West Buckland School
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West Buckland School is an English independent school located on the outskirts of the village of West Buckland on the edge of Exmoor, 8 miles east of Barnstaple, Devon. A member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, it comprises a senior school, preparatory school and nursery. There are approximately 700 pupils, of whom around 100 board; 40% of boarders are from abroad. The day pupils are drawn from a wide area of North Devon and many use the large and complex school bussing operation.
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[edit] History
West Buckland School was founded as the Devon County School in 1858 by Rev. J.L. Brereton to provide a public school education for sons of farmers and the middle class. The foundation stone of the Gothic-style buildings was laid in October 1860 by Earl Fortescue, who had provided land and other support for the school.
Under the first headmaster, J.H. Thompson, numbers rose to 150 by 1876 and then declined as a consequence of agricultural depression and competition from other schools.
In the winter of 1912/13 the school was renamed West Buckland School.
During the 1950s it received increasing support from the Devon County Educational authority and became a direct grant school. In 1976, when direct grants were abolished, it finally became a fully independent school.
[edit] Houses
The four houses of West Buckland School are:
- Brereton
- Courtenay
- Fortescue
- Grenville
[edit] Motto
Read and Reap
[edit] Boarding
As is common in many Public Schools, there is a strong tradition of boarding at the School. There are three main boarding houses. These are as follows Bamfylde - This boarding house is situated on the preparatory school site, and caters for girls aged 5 - 16 Boyer House - This house is for boys aged 5-18 The Gables - Boarding for sixth form girls aged 16-18 Each of the boarding houses has its own warden/matron, along with prefect duties awarded to senior pupils within the house, given charge of younger students.
[edit] Langholme
The West Buckland Preparatory School is known as Langholme, providing for 5 to 11 year olds. There is also a nursery on site, along with boarding for Langholme pupils in the Bamfylde boarding house.
[edit] Notable alumni
A former student of West Buckland School is known as an Old Boy. There is an Old Boys association which meet in London on an annual basis, and throughout the year it is common for games of both cricket and rugby to be played between the Old Boys and the first XI.
- R. F. Delderfield, playwright and novelist. His book and television series To Serve Them All My Days was closely based on West Buckland School.
- Brian Aldiss, author of science fiction and general fiction.
- Jonathan Edwards, triple jump world record holder, Olympic Games gold medalist and former world champion.
- Victor Ubogu, former England rugby player.
- Stephen Ojomoh, former Bath and England rugby player.
- John Ashworth, former Director of London School of Economics.
[edit] Speech Day
Every year on the third Saturday in September, the school holds its annual speech day and prize giving ceremony. This involves pupils who have achieved both educational and sporting excellence in all fields to be rewarded both for their effort and their contribution to the success of the school. It is common for the more successful Old Boy's to be invited back to make speeches on speech day, along with a customary speech by the serving headmaster of the school.
[edit] Headmaster
The current headmaster of West Buckland School is John Vick, who has been in post since September 1997.
[edit] External links
- School website
- Main index page
- Old West Buckland Association
- Independent Schools Inspectorate report 2004
[edit] References
- Coates, Berwick: West Buckland School: The Millennium Book (Halsgrove, 2000)
- Edmunds, Jon.: A history of West Buckland School (Aycliffe Press, 1983)
- Honey, J.R. de S.: Tom Brown’s Universe, The Development of the Victorian Public School (pp 47-103) (Millington, 1977)
