Caldicott School

Caldicott School

Motto	Per Victoriam Ad Gloriam (Through victory to glory)
Established	1904
Type	Preparatory school
Religion	Church of England
Headmaster	Simon Doggart
Chairman of the Governors	Malcolm Swift
Founder	Heald Jenkins
Location	Farnham Royal Buckinghamshire England
Staff	50 (approx.)
Students	290 (approx.)
Gender	Boys
Ages	7–13
Houses	Cooper, Jenkins, McArthur & Wood
Colours	Cerise and green
Former pupils	Old Caldicotians
Website	www.caldicott.com

Caldicott Preparatory School is a prep school for boys aged 7–13, in southern Buckinghamshire, England.

About Caldicott

Caldicott Preparatory School was founded in Hitchin, Hertfordshire in 1904 by James Heald Jenkins who named his school after his new bride, a Miss Theodora Caldicott Ingram. There were just eight boys. In 1938 the school moved to its present site in Farnham Royal in Buckinghamshire, and became a charitable trust in 1968 under the Headmaster at the time Peter Wright. Today there are around 250 boys. The present headmaster, Simon Doggart, was appointed in 1998; he came from Eton College where he taught history and was master-in-charge of cricket. He is a member of IAPS and the school’s governors include past parents, old boys and headmasters of public schools.

According to the school's website, many pupils at Caldicott subsequently win places at major independent schools, such as Eton College, Harrow School, Winchester College, Stowe School, Marlborough College, Wellington College, Haileybury College and Radley College.

The original Victorian house remains. New buildings have been created around it to provide more contemporary facilities. In 2004 the Centenary Hall was completed to provide a theatre for drama and music and a venue for functions.

Although central London is only 20 miles (32 km) away the school has 40 acres (160,000 m²) of grounds and playing fields. Burnham Beeches, a National Nature Reserve owned by the City of London Corporation is adjacent to the grounds and is often used by pupils. Heathrow Airport is 7 miles (11 km) away.

Child sex abuse

On 30 September 2008 the school was the subject of a feature documentary, Chosen, transmitted on More4 as part of the "True Stories" strand, about the sexual abuse that went on at the school during the late 1960s and early 1970s.^[1] The headmaster Peter Wright was active in this, as well as a number of other teachers, targeting boys good at sports and, to a lesser extent, in the choir. In The Guardian published on the same day, a former parent alleged that Lord Justice Scott Baker former Chairman of the Board of Governors, and Simon Doggart the current headmaster, mishandled a case of alleged sexual abuse of their son by a teacher in the early 2000s.^[2]

Martin Carson was dismissed for sexual abuse of a pupil in 1972, and went on to teach at the Harrodian School. He was subsequently prosecuted and found guilty of indecent assault and possessing indecent images of children in 2003.^[3]

On 4 December 2011, Peter Wright and Hugh Henry, another teacher, were charged with child sex offences alleged to have taken place between 1959 and 1970. For Henry, the charges cover his period at Gayhurst School as well as at Caldicott. They appeared in court in Aylesbury on 21 December 2011 charged with a total of 35 offences against 12 pupils.^[4][5] This was the second time that Peter Wright had been charged for child abuse offences; the first time, in 2003, the judge awarded a stay of proceedings predicated upon the passage of time since the offences were allegedly committed.^[6]

Hugh Henry was found guilty of 11 counts of indecency, and two of gross indecency, towards a child, and pleaded guilty. He was killed by a train shortly before he was due to return to court for sentencing, his death a presumed suicide.^[7]

On 18 December 2013 Peter Wright was convicted of sexually assaulting five pupils aged eight to 13 at Caldicott between 1959 and 1970.^[8] Wright was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment on 6 February 2014.^[9]

Thames Valley Police on 1 May 2012 charged another former teacher, John Addrison,^[10] with sexual offences committed against children at the school between 1979 and 1981. Addrison was subsequently further charged^[11] with child sex offences committed at Moor Park School near Ludlow, Shropshire, between 1985 and 1988. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 5 years' prison.

A further ex teacher, David Geddes, was also charged in November 2012, with four charges for offences against 3 school children between 1975 and 1977.^[12][13] In the first trial there was a hung jury, and in the subsequent second trial he was acquitted.

More recently, under the current headmaster Simon Doggart, another incident of alleged child sexual abuse was reported in the late 2000s. The headmaster and the chairman of the board of governors, Lord Justice Scott Baker, suspended the teacher (who did not return) but failed to report the incident to the police or social services, contrary to the school's written policy on this matter.^[2]

Houses

Each pupil in the school is a member of one of four houses. These are:

• Cooper: named after John Shewell Cooper, the School's fourth headmaster.     
• Jenkins: named after Heald Jenkins, the founder and first headmaster.     
• McArthur: named after Harry McArthur, an influential Leys parent who aided the School financially.     
• Wood: named after F. Gordon Wood, the third headmaster of the School.     

Notable alumni

• John Apthorp, Founder of Bejam Foods, now Iceland and Wizzard Wines, now Majestic Wines
• Ben Castle, British jazz musician, the son of entertainer Roy Castle.
• Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam, leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• Rodney Craig, British fencer who competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics.
• Robert Diament, singer/songwriter of pop band Temposhark
• Will Hoy (Decd, 2001), British Touring Car Champion 1991
• Ralph Izzard, Journalist for the Daily Mail
• Adrian Jarvis, Harlequins FC rugby union player; selected for England Saxons 2008 squad
• Malcolm Lowry, poet and novelist
• Brooks Newmark, Conservative MP for Braintree and former Minister for Civil Society
• Ernest Saunders, former Chief Executive of Guinness 1981-86, best known for being one of the "Guinness Four"
• Chris Sheasby, England rugby union player
• Ed Stoppard, Actor
• Andrew Strauss, England cricketer and Captain

References

External links

• "Independent School Inspection Report on Caldicott" (PDF). February 2012. 
• "The Ofsted Care Inspection Report on Caldicott" (PDF). November 2011. 

Coordinates: 51°33′04″N 0°37′15″W / 51.55111°N 0.62083°W / 51.55111; -0.62083