Orwell Park School is a day and boarding preparatory school for boys and girls in the village of Nacton on the edge of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

in the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Founded in 1868 in

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and so ...

, the school currently accommodates around 300 boys and girls between the ages of 2½ and 13 years. It is a member of the IAPS.

Present school

The School is split in to two sections: *Pre-Prep School (Nursery – Year 2, ages 2½-7) *Prep School (Year 3 – Year 8, ages 7–13) The school is located in a grade II listed building in about of parkland in the Suffolk village of Nacton, overlooking the River Orwell. The school follows a traditional academic curriculum of English, Maths, Sciences, Humanities, Art, Music, TPR, Modern Foreign languages, Classics (including Latin and Greek) as well as Computing and Life Skills. Its pupils take the Common Entrance exam, going on to a range of local and national public schools such as

Framlingham Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019. Nearby villages include Ear ...

, Woodbridge,

Royal Hospital School ) , established = 1694 Royal Charter1712 Greenwich1933 Holbrook, Suffolk, Holbrook , type = Public school (UK), Public School Independent school (UK), Independent day and boarding School Royal Foundation , founders = William ...

, Eton, Rugby and

Winchester Winchester is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of Lon ...

, including several with scholarships.

History of the School

The school was founded by the Reverend Walter Wilkinson in Lowestoft in 1868, then known as Crespigny House. It moved to

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Ald ...

in 1870, changing its name to Eaton House and then Aldeburgh Lodge. The school finally moved to its present location of Nacton in 1937, being renamed again as Orwell Park. During World War II, the school was evacuated, first to

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon i ...

, and then

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to t ...

. As part of preparations for the D-Day landings, Orwell School was used by the 7th Armoured Division (The Desert Rats) as a training location due to its sloped terrain leading down to estuary of the River Orwell. Whilst originally admitting only boys, girls were first accepted in 1992. Former pupils of the school are known as 'Old Orwellians'.

History of the buildings

According to Pevsner, the main school building dates to ''c.'' 1770, built by the family of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was an English naval officer. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' Ear, in 173 ...

. It was acquired by

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

George Tomline in 1848, who proceeded to extend and modify the building and grounds. Most notably, this included the addition of an observatory containing a 26 cm

refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and a ...

, known as the Tomline Refractor, that is still in use today. Other than the main school building itself, there are other grade II listed buildings nearby, such as the Water Tower,

Orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very larg ...

and Clock Tower. The Pre-Prep classrooms are in a separate, purpose-built building, completed in 2013.

Sports and other activities

The usual range of sports are offered at the school, for both boys and girls, including: rugby, hockey and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by s ...

, with

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, Kick (football), kicking a Football (ball), ball to score a Goal (sport), goal. Unqualified, Football (word), the word ''football'' normally means the form of football tha ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping w ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' ( sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' ( iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

also available. The School runs the Orwell Park Challenge for older pupils to promote personal development outside of the classroom. Orwell Park School has forged links with

Mayo College Mayo College (informally Mayo) is a boys-only independent boarding school in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. It was founded in 1875 by Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, who was the Viceroy of India from 1869 to 1872. This makes it one of the oldest Pub ...

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, with staff and pupils from both schools undertaking several exchange visits over the past few years. The upcoming film '' School's Out Forever'', based on Scott K. Andrews's book School's Out was shot in part at the school.

References

* Edwina Langley. ''Orwell Park School. A Celebration of 150 Years (1868-2018)'', pub. Fruit Design, 2018

External links

School WebsiteProfile
on the ISC website
Profile
on the ''

Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...

'' {{authority control Independent schools in Suffolk 1868 establishments in England Preparatory schools in Suffolk Boarding schools in Suffolk Educational institutions established in 1868 Grade II listed buildings in Suffolk Astronomical observatories in England Nacton