St. John's School, Leatherhead

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St John's School
Motto Quae Sursum Sunt Quaerite (Latin: Seek those things which are above)
Established 1851
Type Public School
Religious affiliation C of E
Head Master NJR Haddock MBE MA
Founder Ashby Haslewood
Location Leatherhead
Surrey
EnglandFlag of England
Students 470 (approx.)
Gender Mixed (6th Only)
Ages 13 to 18
School colours Green and White

         
Former pupils Old Johnians
Visitor The Most Revd & Rt Hon The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury
Patron HRH The Duchess of Gloucester CVO
Website www.stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk

St. John's School, Leatherhead is a public school in Surrey, England. It has about 420 male pupils and 60 female pupils. Originally formed for the sons of the Clergy in the 1850s, it has relocated from St. John's Wood, London to its current residence in Leatherhead. Founded in 1851, originally as a boarding school for the sons of Clergy, it moved to its present site in 1872. On the edge of Leatherhead, it comprises 50 acres of grounds dominated by the late-Victorian Gothic buildings. There have been some modern additions providing excellent facilities and accommodation, most recently a sixth form girls' house and a performing arts centre. Although the school looks for all-rounders, the aim is for academic excellence and examination results are good. It is a Church of England foundation with a lively chapel life that supports the strong pastoral framework of the house system; attendance at worship is both compulsory and encouraged. The music, drama and art departments are very active and many pupils are involved in theatrical presentations each year. The school has a long-standing reputation for achievement in games and sports, and games are held 5 days a week. There is substantial commitment to local community schemes and an outstanding record in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and CCF.

Contents

[edit] History

The school was founded in 1851 as St John's Foundational School for the Sons of Poor Clergy. Its founder was a clergyman, Ashby Haslewood, who was vicar of St Mark's, Hamilton Terrace in St John's Wood, north London. He had a dual purpose in founding the school - to offer free education for the sons of poor clergymen and to provide a choir for his large church.

A view of the St John's Quad
A view of the St John's Quad

The school was a success but the dual purpose imposed restrictions. So in 1854 the school moved outside the parish boundaries of St Mark's into neighbouring Kilburn. This was the first of three moves before the school moved to Leatherhead in 1872. Reverend Edward Connerford Hawkins was one of the first headmasters, when the school was still at Clapton in north-east London. He and his wife Jane Isabella Grahame (an aunt of Kenneth Grahame, author of Wind in the Willows) brought up their family there; their son Anthony Hope, who also grew up to be an author, was educated at the school until he was old enough to be sent to Marlborough College.

Despite much progress, it remained essentially a charity school until the significant headmastership of Arthur Rutty (HM 1883 - 1909) when the school developed all the characteristics of a public school.

The school began to attract fee-paying parents while remaining loyal to the sons of poor clergymen. The school expanded throughout the twentieth century despite the problems faced by all public schools due to the Depression. After the Second World War, St John's was fortunate to attract the interest of Bernard Law Montgomery, Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, himself the son of a clergyman, who was chairman of the governing body from 1951 to 1966. Monty's contribution to the development of the school was enormous - he promoted it, raised money for it and gave generously of his own time and wealth.

Front Entrance of St John's
Front Entrance of St John's
St John's Dining Hall in snow
St John's Dining Hall in snow


Since the 1970s St John's, while maintaining a substantial boarding community, has taken in an increasing number of day pupils and in 1989 the first Sixth Form girls entered the school.

Distinguished old boys of the school include the eminent contemporary architect Lord Rogers and the legendary dance band leader, Victor Sylvester. It is currently a community of 450 pupils. It continues to remain loyal to the principles of its foundation and offers subsidised education to the sons and daughters of clergymen. The school is well known for its impressive architecture (including several listed buildings), intimate atmosphere and strong public school ethos, it is also one of the few remaining schools to operate a 6-day week.


[edit] House system

St John's is divided into 7 Houses each with its own characteristics and Housemaster, four of these contain a mixture of both day and boarding pupils whilst three are purely for day boys. The Houses all center around the main Quad on the Cloisters which hosts a war memorial to commemorate both the First and Second World Wars. Houses are known for their strong individual characteristics and competitiveness in sport, music and drama.

  •           Churchill
  •           East
  •           Montgomery (Monty)
  •           North
  •           South
  •           Surrey
  •           West

South - recently renamed from Hallaton - is the girls' house and comprises two buildings. Hallaton is for the L6th boarders and day girls, while a new building (completed in 2005) called Fairfield is used by the U6th - be they day or boarding girls - and full time boarders of either year.

[edit] Sports and Co-Curricular Activities

The main sports of the school are rugby, football and cricket, while it also competes strongly in tennis, squash, badminton, hockey, swimming and athletics. There is strong rivalry with local schools such as Epsom College, Charterhouse and Cranleigh, most matches are played on Saturdays after academic school. The main school pitches are located adjacent to the estate in the heart of Surrey. St John's has a keen competitive edge to its play and the annual House Games are often very heated. Its is also one of only a handful of schools to have a Fives court.

St John's also is a participant in the CCF (compulsory for four terms) and the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. Music and Drama are also for a part of school life with a new multi-million pound Performing Arts Center constructed in 2003.

[edit] Trivia

  • The School has provided a setting for a number of television programmes including the Inspector Lynley Mysteries.
  • The School song is "Seek those things which are above" composed by Howard Goodall was commissioned for the school centenary.
  • The Quad of Johns is reserved exclusively for Masters, Mistresses and guests, any pupil who strays onto the quad faces severe disciplinary action, this has given rise to the 'Quad Run' a practice traditionally undertaken after house competitions.
  • The present library of the school was formally the chapel, still visible on the walls of the library are the carvings of names and sayings of former pupils who during chapel services chose to 'leave their mark'.
  • The head boy by historic appointment is allowed to graze sheep on the school quad, grow a beard and/or smoke a pipe. This tradition has not been exercised in recent years (bar a leavers prank in 1998 when sheep did indeed graze on the school quad).

[edit] Notable Old Johnians

[edit] Notable (Ex-)Staff

Tim Crooks, Olympic Rower and BBC Superstars Champion 1977, Craft Design and Technology

[edit] Southern Railway School's Class

The School lent its name to the fortieth example of the Southern Railway's V Class steam locomotive, no. 939. This Class was known widely as the Schools Class because all 40 of the class were named after prominent English public schools. 'Leatherhead', as no. 939 was called, was built in 1934. The locomotive bearing the School's name was withdrawn in the early 1960s. A nameplate survives in the reception at the school, along with a small model of the engine.

[edit] Finance

Due to the School's location in the middle of a very affluent county and the demographic of the surrounding area the school's fees are some of the highest in the country. Fees for the 2008/09 season are as follows:

Boarding Per Term £7,960

Day Per Term £5,790

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Daily Telegraph Obituary. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.
  2. ^ Jet-set aide dies with dating tycoon. The Daily Telegraph (11/08/2004). Retrieved on 2007-08-28. “For the past four years Mr Matthews had lived on his 115ft £5 million yacht Tosca III. He spent six months in the Mediterranean and six months in the Caribbean. He was once an undistinguished pupil at St John's School, Leatherhead, Surrey, and last year he found two friends from the primary (sic) school on the Friends Reunited website and invited them to the Mediterranean for a get-together.”
  3. ^ Obitury Morris Maddocks. The Daily Telegraph (05/02/2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-18. “The Right Reverend Morris Maddocks, who died on January 19 aged 79, was suffragan Bishop of Selby from 1972 to 1983, then adviser to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on the ministry of health and healing.”
  4. ^ After a lifetime, the shocking truth - World - smh.com.au
  5. ^ Daily Telegraph Obituary. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.