Orley Farm School
| Motto |
Haec Cogitate (Think on these things) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1850 |
| Type | Preparatory school |
| Headmaster | Mr T Calvey |
| Chairman of the Governors | Mr C Hayfield |
| Founder | Edward R Hastings |
| Location |
South Hill Avenue Harrow Middlesex HA1 3NU England Coordinates: 51°33′45″N 0°20′37″W / 51.56255°N 0.34368°W |
| Local authority | Harrow |
| DfE number | 310/6003 |
| DfE URN | 102248 Tables |
| Students | 496 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 4–13 |
| Houses | 4 |
| Website | www.orleyfarm.harrow.sch.uk |
Orley Farm School is a coeducational preparatory day school in the London borough of Harrow, at the foot of Harrow Hill on South Hill Avenue. It was founded as the preparatory school for the nearby Harrow School but is now a fully independent school in its own right and leavers continue to other independent schools. The school grounds cover over 36 acres (150,000 m2).
History
As "Hastings School", it was founded in 1850 by the first headmaster, Edward Ridley Hastings, who was head for 47 years. The last was the name of a property purchased by the school which happened to have been owned by the family of Anthony Trollope. Trollope described the house in his novel Orley Farm and Hastings, recognising the description, gained permission to rename the school "Orley Farm". Each of the houses has a house colour; Hastings - maroon, Hopkins - blue, Broadrick - yellow and Julians - green. However, the recent headmaster has removed the house ties and the tie has been standardised to a maroon colour. The only exceptions are the people with 'school colours' for exceptional contributions to music or to the school. These students have the crest embossed onto the centre of the tie (music) or have acorns in rows over the whole tie (school).
Orley Farm was originally a traditional boarding prep school similar to the likes of Ludgrove and Heatherdown Preparatory Schools. During the 1980s, boarding was phased out after over 130 years and the dormitories were converted into classrooms. In 1994, the school administration made the landmark decision of admitting girls for the first time. The pre-prep department opened the following year.[1]
Controversy
In the late 1960's a torrid place to be boarding at the age of 8
In October 2012, the then Headmaster, Mark Dunning, was forced to step down after hiding an offensive coded message in the form of an acrostic in the school news letter. The target of this insult was a retiring teacher, and the hidden message was in the text announcing his forthcoming retirement.[2] The Deputy Headmaster, Tim Calvey, took on the role of acting Headmaster (later made permanent).
Houses
Each pupil is randomly assigned to one of the four houses upon entry. The houses are named after former headmasters and activities are overseen by house teachers.
- Hastings
- Hopkins
- Broadrick
- Julians
Former Pupils
- Robin Butler, retired senior civil servant
- Alastair Fothergill, producer
- Anthony Horowitz, author and screenwriter[4]
- Martin Stevens, former MP and Conservative politician
- Dale Winton, radio DJ and presenter[5]
Robin Asqwith Actor
References
- ↑ About Us - School History
- ↑ Ward, Victoria (28 Feb 2013). "Headmaster’s hidden insult gives teacher the last laugh". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 Mar 2013.
- ↑ House System
- ↑ "Me and my school photo: Anthony Horowitz remembers the brutal experiences that sparked his passion for escapism". Daily Mail. 2 December 2011.
- ↑ Winton, Dale (2003). Dale Winton: My Story. Random House. p. 37. ISBN 9780099443155.
External links
- School Website
- Profile on the ISC website
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