St Michael's Prep School, Otford

St Michael's Prep School is a coeducational preparatory school in Otford, located in a 100-acre (400,000 m²) site in the North Downs, Kent, England.

St Michael's Prep School
Location
Otford Court Otford , Kent , TN14 5RY England
Information
Type	Preparatory school (United Kingdom)
Motto	Perseverantia, Sapientia, Gratia
Established	1872
Founder	Arthur Tooth
Ofsted	Reports
Chair of Governors	Rashid Chinchanwala
Head	Nik Pears
Gender	Mixed
Age	2 to 13
Houses	Dover, Leeds, Rochester, Windsor
Website	http://www.stmichaels.kent.sch.uk

History

St Michael's was founded at Hatcham in 1872 by the Reverend Arthur Tooth as a school and home for the sons of the clergy, naval and military officers as well as professionals who had suffered bereavement or fallen on hard times. The school now has more than 460 pupils.

Historic abuse allegations

In 2005, actor John Hurt stated in an interview with the Independent on Sunday that when he was a pupil at the school he was abused by Donald Cormack, then Senior Master of the school; he later became Head Teacher until his retirement in 1981.^[1] Hurt said that the experience affected him "hugely". According to the interviewer, he and Hurt had a mutual friend who had earlier made the same allegations to him.^[2]

Notable alumni

See also: Category:People educated at St Michael's Preparatory School, Otford

Teachers

• Roy Martin Haines

Pupils

• Hubert Chesshyre, Clarenceux King of Arms, Secretary of the Order of the Garter,^[3]
• John Hurt, actor^[4]
• Roy Martin Haines, historian
• Tom Bosworth - represented his country in race walking in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
• Lizzy Yarnold - silver medallist in the 2011 Bob Skeleton Junior World Championships,^[5] 2014 winter Olympic gold medalist, 2018 winter Olympic gold medalist

Further reading

• Sally Maria Jones, St Michael's School, Otford: Recollections, Observations, and Celebrations. The Story of St Michael's School, Otford, Since its Foundation in Hatcham, New Cross, in 1872 (Sevenoaks: Amherst, 2004; 255pp., with illustrations and portraits; ISBN 1-903637-22-8)