Lochinver House School
Coordinates: 51°42′22″N 0°10′59″W / 51.706°N 0.183°W
| Motto | Perstare Praestare (Latin: "To Persevere is to Succeed") |
|---|---|
| Established | 1947 |
| Type | independent school |
| Headmaster | Ben Walker |
| Founder | Harold Bayley |
| Location |
Heath Road Potters Bar Hertfordshire EN6 1LW England  |
| Students | 350 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 4–13 |
| Houses | Bayley, Salter & Timpson |
| Colours | Pink and Grey |
| Website |
www |
Lochinver House School is a preparatory independent school for boys aged between 4 and 13 located in the town of Potters Bar, in Hertfordshire in England.
History
Lochinver House School was founded in 1947 by Harold Bayley who had been headmaster at Aylesford House School. When the lease for Aylesford House ran out he purchased a run down house in Potters Bar called Lochinver. The house itself (which would have been pulled down but for the war) was being used by a pharmaceutical firm as a warehouse for Nivea Cream and other products. It was in a bad state of repair, having suffered from both natural decay and bomb damage. Bayley's good friend Willoughby Salter was asked to run the Potters Bar school and immediately set about getting it ready for pupils. The school opened in late September with around 30 boys and the following year the number was up to about 100.
Following Salter's retirement in 1961, Michael Timpson took over the mastership and was in control until 1968. He was succeeded by William Herbert, whose mastership ran until 1970 at which time Richard Armitage became headmaster. Armitage oversaw the development of the Sports Hall in 1980, music centre in 1985 and Salter Block in 1988. The school's playing field, Green Meadow, was purchased in 1980, converted for use and now offers football and rugby pitches plus facilities for cricket and athletics. Armitage retired in 1989 as the longest serving headmaster in the school's history: a record he still holds to this day.
What followed were two years of instability with Bill Sargeant and David Fuller taking over the mastership for one year apiece. Fuller left the job in 1991 when he moved to Retford Oaks School in Nottinghamshire and was succeeded by Patrick Atkinson.
Atkinson oversaw some major changes during his mastership such as the creation of the Dining Hall and Theatre complex in 1998. The nineties were also a strong decade for sport with yearly football tours to Germany, plus return tournaments at Green Meadow. When Atkinson left in 2002 to become headmaster at Beechwood Park School he was replaced by Jeremy Gear, who was the current headmaster.
Under Gear's mastership the school has seen its first international rugby tour in 2008 to South Africa plus he has had the privilege of overseeing the Diamond Jubilee in 2007.
Like many preparatory schools, Lochinver prepares its pupils for some of the best local public schools. Pupils from Lochinver tend to go to such establishments as St Albans School, Haileybury and Imperial Service College and Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School.
Headmasters
- 1947-61 Willoughby Salter
- 1961-68 Michael Timpson
- 1968-70 William Herbert
- 1970-89 Richard Armitage
- 1989-90 Bill Sargeant
- 1990-91 David Fuller
- 1991-02 Patrick Atkinson
- 2002–11 Jeremy Gear
- 2011- Ben Walker
Notable former pupils
- Stephen Mangan (b. 1972), actor, TV presenter and main star of The Hunt for Tony Blair
- John McCarthy (journalist) (b. 1956), former British hostage, journalist and radio presenter
- Nick Walker (cricketer) (b. 1984), former cricketer
School Houses
The School Houses of Lochinver are named after the founder and two early headmasters.
- Bayley
- Salter
- Timpson
Houses were previously named after roads in the area such as Hawkshead.
...and previous to that they were Drake, Mountbatten & Nelson.
School Colours
The school colours are traditionally pink and grey, which came about from using the uniform of Aylesford House. An interesting point is that at one stage when pink dye was found to be unsatisfactory, a proposal for change was put to parents at a meeting, but not one of them favoured any alternative. The pink tie has a somewhat legendary status amongst pupils and makes the school one of the most recognisable in the area. Although the uniform has grey blazers in the late 70's the blazers were pink, students of Lochinver were nicknamed as the pink and grey army by local state schools.