Abbotsholme School

Abbotsholme School is a coeducational independent boarding and day school near the town of Rocester in Staffordshire, England. The school is situated on a 140-acre campus on the banks of the River Dove in Derbyshire, near the county border. It is a member of the SHHIS and is a Round Square school.

History

Abbotsholme was founded by Scottish academic and educationist Cecil Reddie^[1] as an experiment for his progressive educational philosophies and theories.^[2][3] The school, then known "The New School", opened to boys aged 10 to 19 in 1889. From the very beginning, the school departed from the structure of the traditional public school in favour of a less rigid environment and more liberal education. Top hats and "Eton collars" were abandoned in favour of a more comfortable and practical uniform, and English, French and German were taught in place of Classics (Latin and Greek). The fine arts were introduced as core subjects, which was unusual at that time as music and art were mostly taught at cathedral schools or specialist art institutes. Practical skills such as animal husbandry and carpentry were integrated into the curriculum.^[4] It has been coeducational since 1969; girls now make up over one third of pupil numbers.

"Culture of fear"

In February 2014, the headmaster of Abbotsholme was quoted as saying that head teachers should instil a “culture of fear” in their schools through the introduction of performance-related pay for teachers.^[5]

Notable former pupils

• Lytton Strachey, British writer and critic
• Alan Dower Blumlein, Electronics engineer and inventor
• Peter Crossley-Holland, Ethnomusicologist and composer
• Sir Samuel Phillips Bedson, FRS Professor of Bacteriology, University of London
• Roger Altounyan - physician and pharmacologist who pioneered the use of sodium cromoglycate as a preventative for asthma^[6][7]

References

External links

• School Website
• UK Boarding Schools Guide Profile
• Profile on the ISC website