Elstree School

Elstree School is an English preparatory school for children aged 3–13 at Woolhampton House in Woolhampton, near Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. The school is co-educational.

Elstree School
Elstree School building from side
Address
Woolhampton Reading , Berkshire , RG7 5TD England
Coordinates	51.40383°N 1.17213°W / 51.40383; -1.17213
Information
Type	Independent
Motto	Clarior Ex Obscuro (Brighter, out of the darkness)
Religious affiliation(s)	Christian
Established	1848; 177 years ago (1848)
Local authority	West Berkshire
Department for Education URN	110140 Tables
Head teacher	Sid Inglis
Gender	Co-educational
Age	3 to 13
Houses	North, South, East and West
Colour(s)	Blue, red, green and yellow (respectively)
Website	www.elstreeschool.org.uk
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Elstree School, Woolhampton House
Designated	9 September 1969
Reference no.	1117267

History

1848–1938 in Elstree, Hertfordshire

The school was founded in 1848 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, at Hill House on Elstree Hill,^[1] an 18th-century Grade II* listed building.^[2] Today, the building is a Bupa care centre.^[3]

Since 1938 in Woolhampton, Berkshire

In 1938 or 1939 at the start of the Second World War (sources differ),^[4] staff and 70 boys moved to Woolhampton House in Berkshire which, at the war's end, became Elstree's permanent home, owned and run by the Sanderson family until 1961 when Elstree School was incorporated. Ian Sanderson remained headmaster until 1969 when Terrence McMullen became headmaster.

The building

Elstree School House engraving before 1893

Woolhampton House is a 17th-century Grade II* listed building.^[5]

Notable former pupils

See also: Category:People educated at Elstree School

• Sir Alexander Robert Badcock (1844–1907), army officer^[6]
• James Blunt (b. 1974), singer-songwriter^[7]
• Edwin Bramall, Baron Bramall (1923–2019), field marshal^{[citation needed]}
• John R. Buckmaster (1915–1983), actor^[8]
• Sandy Wilson (1924–2014), songwriter-lyricist
• Christopher Bonham-Carter (1907–1975), naval officer^{[citation needed]}
• Felix Cassel (1869–1953), lawyer^[9]
• Charles Montagu Doughty (1843–1926), poet, writer and traveller^[10]
• Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton (1845–1940), engineer^[11]
• Sebastian Faulks (b. 1953), novelist^[12]
• Walter George Headlam (1866–1908), classical scholar and poet^[13]
• J. Bruce Ismay (1862–1937), managing director of the White Star Line and survivor of the RMS Titanic^[14]
• Sir Philip Bennet Joubert de la Ferté (1887–1965), Royal Air Force Commander^[15]
• Archibald Campbell [Archie] MacLaren (1871–1944), cricketer^[16]
• George Monbiot (b. 1963), environmental activist and writer^[17]
• Richard Tice (b. 1964), politician^{[citation needed]}
• John Whitehead (1860–1899), ornithologist and explorer^[18]
• George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848–1934), Anglican priest^{[citation needed]}

Notable teachers

• William Bather (1861–1939), first-class cricketer, was assistant master at the school 1884–1894^[19]
• Danyl Johnson, singer on series 9 of The X-Factor, dance teacher
• Frederic Meyrick-Jones (1867–1950), taught at the school from 1894 to 1896^{[citation needed]}
• Edgar Stogdon (1870–1951), athlete and cricketer, was headmaster from 1900 to 1903^[20]

Sports

During the autumn term, soccer is the main sport, along with hockey and tennis. During the Lent term, rugby takes over from soccer, and hockey and cross country running continue. During the summer term, cricket is the main school sport, with swimming, athletics and tennis also popular throughout the term. The school's sports day is the focus of a pupil's summer term.

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Berkshire