Burys Court School
| Established | 1952 |
|---|---|
| Type | EY Setting |
| Location |
Burys Court School Flanchford Road Leigh Reigate Surrey RH2 8RE  EnglandCoordinates: 51°12′43″N 0°13′59″W / 51.21193°N 0.23312°W |
| Local authority | Surrey |
| DfE URN | 125385 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
Burys Court School, since 1952 an independent co-educational preparatory school at the Leigh, near Reigate in Surrey, is currently a special school focussing on teaching children with dyslexia.
History
Burys Court was completed in 1876 as a home for Edward and Georgiana Charrington. The successful Charrington brewery in the East End of London had made Edward a very wealthy man. He designed the traditional Victorian front of the building and Georgiana designed the gable ended section at the rear.
In 1930, a Miss Sheard founded Burys Court Girls' School with the motto 'Learn to Live'. In 1939 it was taken over by Lloyds Insurance, then in 1946 Burys Court opened as a hotel. In 1952 it was sold out of the family for the first time.
The current Burys Court School was founded in September 1952 by Kenneth Farnsworth as a Boys Preparatory Boarding School. In 1963, the school was sold to Mr. and Mrs. F. W. White, who ran the school with son Donald until Mr. White died in 1982. The school was subsequently run by Donald and his brother, Major Peter White.
Boys from the age of 5 to 12 were educated up to Common Entrance examination level for intake into various Public and Private Middle Grammar Schools and Colleges. Boarding school children were typically composed of surrey residents, diplomatic service, military and expatriates. In 1989 girls were admitted for the first time in response to parental requests to additionally educate daughters.
Burys Court School was sold by the White brothers in April 2005 to Moon Hall Educational Trust, a not for profit charity founded by Berry and David Baker. Mrs Berry Baker received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Independent Schools Awards celebration on 11 November 2010.
Burys Court School is currently a dyslexia specialist school specialising in helping children who are dyslexic and provides a full curriculum education with emphasis on literacy and numeracy. The school teaches to the child’s ability, not to his or her chronological age.
The school take very seriously the importance of having a firm base in literacy and numeracy on which to build further academic achievement, and the importance of acquiring the skills needed for a happy and successful life. This approach has also proved very beneficial to pupils who are not dyslexic and who benefit from having the individual attention given.
The school believes all children should be given the opportunity and support needed to learn to read with understanding especially if they have fallen behind. For reading and spelling Burys Court use a phonics system, Phono-Graphix, which have now been used for many years both at Burys Court and at Moon Hall School (in Holmbury St Mary near Dorking) with considerable success. The programme enables children to learn to decode words efficiently and is very successful with the children.
Burys Court School shares the same building with Moon Hall College, which takes on pupils from age 11 to 16.
Founder and Principal of Burys Court and Moon Hall College, Berry Baker is a former Trustee and a current Honorary Vice President of the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre.
Burys Court School is recognised by CReSTeD.
