Claremont Fan Court School Sir Sydney Camm Building

Claremont Fan Court School is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

for pupils from 2 to 18 years. Situated outside

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

, in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, sixteen miles from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, it is located on the grounds of the Claremont Estate. It is a member of the Society of Heads, the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS).

History

Claremont Estate (1708-1919)

The first house to be built on the Claremont Estate was Vanbrugh House in 1708 by Sir John Vanbrugh. In 1714 it was bought by the Earl of Clare (from which the name Claremont is derived) who later became the Duke of Newcastle. Many notable residents have lived on the estate since, including: Lord Clive of India, Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold, Princess (later

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

), King Louis Philippe and Queen Marie-Amélie, and the Duke and Duchess of Albany. The grounds too have been sculpted by several notable architects, including Vanbrugh, Capability Brown and William Kent. Throughout this period many changes were made to the buildings and grounds of the estate.

Claremont School (1922-1978)

In 1922, a school for girls began at Mrs Packers’ house (who later became the first principal of Claremont School). After moving to Clear View in Norwood in 1923 due to an expansion in pupil numbers the school moved again to Claremont in 1931 after acquiring 33 acres of the Claremont estate. By 1936 it was at full capacity with 85 pupils. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the school was evacuated to

Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (; ; ; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys County Council, and is therefore the administrative centre of Powys. The town was Historic counties of Wales, historically in ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and Claremont was let to the

Hawker Aircraft Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history. History Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, which resulted in the ban ...

company, whose design team under the aeronautical engineer Sydney Camm produced the

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...

fighter. In 1946 the school returned to the Claremont Estate, purchasing White Cottage in 1949. By 1955 the stables had been converted to a junior school, thus allowing pupils to number 200, with half of these as boarders. By 1970 a new gymnasium, art rooms, dining room, kitchens and music block had been built.

Fan Court School (1932-1978)

In 1932 a preparatory school for boys was founded at a small house called The Lodge in Banstead, Surrey. The school briefly moved to Warren House before again moving to Fan Court, Chertsey in 1934, when it also received its formal constitution and was admitted to the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools. In its early years, only five pupils attended, hailing from South Africa, USA and England. This rose to 56 prior to the outbreak of World War II and up to 85 by 1956. The school magazine was called ''Vox Leonis'' (named after the lion on the school crest). The Old Boys’ Club and Friends of Fan Court were established in 1936 and 1947 respectively. A summer garden party called ''Fan Court Day'' was held annually to celebrate the school's community and included entertainments, exhibitions and speeches. During World War II the possibility of evacuating the school to Canada or the Bahamas was considered, however never occurred. The School planted a tree to mark the end of the war in 1945. In 1967 a junior school for boys and girls was opened at Fan Court. Girls were able to stay at Fan Court until the age of 10 when they became eligible for entrance into Claremont School. This further strengthened the connection between the two schools that had existed since Fan Court was established. Other demonstrations of this link include: Claremont's financial support in 1955 for the construction of Fan Court's swimming pool, alternate-year joint parties beginning in 1964, a joint carol service in 1967 and joint meetings from 1967 onwards by committees and Friends of the schools.

Claremont Fan Court School (1978-present)

In 1978, Claremont School and Fan Court School amalgamated on the site of Claremont School to become a co-educational school for pupils from 2½ to 18 years. During the 1980s the Joyce Grenfell Centre was built (named after the former Claremont School pupil) housing a music school, theatre, computer suite and design and technology classrooms. A new junior school and principal's house (called Clearview after the former location of Claremont School) were also built. During the 1990s White Cottage became the Sixth Form centre and a new sports hall was built. In September 2019, the Sir Sydney Camm science and technology building opened. In January 2022 the school purchased West Acre, a significant adjoining property.

Notable events

* 1972 – Claremont School celebrated its Golden Jubilee with the construction of a new science facility. * 1979 (August) – HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother visited the Mansion after an opening ceremony at the Claremont Landscape Gardens. * 1996 – After repairs, the Belvedere was opened to the public for the first time to celebrate the centenary of the National Trust.

School life

Houses

On entering the school pupils join one of the following six houses: * Longcross (yellow) - named after the previous location of Fan Court School; the badge features the Longcross lion * Norwood (blue) - named after the previous location of Claremont School; the badge features the Claremont torch * Radnor (red) - named after the county in Wales in which Claremont School was evacuated to during WWII; the badge features the Welsh dragon * Esher (green) - named after the current location of Claremont Fan Court School; the badge features a crown for Esher's past royal associations * Stanmore (purple) - named after Warren House in Stanmore where Fan Court pupils were located to temporarily in 1933; the badge features a fan * Banstead (orange) - Banstead House is named after the original Fan Court School before it moved to Stanmore. File:Longcross House Crest.jpg, Longcross house badge File:Radnor House Crest.jpg, Radnor house badge File:Norwood House Crest.jpg, Norwood house badge File:Esher House Crest.jpg, Esher house crest File:Stanmore House Crest.jpg, Stanmore house badge File:Banstead house crest.jpg, Banstead house badge Various school interhouse activities take place throughout the year in addition to the House point system and sports day. These have included competitions in: singing, film creation, drawing, recycled fashion, engineering and cooking. Since 1933, Fan Court School has used a house system, starting with three houses, Cayley, Lings and Macgregor, followed by the addition of a fourth (Cazalet) by 1936. Cayley and Cazalet were named after benefactors of the school. Claremont School introduced its house system in 1928 with four houses (Normans, Saxons, Tudors, and Stuarts).

Sports

Girls

In the Autumn and Spring terms girls play

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

, and in the

Summer term Summer term is the summer academic term at many British schools and universities and elsewhere in the world. In the UK, 'Summer term' runs from the Easter holiday until the end of the academic year in June or July, and so corresponds to the Easte ...

they play cricket and athletics.

Boys

In the Autumn and Spring terms boys play

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, and in the Summer term they play

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and athletics.

Motto, crest and song

The motto, crest and song are all derived from those of Claremont Fan Court's predecessor schools: * The school motto is “Be Strong in Understanding” which recognises Fan Court School's original motto "Be Strong". * The school crest combines a lion and torch. This references the original crests with the torch from Claremont School and the lion from Fan Court School. * The School song is titled “Nisi Dominus Frustra” which was the original motto of Claremont School. The words are by Phyllis M. Cooper and the music by Fenella Farrar (Bennetts).

Christian Science

The school was founded by Christian Scientists, although it has no formal connection with the Christian Science Church. In its beginning, having a knowledge of

The Principia The Principia is an educational institution historically affiliated with Christian Science. It is located on two campuses in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area of the United States. Principia School, located in Town and Country, West S ...

inspired the founders as well. The 2007 Independent Schools Inspectorate Report details the School as Christian Science; however, the 2011 Independent Schools Inspectorate Interim Report only states that the school was founded by Christian Scientists. The financial accounts for the year ending 31 July 2013 filed with the Charity Commission for England and Wales state that all members of the Foundation Council, from whom the Trustees and Governors are selected, must be practising Christian Scientists, and that senior staff are expected to have strong affinity with and understanding of Christian Science. In February 2021, the Governors confirmed their decision to open membership of the governing body to members of all faiths and none. Pupils only receive religious education following the National Curriculum, which encompasses studying a variety of religions and cultures. The school did not employ a chaplain in 2014.

Alumni

Notable pupils

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo show ...

, OBE, English actress, comedian, monologist and singer-songwriter * James Hamilton, 4th Baron Hamilton of Dalzell (1938–2006), stockbroker and Conservative peer * Anthea McIntyre, Conservative Member of the European Parliament * Miles Millar, screenwriter and producer * Anne Sebba, British biographer, writer, lecturer and journalist * Kate Staples, British female former pole vaulter and regular gladiator of '' Gladiators'' * Michaela Strachan, television presenter * Alastair Willis, Grammy-nominated conductor and music director * Sarah Willis (hornist), a British

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

player and TV presenter * Angela Conner FRSS - Leading English sculptor. * Robin Denys Gill, KCVO - Retired British businessman, investor, and television and charity executive. Founder of the Royal Anniversary Trust, subsequently served as Chairman of Executive and Chairman. *

Matthew Needham Matthew Needham (born 13 April 1984) is a British actor. He has worked on stage and screen, appearing in television series such as '' Casualty'', '' Endeavour'', and '' Sanditon.'' As of 2022, Needham portrays Larys Strong on the HBO fantasy ser ...

- Actor * John Huxtable Elliott FBA - British historian and hispanist who was Regius Professor Emeritus at the University of Oxford * Giles Stille - English former professional football player and current manager of Swedish club team, Assyriska * Moorad Choudhry - formerly Head of Business Treasury, Global Banking and Markets at Royal Bank of Scotland * Christiana Figueres – Environmental campaigner, former UN and Costa Rican diplomat, former Executive Secretary of the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...

* Alice Arnold - Broadcaster and journalist * Clare Francis MBE - British novelist and yachtswoman * Malcolm Erskine, 17th Earl of Buchan - Peer of Scotland and member of the House of Lords * John C. Wilkinson - Emeritus Fellow of St Hugh’s College, Oxford University in Islamic Studies * Archibald Gavin Hamilton, Baron Hamilton of Epsom, PC - Conservative party politician and Minister of State for the Armed Forces (1988-1993) * Ian Todd - former British alpine skier who competed in the 1968 Winter Olympics * Ruth Packer- English operatic soprano.

Notable staff

* Violet S. Hay, hymnist, was involved in founding the schoolHodgson, Peter J. (2005) ''Violet Hay''. Longyear Museum Press. p. 45 * Jemma Rose (1992), English footballer who played for FA WSL club Arsenal, winning her first senior cap for England in November 2015 * Debra Searle (1975), adventurer, television presenter, and author * Hayley Tullett (1973), Olympic middle-distance runner * Michael Basman - English chess player, chess author and International Master.

National Trust

The

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

acquired of the Claremont estate in 1949. In 1975, with a grant from the Slater Foundation, it set about restoring the eighteenth-century landscape garden. Claremont Landscape Garden displays the successive contributions of the landscape gardeners who worked on it:

Sir John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restorat ...

, Charles Bridgman,

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, b ...

and

Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Private schools in Surrey Christian Science in England