Downe House
Encyclopedia
Downe House School is an independent girls' boarding school
in Cold Ash, a village near Newbury, Berkshire
, for girls aged 11-18.
, its first headmistress, as an all-girls' boarding school
. Its first home was Down House
in the village of Downe, Kent
(now part of the London Borough of Bromley
), which had been the home of Charles Darwin
. By 1921 this was too small for the school, so Willis bought The Cloisters, Cold Ash, Berkshire
, to which the school moved in 1922 where it remains.
In 2005, the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.
Before the cloisters were bought by Olive Willis they were part of a nunnery. One of the nuns, Elizabeth Day went crazy and killed herself. It is said that many of the girls in the house Tedworth in particular have seen her ghost roaming around the dorms at night. However, she in fact hung herself over a balcony in what is now a computer room.
Downe House educates girls between the ages of eleven and eighteen, taking them from the last years of junior school through to the sixth form
and Pre-U. Girls can join the school at the ages of eleven, twelve, or thirteen, on leaving a primary or prep school
, or at sixteen after completing GCSEs.
The school is selective, with most entrants needing to pass the Common Entrance Examination.
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Cold Ash, a village near Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
, for girls aged 11-18.
History
Downe House was founded in 1907 by Olive WillisOlive Willis
Olive Margaret Willis was an English educationist and headmistress. She founded Downe House School and was its head for nearly forty years, from 1907 to 1946.-Early life:...
, its first headmistress, as an all-girls' boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
. Its first home was Down House
Down House
Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theories of evolution by natural selection which he had conceived in London before moving to Downe....
in the village of Downe, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
(now part of the London Borough of Bromley
London Borough of Bromley
The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...
), which had been the home of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. By 1921 this was too small for the school, so Willis bought The Cloisters, Cold Ash, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, to which the school moved in 1922 where it remains.
In 2005, the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.
Before the cloisters were bought by Olive Willis they were part of a nunnery. One of the nuns, Elizabeth Day went crazy and killed herself. It is said that many of the girls in the house Tedworth in particular have seen her ghost roaming around the dorms at night. However, she in fact hung herself over a balcony in what is now a computer room.
Entry and education
The Good Schools Guide called Downe House:Downe House educates girls between the ages of eleven and eighteen, taking them from the last years of junior school through to the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
and Pre-U. Girls can join the school at the ages of eleven, twelve, or thirteen, on leaving a primary or prep school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
, or at sixteen after completing GCSEs.
The school is selective, with most entrants needing to pass the Common Entrance Examination.
Notable former pupils
- Aileen FoxAileen FoxAileen Fox, née Henderson was an English archaeologist.The daughter of a solicitor, she was educated at Downe House School in Kent and later at its new site in Berkshire, under the headship of Olive Willis, and went on to read English at Newnham College, Cambridge...
, archaeologist - Aletha HayterAletha HayterAlethea Catharine Hayter OBE, FRSL was an English author and British Council Representative.-Family and early life:...
(1911–2006), author and British CouncilBritish CouncilThe British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
representative - Anne RidlerAnne RidlerAnne Barbara Ridler OBE was a British poet, and Faber and Faber editor, selecting the Faber A Little Book of Modern Verse with T. S. Eliot . Her Collected Poems were published in 1994...
(1912–2001), poet - Audrey RichardsAudrey RichardsAudrey Isabel Richards , was a pioneering British woman social anthropologist who worked mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.Audrey was the second of four girls born to a well-connected family in London, England...
(1899–1984), social anthropologist who worked mainly in sub-Saharan Africa - Betty ReaBetty ReaElizabeth Marion Rea was an English sculptor and educationalist.- Biography :Betty Rea was born in London in 1904. Her father was Dr...
(1904–1965), sculptor and educationist - HRH Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, then Catherine Middleton attended the school for a term before being moved to Marlborough CollegeMarlborough CollegeMarlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
- Clare BaldingClare BaldingClare Balding is a BBC sports presenter, journalist and jockey.-Early life:In 1989 and 1990, Balding was a leading amateur flat jockey and Champion Lady Rider in 1990....
, BBC sports presenter - Elizabeth BowenElizabeth BowenElizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen, CBE was an Irish novelist and short story writer.-Life:Elizabeth Bowen was born on 7 June 1899 at 15 Herbert Place in Dublin, Ireland and was baptized in the nearby St Stephen's Church on Upper Mount Street...
, author - Evelyn Rothwell, oboist
- Georgina RylanceGeorgina RylanceGeorgina Elizabeth Rylance , English actress, best known for Dinotopia.-Early life:Rylance is the daughter of Judge John Rylance QC, a circuit judge....
, actress - Geraldine JamesGeraldine JamesGeraldine James, OBE is an English actress.-Early life and family:James was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to a cardiologist father...
, actress - Kristin LinklaterKristin LinklaterKristin Linklater is a Scottish vocal coach, dialect coach, acting teacher, actor, theatre director, and author. She is currently Head of Acting in the Theatre Arts Division of Columbia University.-Biography:...
, vocal coachVocal coachA vocal coach is a music teacher who instructs singers on how to improve their singing technique, take care of and develop their voice, and prepare for the performance of a song or other work. Vocal coaches may give private music lessons to singers, or they may coach singers who are rehearsing on...
, now at Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the... - Lady Gabriella WindsorLady Gabriella WindsorThe Lady Gabriella Marina Alexandra Ophelia Windsor , known both professionally and personally as Ella Windsor, is an English freelance feature writer, and the only daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent .Her paternal great grandparents were King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of...
, journalist and member of the British Royal FamilyBritish Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with... - Laura SolonLaura SolonLaura Solon is an English comedian, actor, writer, and winner of the 2005 Perrier Comedy Award, only the second woman to win as a solo performer .-Background:...
, comedian - Lena TownsendLena TownsendLena Moncrieff Townsend CBE was a British Conservative politician in London and served briefly as Leader of the Inner London Education Authority....
, politician - Mary Scrutton, philosopher
- Miranda HartMiranda HartMiranda Katharine Hart Dyke , known professionally as Miranda Hart, is an English actress, writer and stand-up comedienne. She writes and stars in the BBC sitcom Miranda...
, comedian - Philippa Middleton, socialite and sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
- Priscilla NapierPriscilla NapierPriscilla Napier was an English author, specializing in biography.-Early life:Born at Oxford in 1908, Hayter was the daughter of Sir William Hayter, an adviser to the Egyptian government, and his wife, Alethea Slessor, daughter of a Hampshire rector...
(1908–1998), author - Rosemary MurrayRosemary MurrayDame Alice Rosemary Murray, DBE was a British chemist, educator and university administrator.-New Hall, Cambridge:...
, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, founder of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge - Sophie DahlSophie DahlSophie Dahl , born Sophie Holloway, is an English author and former model. She was born in London, the daughter of actor Julian Holloway and writer Tessa Dahl. Her maternal grandparents were author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal. Her paternal grandparents were actor Stanley Holloway and...
, model and author - Susannah FiennesSusannah FiennesSusannah Fiennes is a British artist who has worked extensively with the Prince of Wales and is collected in Europe, Asia and America.-Biography:Fiennes is the daughter of Lord & Lady Saye and Sele who are the owners of Broughton Castle....
, artist - Tessa Dahl, mother of Sophie, daughter of Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal
- Valerie GouldingValerie GouldingValerie Hamilton, Hon. Lady Goulding was an Irish campaigner for disabled people and senator who set up the Central Remedial Clinic in 1951, now the largest organisation in Ireland looking after people with physical disabilities...
, member of Seanad ÉireannSeanad ÉireannSeanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...