Aldro is a preparatory school in Shackleford, near Godalming, Surrey, England. It caters for about 240 boys between the ages of 7 and 13. The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Extremely popular and successful traditional prep school," also stating "It is a somewhat eccentric world with some delightfully eccentric teachers, and makes a welcome home for boys of every variety."[1]
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Aldro was founded at Meads in Eastbourne in 1898 and moved to its present home in 1940.
The oldest buildings on the site were originally part of Hall Place (later known as Shackleford House), built for Edgar Horne, a wealthy company director who was the Member of Parliament MP for South West Surrey from 1910 to 1922 and made a Baronet in 1929.
They were converted by the school during and after the Second World War. A large, timbered barn, for example, became the school chapel, and was consecrated in 1949. It survived a fire in the 1970s. A former workshop next door became the science laboratory, and the estate’s potting shed became a carpentry workshop.
The current Head Master is David Aston.
The oldest building is thought to be the octagonal cider press, standing close to the main entrance, which has been used as a small museum and as a home for a model railway.
Over the years there have been many new additions to the site. For years the large lake doubled as a swimming pool and as a race course for inter-house rowing competitions. Today there is a open heated swimming pool.
Other more recent facilities include a theatre, an art, design and technology centre, tennis courts and a three -hole golf course. The Centenary Building, opened in 1999, contains a library and new classrooms, and a new dining hall opened in 2003.
The school prides itself on its academic and sporting achievements, particularly in football, rugby, hockey, cricket and shooting. It also has an impressive record in chess competitions, with the under 9, 12 and 13 teams each winning national championships in 2004. In 2005 2006 and 2007 David Buck was national champion at 1500m. In 2010 Aldro also reaches the finals of Nationals for Rugby Sevens at Roselyn Park, losing to Millfield. The team was Rupert Dower-Tylee, Henry Mallin, James Bradley,Charlie Tarn (capt), Maxim Smith, James Walker, Ben Harris, Edward Rees, Toby Thomas, Matthew Yiadomm and James Whitton. The coach was Yves Lombardo.