New Beacon School

Last updated

The New Beacon
Address
New Beacon School
Brittains Lane

Sevenoaks
,
Kent
,
TN13 2PB

England
Coordinates 51°15′44″N0°10′37″E / 51.2621°N 0.1769°E / 51.2621; 0.1769
Information
Former nameThe Beacon School
Type Preparatory School
Motto Latin: Ex Fumo Dare Lucem
(Give light out of darkness)
Established1863;161 years ago (1863)
FounderJohn S. Norman
HeadSarah Brownsdon
Gender Boys
Age4to 13
Enrolmentc. 360
Colour(s)Red and navy   
Website www.newbeacon.org.uk

The New Beacon Preparatory School is an independent all-boys preparatory school, located at Sevenoaks in the English county of Kent. It admits both day students and boarders aged between 4 and 13. The school also now offers a co-educational nursery for children 3 years of age and over. The school was founded in 1863, and has been on the current site since 1900. It had 62 students in 1913, and had grown to 400 students by 2008. [1]

Contents

History

In the spring term 1882, John Stewart Norman and his friend Frank Ritchie took over The Beacon, which had been established as a Preparatory school in 1863 at 18 St John's Road, Sevenoaks. As the numbers in the school grew, larger premises were needed, leading to the decision in October 1897 to build a new boarding school in Sevenoaks. Land was acquired from Lord Amherst's Montreal Park estate at Cross Keys, and construction of The New Beacon began in February 1899. The new building was ready by the end of the Autumn Term 1899. [2]

In January 1900 the New Beacon opened for the (continued) education of boys in a building with a capacity for 60 boarders. The exterior of the building changed little over the century, but the addition of a chapel in 1912 meant that the children no longer had to walk to Kippington. By 1913 the school had grown to 62 pupils and the fees were £120 per year for boarding and tuition, plus £1 11s 6d for medical attendance. Other facilities included swimming baths, a miniature rifle range, a playground and two sports fields. During the First World War, staffing was depleted and the school's grounds and gardens had to be tended by staff and pupils. Just over two decades later, during the Second World War, the New Beacon continued with, as at 16 September 1939, 35 boarders. Female staff were recruited and some girls were educated at the school during the war. [2] Thirty-seven former pupils were killed during the Great War, including John Alexander Thynne, Viscount Weymouth, eldest son of 5th Marquess of Bath, killed near Vermelles on 16 February 1916. [3] Another 75 Beaconians fell in the Second World War. Their names are noted on a memorial in the chapel. [4]

Post-war changes and the increase in day boys

After the war numbers continued to grow and the roll call was over 120 pupils in 1948. Over the next few decades, the school tripled in size. The appointment of Rowland Constantine in 1976 saw the end of a long run of headmasters from the Norman family; Constantine was in post for 32 years. [2]

The New Beacon is now predominantly a day school. In 2008 Mike Piercy was appointed as Headmaster and served until 2023. Mrs Sarah Brownsdon is the current incumbent. [5]

Notable alumni

Arts and literature

Military

Politics

Sport

Church

Other

Headmasters

The Beacon

The New Beacon

Controversy

In 2014, the Charity Commission for England and Wales urged New Beacon School to apologise to a former pupil in respect of statements made by the school to the Press. [12] The statements related to allegations made by the boy against Paul Woodward, a former music teacher, for abusing him at the school between 2005 and 2006. [13] In 2013, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) made an award to the boy in compensation for the abuse the CICA found he had suffered. The Sevenoaks Chronicle reported that Woodward, who was convicted of sexual misconduct offences against other children and sent to prison indefinitely had been suspended from his post at the school during a previous police investigation involving allegations of sexual abuse but had been allowed back to work by a previous headmaster. [14] The school apologised to the child in 2015, and applauded him for his bravery in bringing Woodward to justice. The victim said that the apology came "too late". [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Hill School</span> Public school in Mill Hill, London

Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational private, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton College</span> Public school in Bristol, England

Clifton College is a public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike most contemporary public schools, it emphasised science rather than classics in the curriculum, and was less concerned with social elitism, for example by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated boarding house for Jewish boys, called Polack's House. Having linked its General Studies classes with Badminton School, it admitted girls to every year group in 1987, and was the first of the traditional boys' public schools to become fully coeducational. Polack's House closed in 2005 but a scholarship fund open to Jewish candidates still exists. Clifton College is one of the original 26 English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Yearbook of 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fettes College</span> School in Edinburgh, Scotland

Fettes College is a co-educational private boarding and day school in Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In 1978 the College had a nine-hole golf course, an ice-skating rink used in winter for ice hockey and in summer as an outdoor swimming pool, a cross-country running track and a rifle shooting range within the forested 300-acre grounds. Fettes is sometimes referred to as a public school, although that term was traditionally used in Scotland for state schools. The school was founded with a bequest of Sir William Fettes in 1870 and started admitting girls in 1970. It follows the English rather than the Scottish education system and has nine houses. The main building, called the Bryce Building, was designed by David Bryce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Repton School</span> Public school in Repton, Derbyshire, England

Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bromsgrove School</span> Public school in Worcestershire, England

Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longleat</span> Stately home in Wiltshire, England

Longleat is a stately home about 4 miles (7 km) west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sevenoaks School</span> Public school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England

Sevenoaks School is a selective coeducational English public school, with provision for day attendees in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. It is the second oldest non-denominational school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432, only behind Oswestry (1407). Around 1,200 day pupils and boarders attend, ranging in age from 11 to 18 years. There are approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. In 2006 it became the first major UK school to switch entirely from A level exams to the International Baccalaureate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Leys School</span> Public school in Cambridge, England

The Leys School is a co-educational private school in Cambridge, England. It is a boarding and day school for about 574 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen, and the head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath</span> British politician (1905–1992)

Henry Frederick Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath, styled Lord Henry Thynne until 1916 and Viscount Weymouth between 1916 and 1946, was a British aristocrat, landowner, and Conservative Party politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loretto School</span> School in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland

Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies 85 acres (34 ha) in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrekin College</span> Public school in Shropshire, England

Wrekin College is a private co-educational boarding and day school located in Wellington, Shropshire, England. It was founded by Sir John Bayley in 1880. It is now co-located with a preparatory school, The Old Hall School, founded by 1835. The two schools merged their governance and formed one trust in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop's Stortford College</span> Public school in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Bishop's Stortford College is a private boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for more than 1,200 pupils aged 4–18, situated in a 130-acre (0.53 km2) campus on the edge of the market town of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.

Horris Hill, is an independent day and boarding preparatory school for boys aged 4–13. It is located in Hampshire in England, south of Newbury in Berkshire and near the village of Newtown. The school was founded on its present site in 1888 by A. H. Evans, a master at Winchester College. It is located within an 85-acre estate. Expats make up 15% of the total number of pupils at the school.

Warminster School is a co-educational private boarding and day school in Warminster, Wiltshire, England, for pupils aged three to eighteen. Initially established in 1707, the school took its current form in 1973 with the amalgamation of Lord Weymouth's Grammar School and St Monica's. It now comprises the Preparatory School, for pupils aged three to eleven, and the Senior School for students aged eleven to eighteen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth</span> British peer

Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth was a British peer in the peerage of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caldicott School</span> Preparatory school in Buckinghamshire, England

Caldicott Preparatory School is a prep school for boys aged 7–13 in southern Buckinghamshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Aubyns School</span> Preparatory day and boarding school in Brighton, East Sussex, England

St. Aubyns School was a boys' preparatory school in Rottingdean, East Sussex, England, which in its final years became co-educational and taught children of both sexes between the ages of three and thirteen. The school was founded in 1895, taking over the premises of another school which had been founded in the 18th century by Thomas Hooker, the local vicar who was also reputedly a lookout for the local smugglers.

Wellesley Haddon Dene School is a private day preparatory school in the coastal town of Broadstairs in the English county of Kent. Founded in 1866, it educates boys and girls aged 3 to 11. The merger of Haddon Dene School with Wellesley House School to form the newly named Wellesley Haddon Dene School in 2022, was associated with plans to expand. The school also includes a number of pupils with Special educational needs and disability (SEND).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherborne Preparatory School</span> Private preparatory day and boarding school in Sherborne, Dorset, England

Sherborne Preparatory School is a non-selective co-educational preparatory school in the town of Sherborne, Dorset in southern England. It is an independent preparatory school which merged with Sherborne School in April 2021. It continues to benefit from close links with the nearby Sherborne Girls. Pupils generally go on to other independent schools with a large proportion moving onto the Sherborne Schools as well as other schools, predominantly in South West England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springvale House</span> School in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe

Springvale House Preparatory School is an independent, preparatory, boarding and day school in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe that was established in 1952. The school shares facilities with Peterhouse Girls' School on the Springvale Estate of approximately 1,200 acres (490 ha) with Gosho Park, a conservation area on the estate, being adjacent to the two schools. The majority of the pupil population are boarders while the remainder are day scholars.

References

  1. ↑ "School History". New Beacon School. Retrieved 31 August 2015. (The school's History webpage suggests Constantine was headmaster from 1976 and served 32 years, so when "numbers grew to reach four hundred with excellence at Common Entrance and Scholarship examinations being maintained" that would be 2008.)
  2. 1 2 3 Barty-King, Hugh (2000). The New Beacon. Great Britain: The Bath Press. ISBN   0356219518.
  3. ↑ "Longleat's fallen heir – John Alexander Thynne | Wiltshire at War". www.wiltshireatwar.org.uk. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "History". New Beacon School. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  5. ↑ "Head's Welcome". New Beacon School. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Spurling, Hilary (2018). Anthony Powell. Great Britain: Penguin. ISBN   9780141030791.
  7. ↑ Brendon, Vyvyen (2009). Prep School Children: A Class Apart. Great Britain: Bloomsbury. ISBN   1847062873.
  8. ↑ "First World War journals of Tunbridge Wells poet Siegfried Sassoon go online", Kent & Sussex Courier, 4 August 2014. Accessed 16 Feb 2015
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Sports News". New Beacon School. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "OTS President's Message". Tonbridge Connect. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Eton School Clerks Record 1907-1924 Index B". Eton College Archives.
  12. ↑ Doug Kempster (24 October 2014). "Charity body urges The New Beacon School to reconsider apology over "predatory paedophile"". Sevenoaks Chronicle.
  13. ↑ "Music teacher at prep school jailed for sexual abuse of boys". The Telegraph. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Teacher was suspended then allowed back to work". Kent and Sussex Courier. 13 November 2008.
  15. ↑ Doug Kempster (30 April 2015). "Sevenoaks school apology for sexual abuse 'too late' for teacher's victim". Sevenoaks Chronicle.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.