New Beacon School
| Motto |
Dare Exfumo Lucem (Give light out of darkness) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1882 |
| Type | Preparatory School |
| Headmaster | Mr. Mike Piercy |
| Founder | John Norman |
| Location |
Brittains Lane Sevenoaks Kent TN13 2PB England  Coordinates: 51°12′00″N 0°16′35″E / 51.200070°N 0.276450°E |
| Students | c. 400 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 4–13 |
| Colours |
Red and Navy |
| Website |
http: |
The New Beacon Preparatory School is a fee-paying preparatory school, or prep school, located in Sevenoaks, Kent, United Kingdom, which caters both for day-boys and boarders, in the age range 4-13. Currently there are about 400 pupils.
Overview
The school was founded in 1882[1] at St John's Hill in Sevenoaks and was known as the Beacon. In 1900 it was relocated to its current location on Britains Lane and renamed the New Beacon.
The New Beacon is situated in 21 acres (85,000 m2) of gardens and playing fields. Pupils are put into one of four "Companies"; Nelson (blue), Drake (Yellow), Marlborough (green) and Wellington (red), and inter-company competitions take place in disciplins such as rugby, cross country, shooting, cricket, football art, athletics and quizzes.
Uniform
Junior prep boys wear a grey shirt, grey shorts (a recent development has been that in winter, the Junior boys do not have to wear shorts and may wear trousers), a red and blue tie,this however can be replaced with other ties which are awarded for numerous reasons: librarian, captain of shooting, 1stXI, 2ndXI, Middle and senior school choir, etc. ([Originally supplied by Harrods]), long grey socks with red and blue stripes, black shoes and the classic New Beacon cap - Navy Blue with a Red star on the top. The blazer is navy blue and has the school crest and the motto- "Dare Ex fumo Lucem". The school uniform is now supplied by Horncastles of Sevenoaks, Kent.
In the middle and senior school boys wear the aforementioned except for grey trousers. Boys who receive 1st's Colours are awarded a navy blue tie with two thin red stripes. The highest achievement awarded is 1st's Colours reawarded in any of the major sports, i.e. you have managed to play 2 seasons at first-team level. First's Colours are a red and gold band around the school crest.
Games kit consists of plain red or blue rugby shirts, tight fitting rugby league style blue elasticated shorts, long navy blue socks and black football boots. For hygiene reasons, the head of sport dictated that all boys are required to wear regulation navy or black swimming trunks.
Companies
| Nelson | Day | Navy | Blue |
| Drake | Day | Navy | Yellow |
| Marlborough | Day | Army | Green |
| Wellington | Day | Army | Red |
Sport
School colours are awarded for sports teams above Colts B level. The School's 1st XV rugby team wear a red, gold and blue striped jersey. After playing for a season at 1st XV level, members are allowed to keep their shirts. Boys who score a half century or a hat-trick in cricket receive a cricket ball in chapel. Anyone who scores a century receives a cricket bat on Open day.
Results
The school's principal function is to prepare boys for the Common Entrance examination, used by British public schools to select pupils; many of the school's pupils go on either to Sevenoaks School or to Tonbridge School; others have gone on to attend public schools such as Eton College, Harrow School, Winchester College and Westminster School. In 2008, then-headmaster Rowland Constantine was critical of the Key Stage 2 tests for 11-year-olds, saying, "All along we have made the point that testing has a negative impact on schools. It distorts the curriculum and encourages teaching to the test. We did not have any complaints when we stopped using the tests two years ago."[2]
Notable alumni
- Siegfried Sassoon, First World War poet[3]
- Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, second husband of Anne, Princess Royal
- Lord Mayhew of Twysden, former political advisor for Northern Ireland
- Anthony Powell, novelist
- Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, diplomat.
- Charles Ede, founder of The Folio Society.
- Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath
- The Honourable Charles Thomas Mills, Conservative Politician and Baby of the House. Killed in action, WW1.
- Arthur Mills, 3rd Baron Hillingdon, Conservative Politician
- Sam Billings, cricketer
Controversy
In 2014, the Charities Commission became involved in a dispute between the school and the parents of a former pupil who claimed to have been affected by the actions of a former teacher who was convicted of sexual offences in 2008.[4] The dispute stemmed from the school's public statement that the boy's allegation "was thoroughly investigated by the school, social services and the police and there was no case to answer".
References
- ↑ "Music teacher at prep school jailed for sexual abuse of boys", The Telegraph, 12 November 2008. Accessed 16 February 2015
- ↑ "Prep schools drop 'silly' KS2 test", Times Educational Supplement, 11 May 2008. Accessed 16 February 2015
- ↑ "First World War journals of Tunbridge Wells poet Siegfried Sassoon go online", Kent & Sussex Courier, 4 August 2014. Accessed 16 Feb 2015
- ↑ "Charity body urges The New Beacon School to reconsider apology over "predatory paedophile" ", Sevenoaks Chronicle, 24 October 2014. Accessed 16 February 2015