New Hall School
Encyclopedia
New Hall is one of the oldest Catholic school
s in England. It is located in the former Tudor
Palace of Beaulieu
in Essex
.
Today New Hall is a leading Catholic independent boarding & day school for boys and girls aged 3–18. Founded in 1642, New Hall School, Chelmsford, is the oldest Catholic school in England that has always taken girls. Following the establishment of its new charitable status as New Hall School Trust in 2005, in a pioneering move the former convent school opened its doors to senior boys. Boarders are taken from age 8 and approximately one third of the senior school are boarders.
In 2010, the total roll of 1,100 boarding and day students is the greatest in the school’s history. New Hall has been acknowledged as “the fastest growing independent Catholic school in the UK” (The Universe Newspaper, 25 October 2009). The recession-beating 42% growth in student numbers from 2007-09 is understood to be without precedent across all types of independent schools. New Hall is now the largest Catholic boarding and day school in the UK.
Today New Hall operates an unusual ‘diamond model’ structure, i.e. co-education in the Preparatory School (ages 3–11), single-sex education in the Boys’ Division and Girls’ Division and co-education in the Sixth Form.
Although 85% of students are from South East England, there is also a mix of students from over 35 different countries.
The Preparatory School Houses are named after Saints:
The boarding houses follow a horizontal structure and are named as follows:
The major games are cricket, hockey, netball, rugby, and tennis. There is a wide variety of other sports, including aerobics & pilates, athletics, badminton, basketball, cross country, fencing, football, golf, riding, swimming and volleyball. Former England Cricket Captain Nasser Hussain recently joined the cricket staff team at New Hall.
Sports teams go on to achieve excellent results for example the Year 11 Rugby team are the current Essex County Schools’ Rugby Champions,and many of the students are selected for county and international teams.
All students are encouraged to participate in the English Speaking Board (ESB) or London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) programmes.
Music
Students take individual lessons in orchestral instruments, piano, singing, drums and electric guitars. A growing number of students take lessons on the newly restored Norman & Beard Organ in the Chapel.
There is a host of performing groups, including senior and junior choirs, chamber choirs, a chapel choir, a senior orchestra, a strings academy, wind bands, a guitar ensemble, and chamber groups. Students are also encouraged to form jazz and pop bands and specialist support and facilities are available.
Regular performances are given by students in assemblies, lunchtime recitals and formal concerts. Students take part in regional and national musical festivals and competitions, and groups tour regularly to perform in major venues in Europe.
New Hall School Choir, Directed by Andrew Fardell, has performed at St. Peters, Rome, St. Marks, Venice, Westminster Cathedral, London as well as on BBC Television. The choir sings a wide range of music from sacred to secular, classic to modern. The choir also toured Venice in February 2010.
Dance
New Hall Dance School
The Dance School runs lunchtime and after school classes in contemporary, modern/jazz, tap and ballet.
All classes take part in an annual summer production in a public theatre. The Dance School offers students the opportunity to explore dance in an exciting and professional environment.
New Hall Dance Company
The Dance Company was founded in September 2003 to facilitate the increased demand from students who wanted more opportunities to train and perform. The Company has students from Year 10 upwards. The Company has taken parts in a variety of events in and around Chelmsford and has an important role in supporting the Dance Department within the School.
Drama
Drama forms a part of student activity at New Hall. Each year the Senior School produces a large scale production just before Christmas during which many students experience the exhilaration of being part of this tradition. Recent productions have included ‘Daisy’, ‘Lark Rise’, ‘Rock Nativity’ and ‘West Side Story’. Other notable productions are provided by the Drama and Theatre Studies students whose productions have included Woyzeck, Waiting for Godot, Teechers, Arabian Nights and Grimm Tales.
The Eaton Theatre, equipped with lighting and sound technology, provides a traditional performance venue whilst in Walkfares, two well equipped, versatile studios provide the environment for both teaching and for a range of performances.
Drama forms part of the curriculum for all Year 7, 8 and 9 students. Drama is a popular option at GCSE, it offers a good balance of practical and text based work. GCSE Drama is not a pre-requisite for studying the subject at A level.
The Drama Department is committed to offering a variety of extra-curricular activities and clubs to extend the curriculum beyond that offered in timetabled sessions. For those who choose not to follow drama at GCSE or A Level, a range of performance related opportunities exist for students to become involved in acting, designing, directing, lighting or sound. These provide opportunities to reinforce curriculum work or to undertake work not normally covered within the routine timetable. GCSE Drama students run the Drama Club, for Year 7 and 8 students. This activity, supervised by a specialist teacher, is specifically catered to the needs and wishes of the participants. They may wish to develop their skills through the use of workshop games, to devise an original piece of theatre or to present a scripted play to an audience.
in Belgium
in 1642 by Susan Hawley, who also formed the English Community of the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre
. The founding Religious Order, the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, is one of the most ancient in the Church and was established in Europe long before the English Religious Community was founded in 1642. Initially the school offered a Catholic education to girls who were denied this in England in the Post-Protestant Reformation
period. In 1794, the French Revolutionary Wars
forced the nuns to leave the Low Countries. The school reopened on its present site in 1799.
Palace of Beaulieu
in Essex
In 1517, the estate was acquired by Henry VIII, who greatly enlarged and enhanced the building and called it Beaulieu. The Royal Arms of Henry VIII
are now to be seen in the school Chapel. For many years the home of Mary Tudor, New Hall was subsequently granted to the Earl of Sussex
by Queen Elizabeth I. Oliver Cromwell
later procured the estate for 5 shilling
s.
New Hall was founded in 1642 by Susan Hawley a Canoness Regular of the Holy Sepulchre. The School moved from Liege to New Hall in 1799. The Community still have strong links with the school and are governors as well as being involved with NHVS.
The special feature length documentary called Henry VIII’s Lost Palace was shown on Channel 4 on Easter Monday 13 April 2009 and repeated on Saturday 2 May 2009.
Jon Willers summarises the significance of the archaeological dig at New Hall as follows:
"When Henry came to the throne in 1509 aged eighteen, he inherited several palaces from his father, including Richmond, Greenwich and Woodstock. The documentary set out to explore why, seven years into his reign, he felt the need to build the Palace of Beaulieu, now known as New Hall.
Henry certainly set out to make a statement. The palace was huge - contemporaries describe it as having eight courtyards with a 550 feet (167.6 m) facade and at the centre of this splendour stood two massive gatehouse towers. In 1516, Catherine of Aragon gave birth to Henry's first child, Princess Mary (later to become Bloody Queen Mary). At the time, Mary was Henry's only heir and it seems that as far as he was concerned, she was to get the very best of everything. Just a month before her birth, Henry ordered the construction of Beaulieu Palace. And nearly 500 years later, Time Team would uncover exactly how far Henry went when it came to lavishing luxury on his firstborn. The western range shown on later plans of the palace interested landscape surveyor Stewart Ainsworth because it overlooked the fancy privy garden - a prime spot. It was clearly intended for someone very important.
In fact, the results were more intriguing than anyone had expected. At the end of three days, the team had revealed an intricate series of Tudor drains where the western range would have stood, pointing to a kitchen or laundry area. The question was raised that if this was such an important part of the palace, why have a separate laundry here away from the main service areas? As architectural historian Jonathan Foyle suggested, this wing was meant for someone special, someone who needed a lot of care and attention. It looked like the team had inadvertently stumbled across the nursery for young Princess Mary.
Time Team was beginning to uncover a different side of Henry VIII: a doting father who thought nothing was too good for his new daughter and elsewhere in the palace, the team were discovering what else was important to the young Henry. A trench over the imposing gatehouse towers revealed the scale of the front of the palace. This was a building intended to impress and it was certainly built in the latest style, based on a series of 'perfect squares' - architectural ideas that were beginning to come across from Rome. Beaulieu Palace was the first in a long line of major building projects undertaken by Henry VIII, and even at this early stage in his reign we can see what was important to him: family and magnificence. It was much later that these concepts would take on a life of their own and result in the fantasy palaces of Henry's later reign".
Andrew Motion- Former Poet Lauture (Annual Literary Dinner 2009)
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
s in England. It is located in the former Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
Palace of Beaulieu
Palace of Beaulieu
right|350px|thumb|Beaulieu Palace circa 1580The Palace of Beaulieu also known as New Hall was located in Essex, England, north of Chelmsford....
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Today New Hall is a leading Catholic independent boarding & day school for boys and girls aged 3–18. Founded in 1642, New Hall School, Chelmsford, is the oldest Catholic school in England that has always taken girls. Following the establishment of its new charitable status as New Hall School Trust in 2005, in a pioneering move the former convent school opened its doors to senior boys. Boarders are taken from age 8 and approximately one third of the senior school are boarders.
In 2010, the total roll of 1,100 boarding and day students is the greatest in the school’s history. New Hall has been acknowledged as “the fastest growing independent Catholic school in the UK” (The Universe Newspaper, 25 October 2009). The recession-beating 42% growth in student numbers from 2007-09 is understood to be without precedent across all types of independent schools. New Hall is now the largest Catholic boarding and day school in the UK.
Today New Hall operates an unusual ‘diamond model’ structure, i.e. co-education in the Preparatory School (ages 3–11), single-sex education in the Boys’ Division and Girls’ Division and co-education in the Sixth Form.
Although 85% of students are from South East England, there is also a mix of students from over 35 different countries.
Houses
There are four vertical houses named after Catholic Martyrs:- Poles - Margaret Pole
- Fishers - St John Fisher
- Southwells - St Robert Southwell
- Owens - St Nicholas OwenNicholas OwenNicholas David Arundel Owen is a British journalist and television presenter. He now works for the BBC, presenting on the BBC News channel and BBC One.-Biography:...
The Preparatory School Houses are named after Saints:
- St Matthew (Red)
- St John (Blue)
- St Luke (Green)
- St Mark (Yellow)
The boarding houses follow a horizontal structure and are named as follows:
- Campion House
- Earle House
- Hawley House
- Dennett House
Sport
Students compete at county, regional, national and international level in a wide range of sports. In recent years, there has been a significant investment in the sports facilities on campus. The first-class provision now includes: The Waltham Centre 25m 6-lane indoor swimming pool; a national standard athletics track and floodlit Astroturf; 10 floodlit tennis/netball courts; two sports halls; Parsons Hall dance studio; junior and senior cricket wickets and indoor training nets; hockey, rugby and football pitches. New Hall also has well-established links with a local riding school and a golf club.The major games are cricket, hockey, netball, rugby, and tennis. There is a wide variety of other sports, including aerobics & pilates, athletics, badminton, basketball, cross country, fencing, football, golf, riding, swimming and volleyball. Former England Cricket Captain Nasser Hussain recently joined the cricket staff team at New Hall.
Sports teams go on to achieve excellent results for example the Year 11 Rugby team are the current Essex County Schools’ Rugby Champions,and many of the students are selected for county and international teams.
Performing arts
The Walkfares Performing Arts Centre is the home of thriving Music, Dance and Drama Departments. Performances, from Shakespeare to modern plays and musicals, give students the opportunity to develop their confidence and creative talents.All students are encouraged to participate in the English Speaking Board (ESB) or London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) programmes.
Music
Students take individual lessons in orchestral instruments, piano, singing, drums and electric guitars. A growing number of students take lessons on the newly restored Norman & Beard Organ in the Chapel.
There is a host of performing groups, including senior and junior choirs, chamber choirs, a chapel choir, a senior orchestra, a strings academy, wind bands, a guitar ensemble, and chamber groups. Students are also encouraged to form jazz and pop bands and specialist support and facilities are available.
Regular performances are given by students in assemblies, lunchtime recitals and formal concerts. Students take part in regional and national musical festivals and competitions, and groups tour regularly to perform in major venues in Europe.
New Hall School Choir, Directed by Andrew Fardell, has performed at St. Peters, Rome, St. Marks, Venice, Westminster Cathedral, London as well as on BBC Television. The choir sings a wide range of music from sacred to secular, classic to modern. The choir also toured Venice in February 2010.
Dance
New Hall Dance School
The Dance School runs lunchtime and after school classes in contemporary, modern/jazz, tap and ballet.
All classes take part in an annual summer production in a public theatre. The Dance School offers students the opportunity to explore dance in an exciting and professional environment.
New Hall Dance Company
The Dance Company was founded in September 2003 to facilitate the increased demand from students who wanted more opportunities to train and perform. The Company has students from Year 10 upwards. The Company has taken parts in a variety of events in and around Chelmsford and has an important role in supporting the Dance Department within the School.
Drama
Drama forms a part of student activity at New Hall. Each year the Senior School produces a large scale production just before Christmas during which many students experience the exhilaration of being part of this tradition. Recent productions have included ‘Daisy’, ‘Lark Rise’, ‘Rock Nativity’ and ‘West Side Story’. Other notable productions are provided by the Drama and Theatre Studies students whose productions have included Woyzeck, Waiting for Godot, Teechers, Arabian Nights and Grimm Tales.
The Eaton Theatre, equipped with lighting and sound technology, provides a traditional performance venue whilst in Walkfares, two well equipped, versatile studios provide the environment for both teaching and for a range of performances.
Drama forms part of the curriculum for all Year 7, 8 and 9 students. Drama is a popular option at GCSE, it offers a good balance of practical and text based work. GCSE Drama is not a pre-requisite for studying the subject at A level.
The Drama Department is committed to offering a variety of extra-curricular activities and clubs to extend the curriculum beyond that offered in timetabled sessions. For those who choose not to follow drama at GCSE or A Level, a range of performance related opportunities exist for students to become involved in acting, designing, directing, lighting or sound. These provide opportunities to reinforce curriculum work or to undertake work not normally covered within the routine timetable. GCSE Drama students run the Drama Club, for Year 7 and 8 students. This activity, supervised by a specialist teacher, is specifically catered to the needs and wishes of the participants. They may wish to develop their skills through the use of workshop games, to devise an original piece of theatre or to present a scripted play to an audience.
History
The school was founded in LiègeLiège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1642 by Susan Hawley, who also formed the English Community of the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre
Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre
The Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre are a Catholic female religious order founded in the 14th century. They were the female branch of the ancient military Order of that name, and they follow the Rule of St...
. The founding Religious Order, the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, is one of the most ancient in the Church and was established in Europe long before the English Religious Community was founded in 1642. Initially the school offered a Catholic education to girls who were denied this in England in the Post-Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
period. In 1794, the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
forced the nuns to leave the Low Countries. The school reopened on its present site in 1799.
Buildings
Approached from a mile-long tree-lined avenue, it is located in the former TudorTudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
Palace of Beaulieu
Palace of Beaulieu
right|350px|thumb|Beaulieu Palace circa 1580The Palace of Beaulieu also known as New Hall was located in Essex, England, north of Chelmsford....
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
In 1517, the estate was acquired by Henry VIII, who greatly enlarged and enhanced the building and called it Beaulieu. The Royal Arms of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
are now to be seen in the school Chapel. For many years the home of Mary Tudor, New Hall was subsequently granted to the Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel were often also called Earls of Sussex....
by Queen Elizabeth I. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
later procured the estate for 5 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s.
New Hall was founded in 1642 by Susan Hawley a Canoness Regular of the Holy Sepulchre. The School moved from Liege to New Hall in 1799. The Community still have strong links with the school and are governors as well as being involved with NHVS.
Time Team visit to New Hall
In February 2009 Channel 4's Time Team visited the site of New Hall School to excavate areas of the ground to find the original Palace of Beaulieu.The special feature length documentary called Henry VIII’s Lost Palace was shown on Channel 4 on Easter Monday 13 April 2009 and repeated on Saturday 2 May 2009.
Jon Willers summarises the significance of the archaeological dig at New Hall as follows:
"When Henry came to the throne in 1509 aged eighteen, he inherited several palaces from his father, including Richmond, Greenwich and Woodstock. The documentary set out to explore why, seven years into his reign, he felt the need to build the Palace of Beaulieu, now known as New Hall.
Henry certainly set out to make a statement. The palace was huge - contemporaries describe it as having eight courtyards with a 550 feet (167.6 m) facade and at the centre of this splendour stood two massive gatehouse towers. In 1516, Catherine of Aragon gave birth to Henry's first child, Princess Mary (later to become Bloody Queen Mary). At the time, Mary was Henry's only heir and it seems that as far as he was concerned, she was to get the very best of everything. Just a month before her birth, Henry ordered the construction of Beaulieu Palace. And nearly 500 years later, Time Team would uncover exactly how far Henry went when it came to lavishing luxury on his firstborn. The western range shown on later plans of the palace interested landscape surveyor Stewart Ainsworth because it overlooked the fancy privy garden - a prime spot. It was clearly intended for someone very important.
In fact, the results were more intriguing than anyone had expected. At the end of three days, the team had revealed an intricate series of Tudor drains where the western range would have stood, pointing to a kitchen or laundry area. The question was raised that if this was such an important part of the palace, why have a separate laundry here away from the main service areas? As architectural historian Jonathan Foyle suggested, this wing was meant for someone special, someone who needed a lot of care and attention. It looked like the team had inadvertently stumbled across the nursery for young Princess Mary.
Time Team was beginning to uncover a different side of Henry VIII: a doting father who thought nothing was too good for his new daughter and elsewhere in the palace, the team were discovering what else was important to the young Henry. A trench over the imposing gatehouse towers revealed the scale of the front of the palace. This was a building intended to impress and it was certainly built in the latest style, based on a series of 'perfect squares' - architectural ideas that were beginning to come across from Rome. Beaulieu Palace was the first in a long line of major building projects undertaken by Henry VIII, and even at this early stage in his reign we can see what was important to him: family and magnificence. It was much later that these concepts would take on a life of their own and result in the fantasy palaces of Henry's later reign".
Past Headmistresses/Principals of New Hall School
| From | Till | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 1957 | Sister Margaret Helen Terney |
| 1957 | 1963 | Sister Mary Ignatius Brown |
| 1963 | 1986 | Sister Mary Francis Wood |
| 1986 | 1997 | Sister Margaret Mary Horton |
| 1997 | 2001 | Sister Ann-Marie Brister |
| 2001 | Now | Katherine Jeffrey |
Notable former pupils
- Christiane AmanpourChristiane AmanpourChristiane Amanpour, CBE is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Early years:...
, chief international correspondent for CNN - Cindy BuxtonCindy Buxton-External links:*...
, wildlife film-maker - Anya HindmarchAnya HindmarchAnya Susannah Hindmarch MBE is an English fashion accessories designer.-Biography:Born in Maldon, Essex, to a self-made man, Hindmarch was educated at Elm Green Preparatory School, a preparatory School in Little Baddow. At 16 Hindmarch was given an old Gucci handbag by her mother...
, fashion accessories designer - Felicity LandonFelicity LandonFelicity Landon is a British freelance journalist specialising in maritime, industry and logistics across Britain, Europe and Africa. She is based near Stowmarket, in Suffolk. Landon works as a feature writer, reporter, columnist, editor and proofreader...
, freelance journalist - Amanda StrettonAmanda StrettonAmanda Stretton , is an English female racing driver and motoring journalist.-Biography:The daughter of British automobile collector and historic racer Terry Cohn, Stretton grew up in London...
, English female racing driver and motoring journalist - Leonora CarringtonLeonora CarringtonLeonora Carrington OBE was a British-born Mexican artist, a surrealist painter and a novelist. She lived most of her life in Mexico City.-Early life:...
, surrealist artist
Guests Of Honour
Frank Bruno- British Heavy Weight ChampionAndrew Motion- Former Poet Lauture (Annual Literary Dinner 2009)