Orwell Park School
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Orwell Park School is a renowned British preparatory school in the rural Suffolk village of Nacton, founded in 1868. The school is set in more than 100 acres of parkland overlooking the River Orwell and accepts pupils from the age of 8 through to 13, although the associated 'pre-prep', Orwell Park Junior School, has, since 1995, accepted children from age 3. It is primarily known as a boarding school, although it also takes day pupils. In September 2004, it had 326 pupils, of both sexes. Girls have been admitted as boarders since 1991. Like many other prep schools, Orwell Park has a long history of traditions, among the more notable being daily 'charing' (cleaning of the school) during morning break, weekly dishwashing crews at tea time, and pupils referring to each other by surname.
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[edit] Houses
The school has 4 co-educational houses to which all pupils (day and boarder) are assigned:
Green Dragons;
Red Lions;
Blue Boars and;
Yellow Tigers.
The houses compete each year in a various sporting, academic, and extracurricular activities for the Horner Cup which is presented to the winning house on Speech Day (the last day of the academic year). The house that comes in last receives the wooden spoon.
[edit] The School Song
The school song is performed in its original Latin and is the source of much amusement for the pupils and staff alike (due to the utter ridiculousness of its translation);
Nil Desperandum! O legi pare;
Nil Desperandum, pro alma matre.
Virtus, constantia, vis, pietas!
Nulla perfringet navem tempestas.
Vera sunt verba inscripta fide;
Nil Desperandum Christo Duce.
Nil Desperandum! Constans esto,
Semper fidelis vexillo nostro,
Hujus praecepti memor usque,
Nil Desperandum Christo Duce.
Insuper caelum est caeruleum,
Caeruleum mare Britannicum.
Aurea lux est splendidi solis.
Tu quoque illos colores colis;
Potiris igitur hoc honore.
Nil Desperandum Christo Duce.
Nil Desperandum! Constans esto,
Semper fidelis vexillo nostro,
Hujus praecepti memor usque,
Nil Desperandum Christo Duce.
The chorus of the song forms the basis for the school motto "Nil Desperandum Christo Duce" (Never despair, Christ is with you).
[edit] The School Gates
The history of the school’s magnificent wrought-iron gates are shrouded in mystery. Rumors have always circulated in Nacton village that the impressive gates were plundered during the wars with the Spanish (some say by Admiral Vernon (1684-1757) who owned the Georgian mansion which later became the school). The gates were alleged to have sunk to the bottom of the River Orwell from a capsized pontoon as they were offloaded from a vessel anchored in the deep water on the far side of the estuary. The gates were recovered in 1850 and installed by a local blacksmith from Copdock, Robert Cook (1796-1880) and his son William (1820-1879) who became Nacton’s blacksmith.
In July of 2004 the gates were removed for the first time and sent to leading conservation experts Hodgsons for restoration. The work included seriously corroded sections with wrought iron and “puddling in” additional iron to consolidate the main areas affected. Structural elements of the gates that were beyond repair were replaced while support parts such as the pillars were carefully strengthened and repaired.
The gates were reopened on May 7, 2005 by Hazel Palmer, the great grand-daughter of William Cook and Sylvia Belle, the former Headmaster’s wife celebrating her 90th birthday year.
[edit] Past pupils
Former pupils of Orwell Park are referred to as "Old Orwellians".
[edit] Notable teachers
- Robert "Bob" Bass
Director of Studies and Head of Classics (Latin and Greek) at Orwell Park. Author of several school text books at the Common Entrance level. His Latin book series "Ab Initio" is a standard British prep school teaching aid.
Published Works:
- Ab Initio – A Latin Companion for Common Entrance, Books I, II and III, ISEB
- Ab Initio – A Reference Latin Grammar, ISEB
- A Latin Revision Reference Book for Common Entrance Levels I and 2, ISEB
- The Jason Story – A Latin Reader, ISEB
- Latin Word List, ISEB
