Farnborough Hill

Farnborough Hill
Motto Labor in vester Domino non est inanis (Work in the Lord's name is not in vain) also "Educating the whole person"
Established 1889
Type Independent day school
Religion Roman Catholic
Headmistress Mrs Alexandra Neil
Location Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 8AT
England
51°18′03″N 0°45′01″W / 51.3008°N 0.7504°W / 51.3008; -0.7504Coordinates: 51°18′03″N 0°45′01″W / 51.3008°N 0.7504°W / 51.3008; -0.7504
DfE number 850/6020
DfE URN 116517 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Students approx. 550
Gender Girls
Ages 11–18
Colours Green and Purple
Website Farnborough Hill

Farnborough Hill is a Roman Catholic independent day school for 550 girls aged 11–18 located on the Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire border. The school was established by the Religious of Christian Education order of nuns in 1889 and moved to the current site when the order purchased the house and grounds in 1927. Now set in an expansive park including Grade I Listed Buildings the school prides itself on "Educating the whole person" through offering teaching excellence across the fields.

History

Thomas Longman, the publisher, began building the house at Farnborough Hill in 1860.

The exiled Empress Eugénie, widow of Emperor Napoleon III of France, later bought and expanded the house in 1880. The Napoleonic bee symbol can be seen in the internal and external decor of the building and is also present on the school badge. The Empress bought other land in Farnborough at around the same time and founded St Michael's Abbey as a mausoleum for her husband's body (relocated from its initial burial place in Chislehurst) and that of her recently deceased son the Prince Imperial who had died fighting with British Forces in the Boer War. The Empress was close friends with Queen Victoria and later become godmother to Victoria Eugénie of Battenberg, daughter of Princess Beatrice. The Empress died, age 94, in 1920.

The history of the school itself began in 1889 when the Religious of Christian Education established a convent boarding school in Farnborough nearby the hill on which the current school stands called Hillside Convent College and a day school called St Mary's.[1] With the outbreak of war in 1915 the school buildings was commandeered resulting in the temporary closure of both schools. The religious community and Hillside school relocated to Sycamore House (also known as The Sycamores) which was expanded in 1916 to accommodate the reopened day school.[2] At the end of the war the original school buildings were renovated and the school returned to Hillside Convent College in 1921, while the religious community remained at The Sycamores. The school continued to grow and Mother Roantree continued to search for alternative accommodation.

Following the death in 1926 of Prince Victor Boneparte, heir to the estate, the trustees of the estate put the house and grounds for sale. The community purchased the house at Farnborough Hill in 1927, both the school and Religious community moved into the House and the Sycamores was sold. The community commissioned Adrian Gilbert Scott to design additional school buildings which included the school chapel. Over the years there has been further expansion, all of it in keeping with this Grade One listed building. In 1994, the Religious of Christian Education transferred ownership to The Farnborough Hill Trust and the school is now under lay management and in 1996 appointed the school's first lay headmistress.

Headmistresses

Facilities

The school has a mixture of historic and modern buildings. The house, built in Victorian times is used for offices and teaching rooms. The school chapel was built in 1932, a classroom block was opened in 1953 and further extensions to teaching facilities were added in the 1960s including a gymnasium and science laboratories. The school has continued to expand and develop its facilities. The Alexander Sports Hall was opened in 2005 and the swimming pool refurbished, new art studios and refurbished laboratories were opened in 2009 and the gymnasium was converted to a theatre, 'Theatre on the Hill'. The St Joseph's Courtyard development, incorporating a large multi-purpose building that includes a dance studio, a new geography classroom, a Sixth Form science laboratory and a new science office, was completed in 2011. A new music suite, St Cecilia's, was opened in 2014.

Farnborough Hill is set in 65 acres of parkland and uses much of this for sports including tennis, hockey, netball, football, rounders, athletics and cross-country. In 2015 the Alex Danson Pitch, an all-weather, flood-lit hockey pitch was opened.

Farnborough Hill's use of information technology has also developed during this time with the adoption of electronic whiteboards in every classroom, music technology facilities and Farnborough Hill's own radio station, 'F'Hill Radio'.

Extracurricular activities

Farnborough Hill is a very busy school and aims to 'educate the whole person'. A wide range of extracurricular activities are on offer from Sport, Music and Drama to Sixth Form Expeditions and trips abroad.

Old Girls' Association

Farnborough Hill has an active old girls' association.[3] A reunion is held every year in September and other events are arranged during the year. Members keep in touch via an annual newsletter and active Facebook group. FHOGA sponsors a sixth form scholarship each year and helps current students by providing networking opportunities.

Notable former pupils

References

  1. ↑ http://www.farnborough-hill.org.uk/History
  2. ↑ Mostyn, Dorothy A. (1980). The Story of a House - Farnborough Hill. St Michael's Abbey Press.
  3. ↑ http://www.farnborough-hill.org.uk/Old-Girls-Association

Mostyn, D. (1999) The Story of a House: A History of Farnborough Hill, Farnborough, St Michael's Abbey Press, ISBN 0907077560

Craven, L. and Evans-Jones, L. (2014) From Hillside to Farnborough Hill: 125 Years of the RCE in Farnborough, London, Third Millennium Publishing Limited, ISBN 9781908990297

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