Sutton Valence School (SVS) is an independent school near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

in southeast England. It has 560 pupils. It is a

co-education 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 ...

al day and boarding school. There are three senior boarding houses: Westminster, St Margaret's and Sutton.

History

The school was founded in 1576 as the Free Grammar School of William Lambe in

Sutton Valence Sutton Valence (in the past also called Sudtone, Town Sutton and Sutton Hastings, see below) is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensa ...

, by William Lambe, Master of the

Worshipful Company of Clothworkers The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of t ...

and a member of the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also appl ...

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

. It remained under the control of the

until 1910 when it was taken under the control of United Westminster Schools, a charitable trust which also incorporates

Emanuel School Emanuel School is an independent, co-educational day school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded in 1594 by Anne Sackville, Lady Dacre and Queen Elizabeth I and occupies a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site close to Clapham Junction ...

and

Westminster City School Westminster City School is a state-funded secondary academy for boys, with a mixed sixth form, in Westminster, London. The school educates over 800 students, with links to more than 100 different cultures, in a central London location. The sch ...

in London and more recently combined with

Grey Coat Hospital The Grey Coat Hospital is a Church of England secondary school with academy status for girls in Westminster, London, England. It is a specialist Language College. History The school was formally established at the Trustees' first meeting he ...

and

Queen Anne's School Queen Anne's School is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18, situated in the suburb of Caversham just north of the River Thames and Reading town centre and occupying a campus. There are around 450 pupils. Nearly half ...

as The United Westminster and Grey Coat Foundation. In 1983, the school became co-educational and in 1995 it incorporated Underhill Preparatory School. It is now a co-educational day and boarding school catering for pupils from two to eighteen years of age. It has local and overseas pupils. The school has gone through renovation and expansion, building a new maths block, theatre, indoor swimming pool, second astro pitch and an all-weather track and field facility. The sports hall is dedicated to

Sydney Wooderson Sydney Charles Wooderson MBE (30 August 1914 – 21 December 2006), dubbed "The Mighty Atom", was an English athlete whose peak career was in the 1930s and 1940s. He set the world mile record of 4:06.4 at London’s Motspur Park on 28 August 19 ...

, a former pupil and Olympic athlete who held the world record for the mile.

Boarding houses

On 21 July 1911, the Archbishop of Canterbury,

Randall Davidson Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican priest who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the Reformation, and the ...

, opened the new buildings, comprising the Main School and the St Margaret's, or Headmaster's Wing. The Westminster Wing was still under construction. The site had previously been leased to the school by the Filmer family as a playing field before the acquisition of the 'Upper' and subsequently used as the village recreation ground. It has been purchased outright by a Master of the Clothworkers’, W. E. Horne, and presented to the new governing body. Upper School houses derive their names from the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...

Schools Association. Leslie Bridges, the first housemaster of Westminster lent his name to the nickname of "Ponts". St Margaret's is named after the Westminster

Parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

, dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch.

CCF

The CCF and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme (DofE) are for pupils in Year 9 and above. CCF courses are supplemented by termly field days offering overnight camps, exercises and adventure training.

DofE The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and youn ...

members undertake service in the community and expeditions. Pupils in Year 10 and Year 11 can opt out of this provision and study for a creative subject in

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private s ...

. The CCF meets on a Wednesday afternoon. Each afternoon is started by a Contingent parade outside the School's Cornwallis Building. The CCF train on Field Days at military bases. Sutton Valence School CCF is affiliated to the

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Q ...

Coat of arms

School uses coat of arms of the founder William Lambe and the motto of the

. * Coat of arms blazoned: ''Sable, on a fess Or, between three pierced cinquefoil ermine, two mullets sable.'' * Motto: ''My Trust is in God Alone''

Buildings

Image:Svs centre.jpg, Centre block Image:Svs chapel.jpg, School Chapel inside Image:Svs lambes.jpg, The Lambe's building Image:Svs dt.jpg, Design and Technology Centre Image:Svs cornwallis.jpg,

Baron Cornwallis Baron Cornwallis is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The holders of the first creation were later made Earl Cornwallis and Marquess Cornwallis, but these titles ar ...

building Image:Svs spots centre.jpg,

Sport Centre Image:Svs swimming pool.jpg, Swimming pool Image:Svs maths.jpg, Maths and ICT block

Notable alumni

Jon Brewer Jonathan George Brewer (born 30 January 1950) is an English documentary director and producer who was formerly a manager of rock music acts and artists. Early life Brewer was born in Eastbourne, England to Gansel and Eileen Brewer. They later ...

English documentary director and producer who was formerly a manager of rock music acts and artists *

Terence Cuneo Terence Tenison Cuneo RGI FGRA (1 November 1907 – 3 January 1996) was a prolific English painter noted for his scenes of railways, horses and military actions. He was also the official artist for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 ...

CVO,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, RGI, FGRA painter * Sir

Charles Groves Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE (10 March 191520 June 1992) was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors. After accompanying positions and conducting ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

conductor * Paul Anderson,

, GB Olympic sailor *

Gordon Apps Lieutenant Gordon Frank Mason Apps (3 May 1899 – 24 October 1931) was a British-born World War I flying ace credited with 10 aerial victories. After working for the Imperial Wireless Chain in England postwar, he returned to Canada and joined t ...

, DFC, World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

Ajahn Amaro Ajahn Amaro (born 1956) is a Theravāda Buddhist monk and teacher, and abbot of the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery at the eastern end of the Chiltern Hills in South East England. The centre, in practice as much for ordinary people as for mona ...

(Jeremy Horner), Abbot, Amaravati buddhist monastery * Cecil W Bacon, illustrator *

Ali Bongo Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain-Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959), also known as Ali Bongo and Ali Ben Bongo, is a Gabonese former politician who was the third president of Gabon from 2009 to 2023. He is a member of the Gabonese Democratic Party. He ...

, magician * Ashley Jackson, GB Olympic hockey player Member of Bronze medal winning England men's hockey team, Commonwealth Games 2014 * Ben Brown, BBC journalist *

Joseph Friedman Joseph B. Friedman (October 9, 1900 – June 21, 1982) was an independent American inventor with a broad range of interests and ideas. Friedman was a first generation American and the fifth of eight children of Jacob David Frie ...

, inventor of the flexible drinking straw

Retrieved 9 August 2013. *

John Howard Churchill John Howard Churchill (9 June 1920 – 29 April 1990) was Dean of Carlisle from 1973 to 1987. Born in 1920, he was educated at Sutton Valence School and Trinity College, Cambridge and ordained in 1944. He held curacies at St George, Camberwel ...

Dean of Carlisle The Dean of Carlisle is based in Carlisle, UK and is the head of the Chapter of Carlisle Cathedral. There have been 39 previous incumbents and the post is currently vacant. List of deans Early modern *1542–1547 Lancelot Salkeld (last prior ...

(1973–1987) *

Mark Benson Mark Richard Benson (born 6 July 1958) is an English former cricketer and umpire. Benson played for England in one Test match and one One Day International in 1986. He later took up umpiring and spent time on the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. ...

, England and Kent County cricket captain and ICC Elite umpire * Sir Reginald Champion, Governor of Aden *

Peter Fairley Peter Fairley (2 November 1930 – 5 August 1998) was a British science journalist who was the Science Editor for Independent Television News and ''TV Times'' magazine the late sixties and early seventies. His name became synonymous with ITN' ...

, TV science journalist *

Peter Polycarpou Peter Polycarpou is an English-Cypriot actor, best known for playing Chris Theodopolopodous in the television comedy series ''Birds of a Feather'' and Louis Charalambos in '' The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies''. Early life Polycarpou w ...

, actor and musician *

Robbie Joseph Robert Hartman Joseph (born 20 January 1982) is an Antiguan-born English former professional cricketer. Joseph made his debut for Kent County Cricket Club at the end of the 2005 season, having been cleared to play for them in April 2004. In 200 ...

, Kent cricket player *

Robert Fisk Robert Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was a writer and journalist who held British and Irish citizenship. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. His stan ...

, journalist *

, Olympic athlete and world record holder * Susannah Townsend, GB hockey player, member of Gold medal winning GB women's hockey team, Rio Olympic Games 2016 *

Reginald Fulljames Reginald Edgar Gilbert Fulljames MC (13 November 1896 – 31 July 1985) was an English cricketer and an officer in both the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Air Force (RAF), serving in both world wars. Life and military service Born at ...

, aviator, cricketer,

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

recipient *

Jack Gannon Brigadier Jack Rose Compton Gannon (1 November 1882 – 25 April 1980) was an Irish first-class cricketer and British Army officer. He served initially with the British Army's South Staffordshire Regiment before joining the Indian Army's ...

, cricketer and British Army officer *

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

, cricketer

References

External links

BBC Education league table

Inspection Report on Sutton Valence School
{{Authority control Independent schools in Kent Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Borough of Maidstone Charles Holden buildings 1576 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1570s