, 1965–1973; Government Intelligence Co-ordinator, 1973–1978 * Sir Michael Houghton, 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate and co-discoverer of
Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...
* Leslie Howard (1893–1943), actor, 1907–1910 * Zezi Ifore * R. V. Jones (1911–1997),
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
, military intelligence expert; Professor of Natural Philosophy,
University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...
, 1946–1981 * Baron Ajay Kakkar (born 1964), Professor of Surgical Science, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London (Roper's House; also a school governor) * Frederick Keeble * Jude Law (born 1972), actor * Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (born 1965), television presenter and architect * Peter Lyons (1927–2006). Musician. Director of Music, Royal Naval College, Greenwich; Master of Choristers and Director of Music, Wells Cathedral and Wells Cathedral School; Headmaster, Witham Hall School * Kelvin MacKenzie * James Bolivar Manson (1879–1945), painter and director of Tate Gallery, 1930–1938 * Mitch McGugan, musician * Caleb Azumah Nelson * Louis Partridge * Jack Peñate (born 1984), singer-songwriter (Spurgeon's House) * Ben Preston * John Pretlove * Walter Pretty * Sir V. S. Pritchett (1900–1997), writer and critic * John Pullinger * Tilly Ramsay * Colin Robbins, software engineer * Jacob Shaw (born 1988), cellist * Robin Shroot * Ed Simons of The Chemical Brothers * Kenneth Spring * Mickey Stewart (born 1933), cricketer * John Stride (1936–2018), actor * Dobrinka Tabakova * Frank Thornton * Simon Ward (1941–2012), actor * Hannah Ware (born 1982), model and actress, '' Boss'' * Jessie Ware (born 1984), singer, journalist * Arthur Watson (1880–1969), editor, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', 1924–1950 * Cullum Welch * Florence Welch (born 1986), vocalist and songwriter of Florence and the Machine (Spurgeon's House) * Samuel West (born 1966), actor * David Weston, actor * Felix White (born 1984), guitarist and vocalist of The Maccabees * Philip Woodfield * Sir Frank George Young (1908–1988), biochemist; first master of Darwin College, Cambridge, 1964–1976 * Nick Cohen, film director


Gallery

File:AlleynsSchoolMainBuilding.jpg, Main entrance File:Alleyn's School, Dulwich, front of main building.jpg, Front of the main building of Alleyn's School File:AlleynsSchoolBuildingWorks.jpg, Building work commencing on the new Edward Alleyn Building File:Alleyns School Student Playing Fives.jpg, Two Alleyn's students playing Fives File:Alleyn’s School, Lower School building.jpg, Lower School building File:St Barnabas and Alleyn’s School, 2020.jpg, Alleyn's main building (right) and Saint Barnabas' Church (left)


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

* {{authority control 1882 establishments in England Church of England private schools in the Diocese of Southwark College of God's Gift Dulwich Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Educational institutions established in 1882 Private co-educational schools in London Private schools in the London Borough of Southwark Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference