Saint Felix School is a 2–18 mixed,

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 ...

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and boarding school in Reydon,

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth, Suffolk, River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths ...

, Suffolk, England. The school was founded in 1897 as a school for girls but is now co-educational.

History

The school was founded in 1897 as a girls' school by Margaret Isabella Gardiner. By September 1902, the present site of the school had been purchased and the first four boarding houses and teaching block completed. In 1909 Lucy Mary Silcox took over as headmistress from the founding head. The student roll grew and in 1910, the Gardiner Assembly Hall and a Library were built and Clough House followed in 1914. Miss Silcox

Silcox was able to bring leading thinkers and artists to the school and money was found to buy sculpture and paintings. The modernist paintings inspired pupils like the artist Gwyneth Johnstone who remembered seeing work by Christopher Wood at the school. Silcox directed the girls in ancient Greek plays. The students knew she was President of the local

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...

as she gave talks in surrounding villages in support of women gaining the vote. The school continued during the 1914-18 war and during the 1916-1917 school year there was an outpost of the school at

Penmaenmawr Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an ...

as some parents were worried about their students' safety. The whole school was evacuated three times and the school took in some Serbian refugees.

Today

The school accommodates toddlers from 2 years of age in the Little Saint Felix Nursery, and children up to the age of 18 in the Sixth Form. The school offers boarding throughout the term, weekly, or 'flexi' boarding. Having joined the School in September 2023, Mr Matthew Oakman is the current Head.

Notable former pupils

* Griselda Allan – artist * Jane Benham MBE – artist and sailor who worked to preserve

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* Dorothea Braby – artist and illustrator * Dorothy Elizabeth Bradford – painter *

Stella Browne Stella Browne (9 May 1880 – 8 May 1955) was a Canadian-born British feminist, socialist, sex radical, and birth control campaigner. She was one of the primary women in the fight for women's right to control and make decisions regarding their ...

– feminist and abortion law reformer * Natalie Caine – woodwind playerNatalie Caine
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'', 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2013-01-05. *

Constance Coltman Constance Mary Coltman (née Todd; 23 May 188926 March 1969) was one of the first women ordained to Christian ministry in Britain. She practised within the Congregational Church. A decade earlier Gertrude von Petzold became minister at Narborough ...

– the first woman

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Christian ministry Christian ministry is the vocational work of living and teaching about faith, in the hopes of increasing the population of God's people done by the church, church officials, congregational members, and Jesus followers. The '' Cyclopedia of Bib ...

in BritainElaine Kaye
Coltman, Constance Mary (1889–1969)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. * Katherine Laird Cox – model, magistrate * Nora David, Baroness David – politician and life peerBaroness David
''The Daily Telegraph'', 2009-12-07. Retrieved 2013-01-05. *

William Ellard William Ellard (born 4 April 2006) is a British swimmer, who won three medals at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, including gold in the Swimming at the 2024 Summer Paralympics – Men's 200 metre freestyle S14, 200 m freestyle S14 where he s ...

– swimmer * Phyllis Gardner – artist and dog breeder *

Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British far-right politician who was chairman of the British National Party (BNP) from 1999 to 2014, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2009 to 2014. Follow ...

– Former BNP leader and MEP for North West England (1999–2014) * Lilias Rider Haggard MBE – daughter of Sir Henry Rider Haggard and an author in her own right''HAGGARD, Lilias Margitson Rider'', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 5 Jan 2013
/ref> * Norman Heatley OBE – biochemist * Gwyneth Johnstone – painter * Emily Beatrix Coursolles Jones – novelist * Nancy Lyle – tennis player * Violet Helen Millar, later Countess Attlee, wife of

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

* Mother Maribel of Wantage – Anglican nun and artist * Anna Russell – singer and comedian‘RUSSELL, Anna’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 5 Jan 2013
/ref> * Enid Russell-Smith DBE – civil servantJonathan Bradbury, ‘Smith, Dame Enid Mary Russell Russell- (1903–1989)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 5 Jan 2013
/ref> * Mary Snell-Hornby – translation scholar * Constance Tipper –

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

and crystallographerAnna Leendertz Ford, ''Tipper, Constance Fligg (1894–1995)'',

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 200
accessed 5 Jan 2013
/ref> *

Hannah Waterman Hannah Elizabeth Waterman (born 22 July 1975) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Laura Beale in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2000–2004). She is based in Sydney in Australia. Early life Waterman was born on ...

– actress * Dame Barbara Woodward – diplomat * Sonia Tumiotto, athlete and influencer

Notable staff

* Lucy Mary Silcox, headmistress from 1909 to 1926 * Anne Mustoe, headmistress from 1978 to 1987 * Ivey Dickson, pianist'Ivey Dickson', obituary in ''The Daily Telegraph'', 20 November 2014, p. 33

References

External links

*
Profile

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...