Moyles Court School is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

school located in Rockford,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, for children aged 2 to 16 years. Its Headmaster is Richard Milner-Smith.

History

The school was established in the 1940s, in

Bude Bude (; kw, Porthbud) is a seaside town in north east Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.''Cornish ...

, North

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. It was briefly moved to a manor house in

Wimborne, Dorset Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour and the River All ...

before the then-headteacher, Vesper Hunter, oversaw the move to the current site in 1963. The main building at Moyles Court - the current site - was the former manor house of Rockford, and later Ellingham. The 17th century manor house was once the home of Dame

Alice Lisle Alice, Lady Lisle (September 16172 September 1685), commonly known as Alicia Lisle or Dame Alice Lyle, was a landed lady of the English county of Hampshire, who was executed for harbouring fugitives after the defeat of the Monmouth Rebellion at t ...

, the last woman to be publicly beheaded in England following a judicial trial. In 1940 Moyles Court was requisitioned by the RAF as the station Headquarters of the RAF Ibsley Airfield and later derequisitioned in 1946. Whilst they resided here the officers were known to have used the lawn for tennis. In 1962, the estate was sold at an auction advertised and conducted by Woolley and Wallis. In all, ten lots were sold, including the one containing the current school on of land. The school was acquired in 2014 by Broadway Education. In November 2023, the school was closed due to flooding from Storm Ciarán.

The School

The Early Years part of the school caters for ages 2–4 (Preschool and Year R), with the Junior School covering Years 1–6. The Senior School takes pupils from Years 7-11. The school also accommodates boarders from Years 3-11. Moyles Court is known for its holistic approach to teaching, and the use of the immediate environment in

The New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

to capture the imagination of its children, as demonstrated in 2019 when the school raised ponies before putting them out to graze on the forest in line with the school's

Common rights Group rights, also known as collective rights, are rights held by a group '' qua'' a group rather than individually by its members; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people; even if they are group-differentiated, which ...

. The school is a member of the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busin ...

and of the Boarding Schools’ Association. Moyles Court has enjoyed enviable

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 ...

results in the past, and continues to perform well.

Headteachers

* Miss F. M. Wilde, 1940 - 1958 (founder of the school) * Miss Vesper Hunter, 1958 - 1975 (oversaw the move to Moyles Court in 1963) * Mr C. J. Bryon Edmond, 1975 - 1978 * Mr. G. H. L. Rimbault, 1978 - 1979 * Miss Betty Hall, 1979 - 1983 * Mrs. Diana Hitchcock, 1983 - 1988 * Mr. Anthony Coghill, 1988 - 1993 * Mr. Richard Dean, 1993 - 2008 * Mr. Greg Meakin, 2008 - 2014 * Mr. Richard Milner-Smith, 2014–Present

Inspection Reports

The school has been inspected by the ISI (

Independent Schools Inspectorate The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect independent schools in England. These schools are members of associations, w ...

), and gained a ‘Good’ rating across the board in 2018. It also received a satisfactory compliance report from ISI in January 2023.

References

{{reflist Private schools in Hampshire