Lambrook

Lambrook

Established	1860
Type	Independent
Religion	Christian
Headmaster	Jonathan Perry BA Hons PGCE (Cantab)
Chairman of Governors	Charles Donald BA Hons CDipAF
Location	Winkfield Row Winkfield Row, Bracknell Berkshire RG42 6LU England
Staff	50 full-time
Students	500
Gender	Boys and girls
Ages	3–13
Houses	Alexander, Athlone, Dewar, Goodhart
Colours	Navy & Duck Egg
Website	www.lambrookschool.co.uk

Lambrook is a preparatory school school in Winkfield Row, Berkshire for children between the ages of 3 and 13. The current headmaster is Jonathan Perry, assisted by his wife, Jenny. The school is governed by a Board of Governors, whose Chairman is currently Charles Donald. In 2010, Lambrook celebrated 150 years of educating children with a variety of events and functions.

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Lambrook School

File:Lambrook Chapel.jpg

Lambrook Chapel

History

The school was founded in 1860 by Robert Burnside, in a large country house built in 1853 by William Budd. Burnside initially employed only one master, and by 1879 there were twenty one boys, including two grandsons of Queen Victoria, Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein. Run as a traditional boys' boarding school, Lambrook accepted only male pupils between the ages of 7 and 13 until 1993.

In 1883 Edward Mansfield took over as headmaster, with 46 boys, and made substantial additions to the property, almost doubling its size. Mansfield's expansion saw Lambrook gain a reputation as an efficiently run and forward looking school, although this came at significant financial cost, which placed the school's finances under considerable pressure. It was around this time that there was a 'row' which saw almost all of the pupils leave.

Upon the accession of the Rev. Francis Browne in 1904 there were only 35 pupils and seven teaching staff, but by 1935 the school had expanded again to 59 boys. The current chapel was built under Francis Browne's tenure, in 1905. By 1945 there were 90 boys and a nearby residence, Westfield, was purchased to accommodate 30 pupils. When Archie Forbes took over in 1952 the school finances were at crisis point, and only improved by the time the Rev. Philip Brownless, Archie Forbes' son-in-law, was appointed in 1956. However, substantial death duty liabilities hit Lambrook when Archie Forbes died in the same year, and the financial ruin that the school then faced was only averted in 1967 when Lambrook became a Charitable Trust.

Lambrook was the scene of child abuse in the 1970s and early 1980s, when one member of staff sexually molested a number of pupils, some of them as young as eight. The offender, who had left Lambrook in the early 1980s, was convicted in 2002.

By 1971 there were 120 boys, increasing to 140 by 1997. Major expansions of the premises took place between 1978 and 1984 during the headmastership of Tom Clough, including a new teaching block, a squash court and an all-weather pitch. During this period the school gained an outstanding reputation for the high calibre of teaching and the academic and sporting achievements of its pupils. Lambrook declined under the tenure of Michael Bickersteth (1989-92), with numbers dropping considerably, a trend not significantly changed by his successor Robin Badham Thornhill, who resigned in 1997 to take up the Headship of Summerfields, Oxford.

In 1993 a pre-prep department was opened with four children, increasing to 69 by 1997. In that year the Governors approved a merger with Haileybury Junior School in Windsor which was beset by the limitations of its site, and John Hare, headmaster of Haileybury was appointed to the new combined school, called Lambrook-Haileybury, with 200 children, now of both sexes, both boarders and day pupils. Robert Deighton's tenure as Head saw the school flourish with numbers growing to over 450. In July 2009, the school severed all links with Haileybury at considerable cost to the prep school, and returned to the original name of Lambrook. In February 2013 HRH The Earl of Wessex opened the Diamond Jubilee Centre, a purpose built performing arts building.

Lambrook choir circa 1960, with Rev. Philip Brownless

The school has 43 acres (170,000 m²) of grounds and playing fields, which includes a 9-hole golf course. Lambrook caters for both day pupils and weekly or flexible boarding pupils. Fees range from around £3,000 in the pre-prep and £4,800 a term in the prep for day pupils, up to £6,000 a term for boarders.

Headmasters of Lambrook

• 1860-1883 Robert J. Burnside
• 1883-1904 Edward Dillon Mansfield
• 1904-1930 Rev. Francis Deshon Browne
• 1930-1939 Guy Fremantle Cameron
• 1939-1956 Archibald Herbert d'Esterre Forbes
• 1956-1971 Rev. Philip P. S. Brownless
• 1971-1989 Thomas Vernon Clough
• 1989-1992 Michael Cameron Bickersteth
• 1992-1993 Ian Stewart
• 1993-1997 Robin Badham Thornhill
• 1997-1999 John Hare
• 1999-2005 Robert Deighton
• 2005-2010 James Barnes
• 2010–present Jonathan Perry

Notable former students

• Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein, grandson of Queen Victoria and British Army officer who died during the Boer War
• Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, grandson of Queen Victoria and Prussian army officer
• Lord Alfred Douglas, author, poet and lover of Oscar Wilde
• Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of Ancaster,Conservative Member of Parliament and peer
• Raymond Asquith, eldest son of wartime Prime Minister H. H. Asquith and member of The Coterie, killed during the Battle of the Somme
• Brigadier The Honourable Arthur Asquith DSO, British officer during World War I; third son of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith
• Raymond Raikes, British theatre producer, director and broadcaster
• The Honourable Herbert Asquith, poet, novelist, lawyer. Second son of H. H. Asquith
• W.C. Sellar, author, 1066 and All That
• R.J. Yeatman, author 1066 and All That
• Brigadier EE Dorman-Smith, County Cavan native British Army officer during World War II; subsequent supporter of Irish republicanism
• Oswald Phipps, 4th Marquess of Normanby KG, British peer and Knight of the Garter
• Major General Sir Roy Redgrave KBE, MC, former Major General Commanding the Household Division of the British Army
• James Meade CB, Nobel Prize–winning economist
• The Reverend Sandy Millar, retired Anglican bishop, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton and founder of the Alpha course
• Lieutenant General Sir Alistair Irwin KCB, CBE, Adjutant General to the British Army 2003 to 2005
• Giles Clarke, founder of Majestic Wine, venture capitalist and sports administrator
• Max Evans, Scottish rugby player
• Thom Evans, Scottish rugby player
• Alex Pettyfer, actor

Notable former teachers

• Colin Croft, former West Indian cricket player

External links

• ISBI schools database review of Lambrook Haileybury
• Independent Schools Inspectorate report
• The Good Schools Guide