This article is about the school in London, England. For the school in Research, Australia see Eltham College of Education.
| Eltham College | |
| Motto | Gloria Filiorum Patres (The glory of sons is their fathers - Proverbs 17: 6) |
| Established | 1842 (re-established 1852) |
| Type | Independent day school |
| Headmaster | P.J. Henderson |
| Location | Mottingham London England |
| LEA | Bromley |
| Students | c. 800 |
| Houses | Carey Chalmers Livingstone Moffat |
| Former Pupils | Old Elthamians |
| Gender | Boys (with coeducational sixth form) |
| Website | eltham-college.org.uk |
Eltham College is an independent school situated in Mottingham in south-east London. Eltham and Mottingham once formed part of the same parish, hence its name.
Contents |
Early history
The school dates back to 1842 when it was founded as the London Missionary Society's School for the Sons and Orphans of Missionaries. A girls' school had been established in Walthamstow in 1837 and a boys' school was opened in the same place at the beginning of 1842. The boys' school later relocated to Mornington Crescent in 1852 and then to a purpose-built location in the centre of Blackheath in 1857[1] (the old school building became the headquarters of the Church Army and is now a private hospital). Missionary David Livingstone sent his sons to the school while it was in Blackheath[2].
Current site
The school moved to its present site of 15 hectares / 36 acres - centred around an 18th century mansion (Fairy Hall) in Mottingham - in 1912. The building had previously been used by the Royal Naval School from 1889 to the end of the summer term in 1910.
Eltham College began life as a small boarding school catering for children of missionaries serving overseas, mainly in India, China and Africa. Since the 1950s, the college has become primarily a day school for boys with a co-educational sixth form since 1981. Reflecting the origins of the school, each of the four houses is named after a prominent LMS missionary, namely Carey, Livingstone, Chalmers and Moffat; coloured blue, green, red and yellow respectively.
The school buildings have been progressively modernised and extended over the last few decades, with the addition of new sports facilities, science labs, theatre, a music school and Junior School facilities. In 2005, a "drop-off and pick-up zone" car-park was constructed on the foremost playing field of the school, due to the overcrowding of the original car park.
Headmasters
Blackheath
The school's headmasters at Blackheath[3] were:
- 1852-1866: William George Lemon
- 1866-1868: James Scottdik
- 1869-1870: Charles Dugard Makepeace
- 1870-1875: Revd Edward J Chincock
- 1875-1892: Revd Edward Waite
- 1893-1914: Walter Branerd Haward
Mottingham
- 1930-1959: Geoffrey Turberville
- 1959-1983: Christopher Porteous
- 1983-1990: Christopher Waller
- 1990-2000: Malcolm Green
- 2000-present: Paul B. J. Henderson
Redevelopment
Henderson has continued the school's programme of building and development started by Christopher Waller, including a controversial major redevelopment to the front of the College, the Junior School and Music School.
Notable Old Elthamians
(in alphabetical order)
- Statistician Philip Bailey
- Historian Stuart Ball
- Philosopher Piers Benn
- Politician Fenner Brockway - one of the last pupils to attend the school when it was located in Blackheath[2]
- Author and broadcaster Charlie Connelly
- "Britain's worst professional tennis player" Robert Dee[4]
- Neuroscientist Stephen Dunnett
- Physicist Frank Farmer[5]
- Organist Stephen Farr
- Jamie Harris, Newport Gwent Dragons rugby player
- Anglican priest and hymn writer Christopher Idle
- Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools in the UK Government
- Olympic athlete Eric Liddell, after whom the sports hall is named
- Johan Malcolm, Leicestershire county cricket player
- Gormenghast author Mervyn Peake, after whom the library is named
- Onanist David Sanger
- Anglican priest and hymn writer Michael Saward
Notes and references
- ^ Rhind, N. (1993) Blackheath Village & Environs, 1790-1990, Vol.1 The Village and Blackheath Vale (Bookshop Blackheath, London), p.117.
- ^ a b Rhind, N. (1993) Blackheath Village & Environs, 1790-1990, Vol.1 The Village and Blackheath Vale (Bookshop Blackheath, London), p.118.
- ^ Rhind, N. (1993) Blackheath Village & Environs, 1790-1990, Vol.1 The Village and Blackheath Vale (Bookshop Blackheath, London), p.119.
- ^ Article from Daily Mail
- ^ Obituary from The Independent
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