Brentwood School (England)

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Brentwood School
Motto Incipe
Established 1557
Type Public School
Founder Sir Antony Browne
Headmaster Ian Davies
Faculty 114 full time, 23 part time
Students 1,121
Grades Reception - Sixth Form
Location Brentwood, Essex, England
Website brentwoodschool.co.uk
Brentwood School

Brentwood School is a public school in Brentwood, Essex, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group of independent schools.

Contents

[edit] History

The school was founded in 1557 by Sir Antony Browne on the site where William Hunter, a young man of only nineteen years of age, was burned to death for refusing to accept the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Browne had sentenced Hunter when Justice of the Peace for the area under Queen Mary, and founded the school as penance for Hunter's martyrdom when Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne.

In the 1960s and early 70s the school was a Direct Grant school, becoming independent on the abolition of the scheme in the mid 1970s

The FoBS (Friends of Brentwood School) was founded in 1982 to help raise funds within the school, mainly via large events and excursions for pupils.

[edit] Today

The school is separated into three main sections: Senior School (ages 11 to 18), Preparatory School (ages 7 to 11) and Pre-Preparatory School (ages 3 to 7).

Originally the whole school was for boys, but in 1974 the Governors took the decision to allow a small number of girls to enter the Sixth form. The Girls School opened in 1986, admitting girls from ages 11 to 18, with the Preparatory School following suit in 1998.

The school has two mottos, Virtue, Learning and Manners and Incipe, the latter being a Latin motto (roughly meaning "to begin" or "to start") added in the 19th century.

The school is considered in terms of Independent Schools' A-Level results to be third division[1] (with there being five divisions of which Premier League is the highest).

In 2008 Brentwood School celebrated it's 450th anniversary in St. Paul's Cathedral.

[edit] Sport

The School is notable for its sporting achievements, particularly in football and fencing. The school has consistently performed well as part of the Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA), winning the national Boodle and Dunthorne ISFA cup in 2002. It has also been historically successful in the prestigious Public Schools Fencing Championships, winning the overall title 32 times since 1962, with the last team victory coming in 2006. The school has had students and teachers win medals for fencing at the World and Commonwealth Games. Additionally, Brentwood has produced national and international standard squash, cricket and netball players, among others. A number of improvements in sporting facilities have been made in recent years. These include a 25 metre indoor swimming pool and learner pool, a fitness suite, 4 additional glass-backed squash courts and an indoor rifle range. The school is set in 70 acres of grounds and has two playing fields, one situated directly on the school site and another, the Heseltines, adjacent to the school. These contain many football, rugby, cricket and hockey pitches, an all-weather pitch, tennis and netball courts and an athletics track and field as well as a woods used for cross-country runs.

[edit] Drama and Music

The school hosts various theatrical performances and shows. In one academic year the theatrical line up usually consists of a winter/spring play, a sixth form comedy charity show, a dance show alongside various other acts.

The school's musical performances match the popularity of the drama productions. Brentwood often hosts concerts such as the orchestral concerts and chamber concerts comprising of the school's big band, orchestra and choir.

There is also an exchange program in the school where those involved in the musical activities and preform. There are also exchange programs for the language students to go on.

[edit] Senior School

Between the ages of 11 and 16 (up to GCSE level), boys and girls are taught separately. After this, in the Sixth Form, teaching is co-educational.

  • Age range: 11 - 18
  • Day pupils: 649 male, 399 female, £12,144 to £12,144 (min/max annual fees)
  • Full boarding: 46 male, 27 female, £21,426 to £21,426 (min/max annual fees)
  • Total Pupils: 695 male, 426 female
  • Including 6th form/FE: 179 male, 116 female
  • Staff numbers: 114 full time, 23 part time
  • Method of entry: School exam.
  • Professional affiliations: HMC, IAPS, ISC, AGBIS (formerly GBA and GBGSA)
  • Religious affiliation: Church of England

Entrance in to the school at Year 7 is by an Entrance Examination, testing students' skills in Arithmetic, Writing and General Problem Solving, Verbal Reasoning. Scholarships can be offered to entrants based on five aspects:

  • Academic Merit in the Entrance Examination

Talent in:

  • Music
  • Sport
  • Art
  • Drama

Bursaries are also offered to entrants under special conditions.

[edit] Houses

There are five day houses named North Town, South Town, East Town, West Town and Weald, together with two boarding houses, Mill Hill for girls and Hough for boys. These together make up a sixth house, School house. Prior to the mid-1940s, the school was entirely boarding but, as Brentwood grew into the large commuter town that it is now, demand for day education increased and accordingly the number of boarding houses were reduced. It remains one of only a select few schools in the country in which boarding students have their own rooms rather than shared dormitories. The boarding house consists of mainly academic individuals from other countries, namely China, Russia and India, who must pass an internal exam to gain entrance.

Each House has its own tie in House colours; competitions in sports, music, drama, debating and various other activities are held on a regular basis. The North Town colour is yellow, the South town colour is red, the East Town colour is light blue, the West Town colour is dark blue, the Weald colour is burgundy, the Hough (boy's boarding) colour is a thick maroon with two boardering white stripes and the School (girls boarding) House colour is green.

[edit] Notable Old Brentwoods

See also: Category:Old Brentwoods

[edit] References

  1. ^ Telegraph Independent Schools A-Level Results
  2. ^ Dunlop PSA World Rankings
  3. ^ Betts, Graham (2006). England: Player by player. Green Umbrella Publishing, p.181. ISBN 1-905009-63-1. 
  4. ^ see http://www.airmuseum.ca/mag/exag0311.html

[edit] External links


Coordinates: 51°37′13″N, 0°18′25″E