Edge Grove

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Edge Grove is a prep school, in Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. The school takes boys and girls aged between three and 13 years. Like many schools founded in the first half of the 20th century, it began with the military model: single-sex, spartan dormitories, mostly boarding, and boys organised into five squads: Hedgerows, Sarnesfield, Churchill, Stratton, Gills etc. Over the years, as warfare faded from the career expectations of its pupils, and money became more plentiful and parents assert their rights as customers, the model has become much more hotel-like, albeit with strong discipline and reputation for education.

In the past, the school staff was dynastic, with two generations of Pratt as headmaster (both ex-Navy), two generations of Waterfield as headmaster (again both ex-Navy), a clutch of Brooksmiths and a smattering of Harts teaching History, Science and Geography. But the arrival and comparatively rapid departure of John Baugh (to the Dragon School) in the 1990s changed the ethos and disappointed the many old boys, parents and former teachers connected with the school who prized loyalty over career ambition and personal wealth.