Ashford School

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Ashford School
Ashford School Crest.jpg
Location
Ashford School
East Hill

Ashford
,
Kent
,
TN24 8PB

UK
Information
TypePrivate day and boarding
MottoEsse Quam Videri
(to be, rather than to seem to be)
Religious affiliationChurch of England
Established1898
Headteacher
Ashley Currie September 2025
Tom Wilding (Senior School) 2007–
GenderMixed
Age3 monthsto 18
Enrolment1000
HousesNightingale, Thimann, Atkins, Newfoundland (named after notable people/places)
Affiliation United Church Schools Trust
Website https://www.ashfordschool.co.uk/

Ashford School is a coeducational private boarding and day school in East Hill, Ashford, Kent. There are 480 students in the senior school (ages 11 to 18) and 360 in the prep school (ages 3 to 11).

Contents

The school is owned and run by the United Church Schools Trust. [1] It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). [2] Michael Hall has been headmaster since September 2018.


Ashford Senior School grounds Ashford School Buildings.jpg
Ashford Senior School grounds

History

The school was founded in 1898 by Muriel Thimann, who opened a small women's school on Queens Road, Ashford. The school moved to Wellesley Road in 1903 and then to two houses on High Street in 1905 in order to extend the premises. [3] In 1910, Anne Edwards bought the school and renamed it "the Modern High School for Girls". The school expanded into another adjacent house on High Street and then moved to bigger premises on East Hill in 1913. In 2005, it merged with Friars Prep School in Great Chart, and in 2006, boys were admitted in some year groups. Ashford School is now a fully co-educational school from the age of 3 to 18 offering boarding and day facilities. Mike Buchanan was first appointed the headmaster of Ashford School in February 2005.

Space shuttle experiment

In 1992, a science experiment designed by four girls at the school flew on the Space Shuttle on flight STS-47. [4] The experiment had been designed in 1985 by the girls who had won a competition organised by Independent Television News. The chemical garden experiment was successful but the Liesegang rings failed to operate correctly due to friction in parts of the mechanism. On their return, they were displayed in the London Science Museum. The seven-year delay had been caused by the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster which occurred in 1986 shortly before the intended flight. [5]

Ashford School International Centre

The Ashford School International Centre (ASIC) opened in September 2015. This section of the school has been designed to meet the needs of non-native English speaking pupils.

ASIC is an 18th-century Grade II listed building which has undergone a multimillion-pound refurbishment, providing classrooms alongside boarding rooms. International pupils complete IGCSE there before joining the rest of the school.

Notable alumni

Heads of Ashford School

References

  1. ↑ United Church Schools Trust website Archived May 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference".
  3. ↑ "History".[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ "Space shuttle mission STS-47 - Press kit". NASA. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  5. ↑ "Late bloom for crystal garden". The New Scientist. 2 January 1993. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  6. ↑ "Meet our Staff". Ashford School. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.

51°08′59″N0°52′42″E / 51.14972°N 0.87833°E / 51.14972; 0.87833

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