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Old Buckenham Hall School (commonly known as OBH) is a day and boarding preparatory school with pre-prep for boys and girls in the village of Brettenham, Suffolk, England. Founded in 1862, the school has been on its current site since 1956, and currently accommodates 250 girls and boys between the ages of 2 and 13 years.Old Buckenham Hall School, Suffolk, Independent Schools
/ref> The school is located in Brettenham Park, a grade II* listed building in of parkland in the Suffolk village of Brettenham. Its pupils take the Common Entrance exam, going on to a range of public schools such as Uppingham,
Oundle Oundle () is a market town and civil parish on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 6,254 at the time of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is north of London and south-wes ...
, Harrow, Rugby, Framlingham and The Leys.


History

The school was founded as a
dame school Dame schools were small, privately run schools for children aged two to five. They emerged in Great Britain and its colonies during the Early modern Britain, early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman ...
in 1862 by Misses Ellen and Margaret Ringer in the Suffolk coastal town of
Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...
in a terraced house on Wellington Esplanade. In 1872 they built South Lodge, and the school was known by the name 'South Lodge Preparatory School'. The school remained there for over 50 years before moving in 1936 to much larger premises at Old Buckenham Hall in the village of Old Buckenham,
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, previously the residence of financier Lionel Robinson. In December 1952, disaster struck and the Hall was burnt down by fire. In January of the following year the school found new premises at Merton Hall near
Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. Disaster struck again with a second fire in January 1956. After various options were considered, the school became aware that Brettenham Park in
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
had come onto the market and the property was acquired. The school, by then known as Old Buckenham Hall School, moved there in September 1956. The school has been on this site since, first taking on girls in the 1990s. It became fully co-educational in 1998. The school celebrated its centenary in 1962, which included the commissioning of an anthem setting the text of Psalm 150 by Benjamin Britten, an alumnus. The work was also performed at the school's 150th anniversary celebrations in 2012.


Present school

The School is currently divided into the three parts: *Pre-Prep School (Nursery - Year 2) *Middle School (Years 3 & 4) *Prep School (Years 5 – 8) The prep school is also split vertically into four houses: * Jupiter * Mars * Mercury * Saturn These houses were chosen in the 1960s to link the Ancient Greeks and the Space Age.


Facilities and activities

The school makes use of its sports pitches and facilities including three rugby pitches, two football pitches, five football and six hockey pitches, five cricket squares, seven tennis courts, two squash courts, all-weather netball courts, a nine-hole golf course, and an outdoor heated swimming pool. Pupils spend five of six afternoons a week playing games. Pupils at OBH play a wide variety of sports including rugby, hockey,
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 ...
,
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
,
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 ...
,
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...
,
gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
,
cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...
,
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
, 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 ...
. Being a predominantly day and transitional boarding school, the school offers a wide range of activities for the pupils including
archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...
,
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, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
, and
clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting at shooting target#Clay pigeons, special flying targets known as "clay pigeons" or "clay targets" with a shotgun. Despite their name, the targets ...
. The school has landscaped Japanese Gardens (known as 'The Japs'), located to the south of the Stable Yard. There are three ponds on the estate: the island pond, the mirror (South) pond and Dragonfly pond (in the Japanese Gardens). The school maintains an orchard, a historic arboretum, the big woods, two outdoor classrooms, owl boxes, beehives and also keeps chickens and ducks. The school's famous Thatched Pavilion played host to an England XI versus the touring Australian Ashes side in 1921 when it was located in Old Buckenham. The main multi-purpose hall, the Britten Hall, is named for the school's most distinguished alumnus, Benjamin Britten. The school is also home to the Brettenham Village Cricket Club and hosts an annual fireworks event for the local community.


Notable former pupils

*
Jaime Alguersuari Jaime Víctor Alguersuari Escudero (; born 23 March 1990), also known by his stage name Squire, is a Spanish former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and DJ, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Barcelona, Al ...
spent one year at the school *W. J. Birkbeck, scholar of Russia, the Balkans and the Orthodox Church * George Blagden, actor most famous for his starring role in the BBC series,
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
*
Charles Bowman (Lord Mayor of London) Sir Charles Edward Beck Bowman (born 8 December 1961), is a British accountant who served as the 690th Lord Mayor of London. Career Bowman was born in Essex and educated at Old Buckenham Hall School from 1970 to 1975 before attending Upping ...
* Benjamin Britten, composer *
Robert Brooke-Popham Air Chief Marshal Sir Henry Robert Moore Brooke-Popham, (18 September 1878 – 20 October 1953) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War he served in the Royal Flying Corps as a wing commander and senior staff o ...
, Governor of Singapore *
Harry Judd Harry Mark Christopher Judd (born 23 December 1985) is an English musician who is the drummer for the rock band McFly. Early life and education Judd was born in Chelmsford, Essex in southern England, the youngest of three children. He is the so ...
, drummer for
McFly McFly are a British pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Da ...
and
McBusted McBusted were an English pop-punk Supergroup (music), supergroup composed of members from bands McFly (Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd) and Busted (band), Busted (James Bourne and Matt Willis). The only member of the o ...
* Bill Sharpe, founder member of
Shakatak Shakatak are an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Bill Sharpe, Nigel Wright, Roger Odell and Keith Winter. An initial white label record, white label release, "Steppin", caught attention by Passion records label owner Les McCutcheon a ...
*
Clive Stafford Smith Clive Adrian Stafford Smith (born 9 July 1959) is a British attorney who specialises in the areas of civil rights and working against capital punishment in the United States. He worked to overturn death sentences for convicts, and helped foun ...
, human rights lawyer *
Laura Wright Laura Alice Wright (née Sisk; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Allison "Ally" Rescott on ''Loving (TV series), Loving'' (1991 to 1995) and ''The City (1995 TV series), The City'' (1995 ...
, singer from
All Angels All Angels were a British classical crossover group formed in 2006, consisting of Daisy Chute, Laura Wright, Rachel Fabri, Melanie Nakhla and actress Charlotte Ritchie. The group's style was classical crossover music and close harmony ar ...
* Tom West, Wasps and England Rugby Union player


Head Masters

"Five heads in 130 years" is the subtitle of J. D. Sewell's 1992 history of the school. 1862–1890 Ellen and Margaret Ringer (However "there was only one master, Mr Annesley") 1891–1923 The Rev. W. Richmond Phillips 1923–1967 Thomas J. Elliott Sewell 1967–1991 J. Donald Sewell 1991–1997 Hugh Cocke 1997–2010 Martin Ives 2010–2014 John A. Brett 2015–2018 Thomas O'Sullivan 2018–2023 David W. Griffiths 2023– James P. I. Large


Brettenham Park

The school has occupied Brettenham Park since 1956. It was purchased from the Warner family, whose lineage includes Courtenay Warner, and from whom the school derives its coat of arms and motto. The Grade II* listed house is of C16 origin and built upon the site of a much earlier residence. It was enlarged in the C19 as the residence of
Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...
.


References


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 private. The guide's contributors are predominantly parents, but include researchers and former headteachers. It uses a conversational tone. Selection of schools is made ...
''
Profile
on
Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...
{{Schools in Suffolk Preparatory schools in Suffolk Boarding schools in Suffolk 1862 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1862 * Brettenham, Suffolk Grade II* listed buildings in Suffolk