| Motto | AD ASTRA PER ASPERA "Through hardships to the stars" |
|---|---|
| Established | 1588 (restablished 1652) |
| Type | Co-educational Independent day school |
| Headmaster (Senior) | Richard Russell |
| Headmaster (Preparatory) | John Gallagher |
| Governors | Leathersellers' Company |
| Founder | John Glyn in 1588, reestablished with Abraham Colfe's name in 1652 |
| Location | Lee London England |
| Staff | 100 (approx.) |
| Students | 1,000 (approx.) |
| Houses | Beardwood, Bramley, Norton and Prendergast |
| Publication | The Colfeian |
| Official Visitor | HRH Prince Michael of Kent |
| Former Pupils | Old Colfeians |
| Ages | 3-18 (Nursery - Sixth Form) |
| Website | colfes.com |
Colfe's is a co-educational independent day school in Horn Park in the London Borough of Greenwich. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The official Visitor to the school is HRH Prince Michael of Kent.
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Colfe's is one of the oldest schools in London. The parish priest of Lewisham taught the local children from the time of Richard Walker's chantry, founded in 1494, until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. Rev. John Glyn re-established the school in 1568 and it was granted a Charter by Elizabeth I in 1574. Abraham Colfe became a Governor in 1613 and the school was re-founded bearing his name in 1652.
Colfe declared that the aim of the school was to provide an education for the boys from "the hundred of Blackheath". He invited the Leathersellers' Company, one of London's livery companies, to be the trustee of his will. Links between the school and the Leathersellers remain strong.
The school was originally built around Colfe's house with an entrance in Lewisham Hill. The site was progressively developed and extended until 1890, when it was completely rebuilt on the same site with its entrance now in Granville Park. During the Second World War the school was first evacuated to Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and then to Frome in Somerset. A period of inactivity on the Western front led about 100 boys to return to London, so the school was spilt for a few years. In 1944 a V2 (Flying bomb) aimed at Lewisham railway junction almost totally destroyed the school.
At the end of the War, with no school buildings and the pupil roll having halved, it was uncertain if the school would continue. In London the school was split between two sites - Beacon Road School in Hither Green and Ennersdale Road School, about a quarter of a mile away. "Temporary" buildings (rows of pre-fabricated concrete construction) were erected and the school came together again in 1947 under the headmastership of Herbert Beardwood MSc. The "temporary" buildings were still being used until the move to the new site in 1963.
Herbert Beardwood updated Leland Duncan's "History of Colfe's Grammar School" in 1952, in celebration of the school's tercentenary under Colfe's name. The book was further updated by Beardwood in 1972, to reflect both the move to the present campus at the east end of the playing fields, and the impact on the school of the machinations of early 1970s UK politics.
The school moved to its current site in 1963 and since then there has been much change: improved facilities have been provided, such as an all-weather sports pitch and a new performing arts centre. The Leathersellers' sports ground has been renovated to make it the home of senior sport (rugby football and cricket). Recently it was the site of the Sixth Form leavers' ball.
Having been a voluntary aided grammar school, Colfe's became independent again in 1977. Although founded as a school for boys, girls have been admitted to the Sixth Form for over thirty years. In 1997, it was decided to allow girls throughout the school, and there are now girls in every year group. Colfe's first Head Girl, in the 2005/2006 academic year, was Amy Tarrant.
The School is split into two, with students aged 3–11 at the Preparatory School and students aged 12–18 at the Senior School.
The Senior School is based at the top of the main school site. The Senior School has very average standards and has had excellent academic success, performing well at A-Level and GCSE.An all-weather playing field (funded in part by donations from parents and former pupils) was opened in 2006. The school also has a new Performing arts centre, a Sports Complex complete with a 25 m swimming pool, 2 gyms and a Sports Hall, excellent IT and Music facilities and over 30 acres (120,000 m2) of playing fields. Many of the facilities are shared with the Preparatory School.
The school has a house system where each pupil is randomly assigned to one of the four houses (named after the four longest serving Headmasters in Colfe's more than 350 year history: Beardwood, Bramley, Norton and Prendergast). Throughout the school year each pupil takes part in a full and varied programme of activities outside the main curriculum, in which the pupils participate in healthy competition by age groups to help his or her house win at the end of the year. The current winners are Norton, led by Mr Crowe, Miss Mellor, Henry Byrne and Rosie Yates. Each house has two House Tutors, plus two House Captains selected from the Lower VI (Year 8). In addition, all new members of staff are assigned to one of the houses. The houses are as follows:
Norton House Tutors: Mr Crowe and Miss L Mellom.
Prendergast House Tutors: Mr A Bateson and Miss C Humphries
Beardword House Tutors: Mr J Fishwick and Mrs A Chapman
Bramley House Tutors: Dr B Davies and Miss H Dawson
Colfe's School is also in the minority of schools which boast a Combined Cadet Force (CCF). Boys from year 8 and girls from year 9 learn valuable life skills such as leadership and organisation, and have the chance to earn their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, a highly regarded achievement. Led by the CO Major Chris Cherry.
Colfe's organises various events throughout the year in which pupils raise money for a variety of charities. In collaboration with various shops and services in Blackheath, Colfe's hosts an annual fashion show to raise money for Cancer Research UK. In December 2004, Colfe's students and teachers began to build, decorate and stock a library at Kotu Senior Secondary School in the first of a now annual series of visits to The Gambia. Subsequent developments at Kotu have included a sports surface, new and improved toilet blocks, classroom refurbishment, a new Domestic Science room and an assembly hall. Colfe's Senior School (along with the Preparatory School) has recently been added to the 'Good Schools Guide' website [1]
The Preparatory School is located at the bottom of the school site, in two self-contained buildings. One of the buildings is for Pre-Prep and Nursery and the other for Preparatory. The preparatory school has the same high standards as the Senior School and has had great academic success with the SATS. The preparatory school also shares many of the facilities with the Senior School including the sports complex and fields and the Performing arts centre.
The Preparatory School also has a house system, with four houses (named after famous constellations) and they collect pluspoints and credits throughout the year. The winning house each term has a house tea party. The four houses are: Aquila, Lynx, Orion and Pegasus. The house names were changed in 2008, to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade (the previous house names 'Drake', 'Frobisher', 'Hawkins' and 'Raleigh' were all slave traders). The Headmaster of the Preparatory School is currently former rugby union and rugby league star John Gallagher.
The History of Colfe's Grammar School by Leland L. Duncan (revised and updated by H Beardwood), pub: University of London Press, 1952
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