Casterton School was an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 3 to 18 years in the village of Casterton in rural

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

. In its final years it also admitted boys, up to the age of 11. The school ceased to exist in 2013, though a preparatory school remains on the site. It merged with

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

, whose junior section now occupies the campus while Casterton's senior school pupils moved to the Sedbergh site.

History

Casterton School was founded in 1823 by Rev Carus Wilson as the

Clergy Daughters' School The Cowan Bridge School was a Clergy Daughters' School, founded in 1824, at Cowan Bridge in the English county of Lancashire. It was mainly for the daughters of middle class clergy and attended by the Brontë sisters. In the 1830s it moved to ...

Cowan Bridge Cowan Bridge is a village in the English county of Lancashire. It is south-east of the town of Kirkby Lonsdale where the main A65 road crosses the Leck Beck. It forms part of the civil parish of Burrow-with-Burrow. Clergy Daughters' School C ...

to educate daughters of financially disadvantaged clergymen. It moved to its site at Casterton in 1833. Four of the Brontë sisters (Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte and

Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

) attended the former

Cowan Bridge School The Cowan Bridge School was a Clergy Daughters' School, founded in 1824, at Cowan Bridge in the English county of Lancashire. It was mainly for the daughters of middle class clergy and attended by the Brontë sisters. In the 1830s it moved t ...

. A stone inscription to commemorate this is present at the original site and the former school at Casterton continued to acknowledge the literary connection by naming buildings accordingly until its closure. In 2000 boys were admitted to the junior school. Following a decline in pupil numbers, in March 2013 a merger was announced with

, effective from September 2013. Casterton's preparatory department remained on its site as Sedbergh's junior school was moved there, under the new name "Casterton, Sedbergh Preparatory School". Some of the Senior pupils transferred to the main campus in

Sedbergh Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Cumbria. It falls within the historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Since April 2023, it has been administered by Westmorland and Furness local authority. Th ...

. File:Casterton_Front_Door.jpg, Casterton School File:Casterton_School_Entrance.jpg, Main Entrance File:Bronte_House.jpg, Bronte House File:Memorial_Window.jpg, Memorial Window

School song

The «Casterton School Song», has lyrics describing the surrounding area and a rousing chorus of 'Casterton, Casterton, Casterton, our school'. The lyrics were written by John Webster, Head of English and the music was written by Alvin Atkins, Head of Music. The song was sung at major school events such as Founder's Day and Speech Day. It was recorded in 1964, sung by the Girls of Casterton School.

References

External links

Casterton Old Girls AssociationCasterton School SongCasterton School Map
{{authority control Boarding schools in Cumbria Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Defunct schools in Westmorland and Furness Defunct boarding schools in England Educational institutions established in 1823 Educational institutions disestablished in 2013