Stonar School, founded in 1895, is a non-denominational independent day and boarding school, at Cottles Park, near Atworth, Wiltshire, south-west England.[1] The school occupies 80 acres of parkland and gardens in a location about 8 miles from Bath. There are about 420 pupils from 2 to 18 years old, with approximately 100 in the prep school section and 320 in the secondary section.
The school was established in 1895 as a girls' school at Stour House, Sandwich, Kent, and adopted the Stonar name when it moved to the larger Stonar House, also in Sandwich.[2][3] The school was evacuated to Cottles House when the Sandwich premises were requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence in 1939.[2]
The school was acquired in 2013[2] by Globeducate, a subsidiary of American private equity firmProvidence Equity, which operates over 50 schools in several countries.[4] Boys began to be accepted by the school in 2016 and it became fully coeducational.[2]
Cottles House
The Grade II-listed Cottles House was designed by Thomas Jelly and John Palmer of Bath as a country house for Robert Hale, and built in 1775–78 on the site of an earlier house belonging to the Hale family.[5] The name comes from the Cotel family who held the manor (also known as Little Atworth) in the 13th century.[6]
The house was extended c.1832 by H.E. Goodridge, who also designed St Michael's church at Atworth.[5][7] The result is described by Historic England as "rambling L-plan" and by Pevsner as "early 19th-century Gothick".[8]
The room which is now the school library has a late 16th-century stone chimney piece with caryatids, which may have come from the earlier house;[6] Pevsner states it is splendid but "much too big for the house".[8] Elsewhere, joinery including doors and window shutters is from the early 19th century, and there are Adam-style fireplaces on the first floor.[5]
Equestrian education
Stonar offers an equestrian education alongside the academic curriculum.[citation needed] Facilities include an indoor school, an 80 x 40m surfaced arena, four cross-country courses and stabling for up to 65 horses and ponies. Guest trainers include Mary King.[citation needed]
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