Rougemont School

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Rougemont School


Motto:	Giving children a head start
Established:	1920
Type:	Independent, selective and coeducational school
Students:	700
Location:	Newport, Wales, United Kingdom
Headmaster:	Dr. Jonathan Tribbick, BA, LLB, MCMI
Affiliations:	Independent Schools Council

Rougemont School (sometimes Rougemont Independent School) is an independent, selective and mixed-sex school based around the manor-house Llantarnam Hall on the outskirts of the city of Newport.

The school offers education for 3 - 18 year olds. Pupil numbers hover around the 700 mark. The annual fees for attending Rougemont are between £5,400 and £8,200 - depending on age. There are 78 full-time staff and 10 part-time. Aside from financial requirements, pupils are expected to take an examination and be interviewed for entry into the school.

In 2002 the school was rated ninth best in Wales.^{[citation needed]}

The headmaster is Dr. Jonathan Tribbick, who inherited the mantle from Mr Ian Brown, the former Bursar and Development Manager who took the helm in 1995.

[edit] History

The school was founded in 1920 and housed in a building known as Rougemont House on Clevedon Road, Newport. The school expanded into the house next door in 1931 under the ownership of the Evans family. By 1946, the school was housed in Nant Coch House, Risca Road, Newport, and the number of pupils increased to around two hundred.

When Mr and Mrs Evans retired in 1974, a group of parents raised a loan to buy the school and a board of nine governors was elected. The Stow Hill buildings, formerly housing the Convent of St Joseph were purchased, and provision was extended first to Common Entrance level, then to O-levels. Finally the first A-levels were taken in 1983 under the leadership of Mr Frank Edwards. Nant Coch was retained as a pre-preparatory department.

The following years saw two changes of leadership, namely Headmasters Mr Richard Ham (1988 - 1991) and Mr Graham Sims (1991 - 1995). Richard Ham's tenure as Headmaster was cut short by his sudden death in 1991 as a result of blood infection.

Under the headship of Graham Sims the school moved to the present building, Llantarnam Hall, a large Victorian mansion set in 50 acres of parkland on the outskirts of Newport, in 1992. The premises at Stow Hill were sold to developers and are now comprised of luxury apartments. Nant Coch House was sold and developed into modern houses, which caused consternation amongst local residents who felt that the old building should have been preserved.