St John's School, Leatherhead
51°17′49″N 0°19′23″W / 51.297°N 0.323°W
St John's School | |
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Latin: Quae Sursum Sunt Quaerite Seek those things which are above | |
Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
Established | 1851 |
Founder | Ashby Haslewood |
Department for Education URN | 125353 Tables |
The Head | Alex Tate |
Preceded by | Rebecca Evans |
Gender | Mixed |
Age | 11 to 18 |
Enrolment | 840 pupils |
Colour(s) | Green and white |
Former pupils | Old Johnians |
Visitor | The Archbishop of Canterbury |
Patron | The Duchess of Gloucester |
Website | www |
St John's School in
St John's was founded in 1851 to educate the sons of the clergy, and was moved from St John's Wood, London to its current site in Surrey in 1872. Set in 50 acres (20 ha), the school's site is a mixture of old and new, with mid-Victorian architecture complemented by a Science Centre,[2] and modern classroom blocks and boarding houses.
History
The school was founded in 1851 as St John's Foundational School for the Sons of Poor Clergy. Its founder was a clergyman, Ashby Haslewood, who was vicar of St Mark's, Hamilton Terrace in St John's Wood, north London. He had a dual purpose in founding the school - to offer free education for the sons of poor clergymen and to provide a choir for his large church.
Since the 1970s St John's, while maintaining a substantial boarding community, has taken in an increasing number of day pupils and in 1989 the first Sixth Form girls entered the school. In 2010 girls were able to join the school in the first year (fourth form) for the first time and the school has been fully co-educational since September 2012.[3]
The school was a success but the dual purpose imposed restrictions. So in 1854 the school moved outside the parish boundaries of St Mark's into neighbouring
Despite much progress, it remained essentially a charity school until the significant headmastership of Arthur Rutty (HM 1883–1909) when the school developed all the characteristics of a public school.
The school began to attract fee-paying parents while remaining loyal to the sons of poor clergymen. The school expanded throughout the 20th century despite the problems faced by all public schools due to the
House system
St John's is divided into ten Houses each with its own characteristics and Housemaster/mistress, as well as most houses having a house matron. There are six boys' houses and four girls' houses.
- West - Yellow and Black (boarding)
- East - Green and Black (boarding)
- Haslewood - Light Blue and Dark Blue
- Montgomery (Monty) - Claret and Blue
- North - Red and Black
- South - Purple and Black (boarding)
- Surrey - Red and White
- Churchill - Blue and White
- Gloucester - Blue and Pink (boarding)
- Hawkins - Cambridge Blue and White
South – renamed from Hallaton – is a girls' house and comprises two buildings. Haslewood and Gloucester are both located in the heart of the school on the quad, whilst Hawkins shares its building with Churchill, opening its doors to pupils for the first time in September 2019.
Sport
The school competes on a circuit across a wide variety of sports, and some pupils have gained representative honours at county, national and international level.[5] Rugby, football, hockey, netball and cross country are major sports at St John's, alongside cricket, athletics, tennis and swimming during the summer months. During the autumn term, boys' teams focus on rugby and girls' teams compete in hockey.[6] The spring term sports are football, netball, cross country, boys' hockey and rugby sevens.[6] The school offers the following as additional competitive sports: badminton, biathlon, fives, golf, rounders, sailing, skiing, squash, shooting.[6] Pupils also have the opportunity to participate in recreational sports, including Pilates, Zumba, indoor rowing, volleyball, wakeboarding and off-road cycling.[6]
Cricket ground
The first recorded match on the school
Co-curricular activities
At St John's, pupils have the option to try a range of activities. From Japanese to chess, from honing cricket skills to building a hovercraft or philosophical debates, there is an extensive list of opportunities, as well as art, music, drama, the combined cadet force, Duke of Edinburgh award and the school's community service unit.
St John's is a participant in the
St John's runs a community service unit,[9] with just over half of the school's sixth form taking part in weekly volunteer placements in the local community. These placements take place during evenings, weekends and free periods.
Notable Old Johnians
Former pupils of the school are known as Old Johnians or OJs.
Notable staff
- Arthur Bowley, Mathematics Master[10]
- Tim Crooks, Olympic Rower and BBC Superstars Champion 1977, Craft Design and Technology[11][12]
List of Heads
- Anthony Thomson, 1851–1857
- Lewis Mercier, 1857–1861
- Edwards Hawkins, 1861–1883[13]
- Arthur Rutty, 1883–1909[13]
- Edmund Downes, 1909–1932[13][14]
- Jack Carter, 1932–1947[15]
- Hereward Wake, 1948–1960
- Ian Sutherland, 1960–1970
- Edward 'Ted' Hartwell, 1970–1985
- David Brown, 1985–1992
- Christopher Tongue, 1993–2004
- Nicholas Haddock, 2004–2011
- Martin Collier, 2011–2017[16]
- Rowena Cole, 2017–2022[16]
- Rebecca Evans, Acting Head 2022-2023
- Alex Tate - 2023-present
Southern Railway Schools Class
The school lent its name to the fortieth example of the
References
- ^ "St John's School (Leatherhead), Leatherhead | The Good Schools Guide". The Good Schools Guide. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "New Science Centre Opens". Archived from the original on 20 November 2015.
- ^ "Moving Forward to Co-Education". St John's School, Leatherhead. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ "{title}". Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ "School - Pupil Achievements". www.stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d "St John's School - Discover St John's".
- ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ "Co-Curricular - Community Service". www.stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- ^ "Sir Arthur Bowley". The Times. No. 53746. London. 23 January 1957. p. 12.
- ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
- ^ Richard Hughes. Those Things Which Are Above: The History of St John's School, Leatherhead.
- ^ a b c Williams, E. M. P. (1951). The quest goes on: Being a short history of the first hundred years of St John's School Leatherhead 1851-1951. Leatherhead: St John's School. p. 3.
- ^ "Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. No. 29505. London. 21 January 1950. p. 3.
- ^ Williams, E. M. P. (1951). The quest goes on: Being a short history of the first hundred years of St John's School Leatherhead 1851-1951. Leatherhead: St John's School. p. 28.
- ^ a b Steed, Les (3 October 2017). "Meet the new head teacher of St John's School in Leatherhead". Surrey Live. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ISBN 0-71103-178-9.