New Beacon School
| Motto |
Dare Exfumo Lucem (Give light out of darkness) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1882 |
| Type | Preparatory School |
| Headmaster | Mr. Mike Piercy |
| Founder | John Norman |
| Location |
Brittains Lane Sevenoaks Kent TN13 2PB England  Coordinates: 51°12′00″N 0°16′35″E / 51.200070°N 0.276450°E |
| Students | c. 400 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 4–13 |
| Colours |
Red and Navy |
| Website |
http: |
The New Beacon Preparatory School is an independent all-boys preparatory school, located in Sevenoaks, Kent, United Kingdom, which serves both day students and boarders, in the age range 4-13. The school was founded in 1863 or 1882, had 62 students by 1913, and grew to 400 students around 2008.[1]
Overview
The school was founded in 1882 at St John's Hill in Sevenoaks and was known as the Beacon. In 1900 it was relocated to its current location on Britains Lane and renamed the New Beacon.
The New Beacon is situated in 21 acres (85,000 m2) of gardens and playing fields. Pupils are put into one of four "Companies"; Nelson (blue), Drake (Yellow), Marlborough (green) and Wellington (red), and inter-company competitions take place in disciplines such as rugby, cross country, shooting, cricket, football art, athletics and quizzes.
Companies
| Nelson | Day | Navy | Blue |
| Drake | Day | Navy | Yellow |
| Marlborough | Day | Army | Green |
| Wellington | Day | Army | Red |
Results
The school's principal function is to prepare boys for the Common Entrance examination, used by British public schools to select pupils; many of the school's pupils go on either to Sevenoaks School or to Tonbridge School; others have gone on to attend public schools such as Eton College, Harrow School and Winchester College. In 2008, then-headmaster Rowland Constantine was critical of the Key Stage 2 tests for 11-year-olds, saying, "All along we have made the point that testing has a negative impact on schools. It distorts the curriculum and encourages teaching to the test. We did not have any complaints when we stopped using the tests two years ago."[2]
Notable alumni
- Siegfried Sassoon, First World War poet[3]
- Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, second husband of Anne, Princess Royal
- Lord Mayhew of Twysden, former political advisor for Northern Ireland
- Anthony Powell, novelist
- Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, diplomat.
- Charles Ede, founder of The Folio Society.
- Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath
- The Honourable Charles Thomas Mills, Conservative Politician and Baby of the House. Killed in action, WW1.
- Arthur Mills, 3rd Baron Hillingdon, Conservative Politician
- Sam Billings, cricketer
Controversy
In 2014, the Charity Commission for England and Wales urged New Beacon School to apologise to a former pupil in respect of statements made by the school to the Press.[4] The statements related to allegations made by the boy against Paul Woodward, a former music teacher, for abusing him at the school between 2005 and 2006.[5] In 2013, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) made an award to the boy in compensation for the abuse the CICA found he had suffered. The Sevenoaks Chronicle reported that Woodward, who was convicted of sexual misconduct offenses against other children and sent to prison indefinitely had been suspended from his post at the school during a previous police investigation involving allegations of sexual abuse but had been allowed back to work.[6] The school apologised to the child in 2015, and applauded him for his bravery in bringing Woodward to justice.[7]
References
- ↑ "School History". New Beacon School. Retrieved 2015-08-31. (The school's History webpage suggests Constantine was headmaster from 1976 and served 32 years, so when "numbers grew to reach four hundred with excellence at Common Entrance and Scholarship examinations being maintained" that would be 2008.)
- ↑ "Prep schools drop 'silly' KS2 test", Times Educational Supplement, 11 May 2008. Accessed 16 February 2015
- ↑ "First World War journals of Tunbridge Wells poet Siegfried Sassoon go online", Kent & Sussex Courier, 4 August 2014. Accessed 16 Feb 2015
- ↑ Doug Kempster (24 October 2014). "Charity body urges The New Beacon School to reconsider apology over "predatory paedophile"". Sevenoaks Chronicle. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ↑ "Music teacher at prep school jailed for sexual abuse of boys". The Telegraph. 12 Nov 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ↑ "This is Kent" (November 13, 2008). "Teacher was suspended then allowed back to work". Kent and Sussex Courier.
- ↑ Doug Kempster (April 30, 2015). "Sevenoaks school apology for sexual abuse 'too late' for teacher's victim". Sevenoaks Chronicle. Retrieved September 3, 2015.