St Piran's is a prep school located on Gringer Hill in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

, Berkshire, England. The school was known as Cordwalles School until 1919 and has been co-educational since the 1990s.

History

The origin of St Piran's was in 1805 at a small school, the Revd John Potticary's school in Blackheath, at 2–3 Eliot Place. After moving to its present location in 1872, it operated as a boys' boarding school under the name of Cordwalles School until 1919. Up to this time, it was among a group of preparatory schools – which included

Stubbington House School Stubbington House School was founded in 1841 as a boys' preparatory school, originally located in the Hampshire village of Stubbington, around from the Solent. Stubbington House School was known by the sobriquet "the cradle of the Navy". The s ...

and Eastman's Royal Naval Academy – that maintained strong connections with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. In that year, 1919, the school was bought by Major Vernon Seymour Bryant who renamed it St Piran's. It reopened in 1920 with 23 boys, increasing to 65 the following year. After becoming an educational trust in 1972, the school became co-educational in 1993, and boarding ended the same year. In 2005, St. Piran's celebrated its 200th anniversary with a bicentennial pageant. In 2008 a new geography room and lower school hall were completed.

Headmasters

, the headmasters of the school have been: * John Potticary 1805–1820 * George Brown Francis Potticary 1820–1850 * Richard Cowley Powles 1850–1865 * Thomas Jackson Nunns 1865–1890 * Charles William Hunt 1890–1902 * Cyril Robert Carter 1902–1910 * Theodore William Keeling 1910–1912 * Mervyn Frank Voules 1912–1919 * Vernon Seymour Bryant 1919–1926 * Arthur Grendon Tippet DSO 1926–1943 * Lowther Grendon Tippet 1943–1972 * Guy Gross and Andrew Perry 1972–1980 * Andrew Perry 1980–1982 * Andrew Blumer 1982–2001 * Jonathan Carroll 2001–2019 * Seb Sales 2019–present

Former pupils

* Admiral Sir Claud Barry,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

CB DSO *

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

* Cecil Malone * Victor Mollo * Vice Admiral Sir

Peveril William-Powlett Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Vice Admiral Sir Peveril Barton Reiby Wallop William-Powlett, (5 March 1898 – 10 November 1985) was a Royal Navy officer who served as South Atlantic Station, Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic Station from 1952 t ...

, KCB KCMG

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

DSO * Thomas Field Gibson and his cousin Charles Ronalds * Anthony West (author)Cooper, Artemis, ''Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure'' (2012), p.15, . *

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greate ...

(expelled)

References

External links

School website

Profile
on the ISC website
Memories of a 1960's pupil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Piran's (school) Private schools in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Educational institutions established in 1805 Preparatory schools in Berkshire Maidenhead 1805 establishments in England Preparatory schools associated with the Royal Navy