Summer Fields School
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| Summer Fields School | |
| Motto | Mens Sana in Corpore Sano |
| Established | 1864 |
| Type | Preparatory School (UK) Boarding school |
| Founder | Archibald Maclaren |
| Location | Summertown, Oxford England |
| Students | . |
| Gender | . |
| Ages | . to 14 |
| Houses | Maclaren, Moseley, Case, Congreve |
| School colours | . |
| Publication | . |
| Website | Summerfields School |
Summer Fields is a boys' preparatory school based in Summertown, Oxford, England.
Contents |
[edit] History
Originally called Summerfield, it became a Boys' Preparatory School in 1864 with seven pupils. Its owner, Archibald Maclaren, was a fencing teacher who ran a gymnasium in Oxford. He strongly believed in the importance of physical fitness. His wife, Gertrude, was a classical scholar and teacher. The school motto is 'mens sana in corpore sano', a healthy mind in a healthy body.
The school grew and needed more staff, two of whom married into the Maclaren family. The Reverend Dr Charles Williams ("Doctor"), who took over the scholarship form from Mrs Maclaren, married Mabel Maclaren in 1879. The Revd Hugh Alington married Margaret Maclaren in 1885 and took over the boys' games. The school remained in the hands of the Maclaren, Williams and Alington families for its first 75 years.
At the end of the 19th Century, "Doctor" became headmaster and there was much building at the school. A second school "Summers mi" was opened at St Leonards-on-Sea Sussex for boys to benefit from the sea air. In 1918 Doctor passed the headmastership to Hugh Alington. There was a lean spell in the 1930s and numbers fell but John Evans and Geoffrey Bolton ("G.B.") took over in 1939. During World War II three other schools were evacuated to Summer Fields - Famborough School, Hampshire, Summers mi, and St Cyprian's School from Eastbourne - and this restored the numbers.
In 1955, the school became a charitable trust with a board of governors, including Harold Macmillan, who was at the school as a boy and was soon to become Prime Minister. During the 1960's Pat Savage, was headmaster, with the assistance of Jimmy Bell and Pat Marston. In 1975, Nigel Talbot Rice took over as headmaster. He put the school on a sound financial footing through a series of appeals which financed an ambitious building programme: new classrooms, the Macmillan Hall and Music Centre, an indoor swimming-pool, the Wavell Arts and Technology Centre (named after the first Earl Wavell), and the Sports Hall. In 1997, Talbot Rice retired and was succeeded by Robin Badham-Thornhill.
In 2002 a new lodge called "Savage's" was built. In recent years a new year group was added at the bottom of the school.
[edit] Summer Fields today
The school prides itself on its academic excellence, evidenced by the numerous scholarships won by its boys, and is proud of its high standards of pastoral care. The majority of pupils go on to attend the only four all-boys all-boarding schools that remain: Eton College, Radley College, Winchester College and Harrow School. In 2006, no pupil failed to enter any of the leading public schools they chose.
The boys are organized into four leagues. One of them is named Maclaren after the founder; others include Moseley, after Henry Moseley, Case and Congreve, named after William La Touche Congreve. Each league has its own identifying colour: Case with red, Congreve with yellow, Maclaren with green, and Moseley with blue. In their leagues the boys wear a polo shirt in the league colour, along with the rest of the uniform, blue corduroys, and brown shoes. On Sundays as well as on special days, such as the School Concert, and the end of term, boys wear a tweed jacket, with a light blue coloured shirt, black shoes, and grey flannel trousers. Again, they wear their tie in their league colour.
The school has traditionally been a rival of the Dragon School, also located in North Oxford
[edit] Notable alumni
- Gubby Allen, cricketer
- Julian Amery Politician (1919-1996)
- Anthony Asquith, writer (1913–1916)
- William La Touche Congreve VC, DSO, MC (1902–1904)
- Dick Francis, jockey and novelist (who set one of his detective stories at Summer Fields)
- Ralph Dominic Gamble MC, British Army officer (1906–1912)
- Julian Grenfell, war poet (1898–1901)
- John G.W. Husted Jr., first fiancée of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- Ronald Knox, theologian and author (1896–1900)
- Christopher Lee, actor
- Colin Hercules Mackenzie, spymaster (1898-1986)
- Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister (1903–1906)
- Sir James Pitman (1901-1985) Publisher
- Thomas Riversdale Colyer-Fergusson VC (1905–1909)
- Arthur Rhys Davids DSO, MC with Bar, flying ace (1909–1911)
- Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell GCB, GCSI, GCIE, CMG, MC, PC, Commander of the British Army forces in the Middle East during World War II, penultimate Viceroy of India
[edit] References
- Summerfields School Register 1864-1960 Oxonian Press 1960
- Nicholas Aldridge Time to spare?: A History of Summer Fields 1989
