Aldenham School
| Aldenham School | |
 |
|
| Motto | In God Is All Our Trust |
| Established | 1597 |
| Type | Independent |
| Headmaster | Mr James Fowler |
| Chairman of Governors | JS Lewis DL, FCIS |
| Founder | Richard Platt |
| Location | Elstree Hertfordshire WD6 3AJ  |
| Students | c.600 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 3 to 18 |
| Houses | 7 houses |
| School colours | Black and Gold |
| Website | www.aldenham.com |
| Coordinates: | |
Aldenham School is a public school and preparatory school located in Hertfordshire, England, near the village of Aldenham.
History
The school was founded in 1596 by Richard Platt, a proprietor of a London brewery and Master of the Brewers' Company in 1576 and 1581. In 1596 Queen Elizabeth I granted him letters patent to build "the Free Grammar School and Almshouses" at Aldenham; the foundation stone was laid in 1597. Before Platt died in 1600 he obtained an endowment for the School by a covenant between himself and the Brewers' Company. It became a village elementary school, taking in private pupils.
In the 19th century an investigation by the Education Charities Commission of the Poor led to the Tudor Grammar School being demolished and replaced by two new schools: a lower school providing an elementary education for the local population, and a grammar school for fee paying boarders.
The school has expanded and girls have been admitted throughout, thus paving the way for the school to become fully co-educational.
In November 2000 a new music school was opened by Dame Janet Baker. In September 2005 the new classroom block was opened.
Currently work is under-way for the Theatre Department (Due to finish October 2007) to modernise and improve the facilites including and new control room and seating.
Quatercentenary
In 1997, Aldenham celebrated its 400th anniversary, or Quatercentenary, which led to what was know at 'The 400 Appeal' being established. Through different events the appeal aimed to raise as much money as possible, to help the school expand ready for the 21st century.
The Quatercentenary began with a launch party with fireworks and a re-enactment of Richard Platt receiving the letters patent from Elizabeth I to build the school. The guest for the evening was Cilla Black.
There was also an OA Reunion Day and a 'Festival of the Car', along with a football match: Aldenham vs Watford F.C.
The school was also visited during the year by HRH The Princess Royal, who came to open the new artificial turf pitch that had been built as a result of money raised by the appeal.
Houses
Aldenham has seven Houses: three boarding houses, two day houses, one girls' house, and one junior house.
- McGill's - (Gold)
- Beevor's - (Red)
- Paull's - (Sky Blue)
- Kennedy's - (Orange)
- Leeman's - (Pink)
- Riding's - (Blue)
- Martineau's - (Green)
The three oldest houses (McGill's, Beevor's and Paull's) are each named after their first Housemaster. Before 1991 there was also School House, split into Odds and Evens, but in 1991 School House was divided into Leeman's (Evens) and Riding's (Odds). In 2003, Paull's became the girls' house in preparation for the conversion to co-education.
Headmasters
- James Fowler (2006-Present)
- Richard Harman (2000-2006)
- Stephen Borthwick (1994-2000)
- Michael Higginbottom (1983-1994)
- Peter Boorman (1974-1983)
- Paul Griffin (1962-1974)
- Geoffrey Mason (1949-1961)
- George Riding (1933-1949)
- Harvey Beck (1920-1933)
- Alfred Cooke (1900-1920)
- John Kennedy (1877-1899)
- Alfred Leeman (1843-1876)
- Thomas Spyers (1836-1842)
- Richard Foster (1834-1836)
- Jonathan Wilkinson (1824-1833)
Prior to 1824, before the school was rebuilt, the Headmaster was known as the Master:
- Joseph Summersby (1823-1825)
- Methusalem Davies (1800-1823)
- John Griffin (1792-1799)
- Rice Hughes (1785-1792)
- Samuel White (1774-1785)
- Joseph Cantrell (1767-1774)
- William Ellis (1757-1767)
- Gilber Allenson (1738-1757)
- Allen Allenson (1714-1738)
- Francis Thompson (1703-1714)
- John Button (1703-1703)
- Randolph Nicoll (1678-1703)
- William Swayne (1673-1678)
- Andrew Campion (1663-1673)
- William Elliot (1653-1663)
- Jeremy Collier (1648-1653)
- Robert Cresswell (1643-1648)
- Christopher Smyth (1634-1643)
- Roland Greenwood (1623-1634)
- Thomas Neale (1598-1623)
Notable Old Aldenhamians
- William Josiah Sumner Hammersley (1826–1886), journalist, sportsman, co-founder of Australian rules football
- Colonel Sir Robert Edis (1839–1927), architect
- Sir Alfred Gilbert (1854–1934), sculptor and goldsmith
- Sir William Laird Clowes (1856–1905), naval writer
- Stanley Owen Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster (1861–1934), politician, judge and Lord Chancellor, 1915–1916
- Arnold McNair, 1st Baron McNair (1885–1975), legal scholar, judge of the International Court of Justice, 1946–1959, and first President of the European Court of Human Rights, 1959–1965
- Sir Wallace Akers (1888–1954),
chemist and Director of Research, ICI, 1944–1953 - Sir Kenneth Pickthorn (1892–1975), historian, politician, and President of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 1937–1944
- General Sir Richard Gale (1896–1982), General Officer Commanding 6th Airborne Division, 1943–1945, GOC British Airborne Corps, 1945, and Commander-in-Chief, British Army of the Rhine, 1952–1956
- Sir Bryan Sharwood-Smith (1899–1983), Governor of Northern Nigeria, 1954–1957
- Thomas Rice Henn (1901–1974), literary scholar and writer
- Bill Williams (1905–1996), film production designer
- Raleigh Ashlin Skelton (1906–1970), cartographical historian
- Jack de Manio (1914–1988), radio broadcaster
- Sir Michael Kerr (1921–2002), High Court Judge and Lord Justice of Appeal
- Sir Kenneth Warren (born 1926), politician
- Sir Denys Roberts, Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong, 1973–1978, and Chief Justice of Hong Kong, 1978–1988
- Sir David Mitchell (born 1928), politician
- Field Marshal Richard Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill (born 1931), Chief of the Defence Staff, 1991–1992
- Peter Dawes, Bishop of Derby, 1988–1995
- Geoffrey Hewlett Thompson, Bishop of Exeter, 1985–1999
- Sir Hugh Laddie (born 1946), High Court Judge
- Sir Martin Sweeting, Director of the Surrey Space Centre and Chief Execuutive Officer of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd
- Dale Winton (born 1955), television presenter
- Karren Brady (born 1969), Managing Director of Birmingham City FC
If...
Aldenham was used to film some of the inside scenes in the 1968 classic British film If..., starring Malcolm McDowell and directed by Lindsay Anderson. The most frequently used room was the main school Dining Room containing the portrait of Aldenham's founder Richard Platt.
External links
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