History
'Cranbrook School' . It is a co-ed boarding school in
Kent. It was founded in 1518, during the reign of
King Henry VIII, as a result of the will of John Blubery. Blubery was a King's armourer under
Henry VII, apparently a native of the small town, who worked first in the armoury at
Greenwich and then at the armoury in the
Tower of London. He was briefly imprisoned in the latter, possibly for taking concealed commissions, a then common practice among poorly paid armourers, which would account for the exceptionally high number of estates he possessed but whatever his crime, it was so serious that he was among those exempted from the general pardon, issued on Henry VIII's accession. He was, however, released shortly afterwards.
Using the wealth which he accrued, he built a house in
Cranbrook to which he returned when he fell ill in 1517. He discovered that his daughter was pregnant by a local man (whom she forthwith married). Sensing that his ailment was fatal, he wrote his will in which he stipulated that, in the event of his daughter giving birth to a girl (who would not be entitled to inherit the estate) the house should go into the custody of one William Lynch, a wealthy cloth merchant, who was to establish there ". . . a free school house for all the poor children of the town of Cranbrook . . ." and appoint a schoolmaster. Blubery died in early 1518 and his will was proven on
22 March. In the event, his daughter gave birth to a girl and so William Lynch took over the house and set up the school as directed. Although the precise dates of when he completed this task are unknown, the school takes 1518 as its foundation date.
William Lynch endowed the school with a farm at
Horsmonden. Although the name of the first master is unknown, it is suspected that he might have been Robert Bolle who was a teacher mentioned as being in Cranbrook in a will of 1520. William Lynch died in 1539, by which time the school was apparently running smoothly. His son, Simon Lynch, who had moved to
Sandwich, which town he represented in the first two Parliaments of
Queen Mary's reign, claimed the school lands from its trustees in 1560. The dispute was resolved in 1564, when it was agreed that the school would continue but that Simon Lynch would enjoy the benefit of the estates for twenty-one years, after which full control would revert to the town.
In 1573, the town was visited by
Queen Elizabeth I, who was touring the cloth-weaving district. She was petitioned to grant
letters patent to the school under which a proper board of trustees or "Governors" would be established. Simon Lynch agreed to surrender his lease to allow this to take place (it would have made little difference if he had not for he died a few months later anyway). The Patent of Incorporation (which the school refers to as its charter) arrived in 1574. It gave the school its full, official title, "The Free and Perpetual Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth in Cranbrook" and ordained that the Vicar of Cranbrook should always have a seat on the Board of Governors, a clause which has remained binding to this day.
The school was small, teaching only Latin and Greek and continued in an unremarkable period of stability into the eighteenth century, punctuated only by the re-building of the school house from 1727-9. That School House is the oldest of the school's present buildings.
In 1741 the master, the Reverend Richard Brown, started renting out rooms in School House to the school's first boarders. The boarders became a source of contention in 1817 when the town laid a petition before the
Master of the Rolls, Sir
William Grant, complaining that the master, the Reverend Daniel Davies, was lavishing attention and privileges upon them to the detriment of the education of the day boys, for whom the school had been founded in the first place. This and other complaints against the school's management were rejected by Grant, much to the town's irritation. The last few day boys were removed. By the time Davies died in 1850, there were only boarders at the school.
In 1851 one of the most important figures in the history of the school entered. The Reverend John Allan is considered the school's greatest headmaster. He made his mark immediately, recruiting assistant masters to expand the curriculum. School numbers, of both day boys and boarders, increased. This and sundry other improvements ensured that he was thought of fondly by the town, as shown by the public mourning on his untimely death from an attack of apoplexy in 1866. He was only forty-eight. His grave may be seen under a yew tree in Saint Dunstan's churchyard. His epitaph reads "PLACED BY HIS SORROWING AND AFFECTIONATE PUPILS".
His successor, the Reverend Doctor Charles Crowden, was no less significant. He greatly increased the number of school buildings and it was under him that the roll rose beyond one hundred for the first time. Unfortunately, his reputation is tarnished by his ill-conducted resignation in 1888, caused by unfriendly relations with the governors, which resulted in his taking with him to
Eastbourne College two thirds of the boarders and one third of the masters. This action bankrupted the school, to the extent that its closure was seriously considered.
Otherwise despite the debts becoming worse in the early twentieth century, the school survived. It was assisted by the state which gradually encroached on the school's independence. The first state-appointed governors sat on the board in 1899, causing five other governors to resign in protest. The school slowly (very slowly) recovered and started to expand again. In the mid-twentieth century the number of boarding houses grew. During the
Second World War, Cranbrook was the closest school to occupied Europe to go on unevacuated.
Under the
1944 Education Act, Cranbrook became a "voluntary aid" school, which, apart from a brief flirtation with "grant maintained" status in the 1990s, it has remained. In the 1970s it underwent a period of considerable change. It went co-educational and expanded from around two hundred and fifty pupils to roughly seven hundred and fifty. The first two academical years were also dropped, meaning that selection is now taken at thirteen, rather than at eleven. It was also during the 70s that the so-called Lenten Appeal evolved. This is possibly the school's most significant extra-curricula activity. Taking place in the
Lent term, it consists of a number of functions, some specific to different houses, others to the whole school, designed to raise money for a variety of charities. It regularly raises considerable sums, easily in excess of sixteen thousand pounds each year.
Arguably the most interesting chapter in the school's recent history was in 2003, when alumnus and astronaut
Piers Sellers took a copy of the charter into space with him. That copy can now be seen in school reception. He opened the school's
observatory, which is named after him, in 2005.
Another tradition of the school is that of the house play season which makes use of the school's theatre, the Queen's Hall and takes place in the
Michaelmas (Autumn) term. Each house with both male and female occupants has one whilst Crowden and Blubery, and Scott and Ramell do theirs together. School Lodge no longer has one and Cornwallis normally has a hugely popular pantomime in the last week before Christmas.
The Queen's Hall is also host to the Junior play in the Lent term and the Senior play in the
Trinity term. Also there is an annual dance show and a twenty-four hour variety show, where performers and technicians have only twenty-four hours to set up a show as well as a wide variety of external performances and talks open to students.
Houses
The school has six day houses and six boarding houses: four for boys and two for girls.
Day houses
★ Allan Girls
★ Allan Boys
★ Horsley Girls
★ Horsley Boys
★ Webster Gals
★ Webster Guys
Boys' boarding houses
★ Cornwallis
★ Rammell
★ School Lodge (Year Nine only)
★ Crowden
Girls' boarding houses
★ Blubery
★ Scott
Each house, which has its own tie which all junior boys are required to wear (they may also wear the school tie) and acts independently of the school in pastoral work.
House colours
★ Allan - red and silver
★ Cornwallis - black and white
★ Crowden - blue and silver
★ Horsley - blue and yellow
★ Rammel - green and silver
★ Webster - yellow and green
★ Blubery - violet and blue
★ Scott - pink and blue
★ School Lodge - Maroon and Silver
Boarding
The boarding community is at the very heart of Cranbrook life and over a third of the school's 750 pupils board. Each of the six boarding houses is run by a Housemaster or Housemistress with an experienced team of staff - boarding tutors and matrons and the School Lodge Gap Year students. The boarding house is their term-time home and we place a very high value on trust and respect for each individual in our community.
Increasingly, accommodation is in single study bedrooms and in small dormitories for the junior students, with generous common rooms and quiet rooms as well. There is a fully equipped San run by the Sister, who is a State Registered Nurse, and it is visited regularly by the School Doctor
There is always someone in the boarding house throughout the day, usually the House MAC, to look after pupils at any time. Boarders do their prep in Houses, but eat centrally.
The Boarding Routine
Weekday:
7.20 am: Wake-up
7.30 - 8.00 am: Breakfast
8.15 - 8.30 am: First Registration
8.30 am - 4.00 pm: Lessons
4.00 - 5.30 pm: Activities/Free time
5.30 pm: Supper Registration
6.40 pm: Supper
6.10 pm: Prep
8.15 pm: House activities, Free time for Seniors
From 9.45 pm: Junior Bedtime - School Lodge have a reading club at 9.45 - 10.15 am to read quietly and watch
the 10.00 news
From 11.00 pm: Senior Bedtime
Saturday:
8.30 - 9.00 am: Breakfast
9.30 am - 12.30 pm: Sports matches
12.30 pm: Lunch
Afternoon: Sports programme continues
5.30 pm: Supper
Evening: In-House or boarding arrangements, Free time for Seniors
Sunday:
Flexible Wake-up
11.00 am: Brunch then Coach or minibus excursion
By 8.00 pm:
Exeat Return
9.00 pm: House Assembly
9.30 pm: Juniors in house
From 10.00 pm: Junior Bedtime
From 11.00 pm: Senior Bedtime
Day Students
The House System is a defining feature of Cranbrook School. There are six day houses organised on a single-sex basis and reflect the areas from which the pupils live. Day houses tend to be larger than the boarding houses, the units being between eighty and ninety students. Overall the school has 500 day pupils all of whom live within a catchment area of 6.2 miles from the school. Allan Boys and Allan Girls represent the Staplehurst and Goudhurst areas but draw from one or two other villages. Horsley Boys and Horsley Girls are the Sandhurst and Hawkhurst contingent, while Webster Boys and Webster Girls usually come from the immediate vicinity of Cranbrook itself. Each house seems to have its own rather special identity, often to do with the villages from which the pupils come, but also the houses reflect the distinctive nature of their Housemaster. This is invariably an experienced member of staff who organises and manages the team of tutors and Supervisors so that the house runs efficiently with its special culture and programme of events which run throughout the year. These range from dinners to theatre trips to barbecues to a myriad of fund raising activities for our Lenten Appeal and so on.
The Houses each have a House Council with a representative from each year group, a House Captain and Supervisors who help the Housemaster or Housemistress with the running of the house and support the younger pupils as they travel through their school lives. The day house structure is a mirror of the boarding house structure but boarders have greater ancillary support such as MACs, domestic staff etc. Common to all houses however is the team of academic tutors who monitor the work and behaviour of each year group of pupils in the house. Tutor groups tend to be between fifteen and twenty in size in the day houses and between five and fifteen in the boarding houses. Each house has a base where the pupils meet each day for registration and house assemblies (e.g. the Allan Corridor, the Horsley Block etc.)
Boarders and Day Pupils mix freely and easily. The House system is embedded in Cranbrook culture and is one of its main strengths.
Sports and Extracurricular
The extra curricular programme is enormous and the department fully deserve to be holders of the prestigious Sport Marks Gold award. This has been held for three successive periods since its inception.
Boys and girls teams represent the school most Saturdays throughout the year and the quality of the teams is high. The boys play rugby in term one followed by hockey, rugby sevens, tennis and cricket, while the girls play hockey followed by netball, lacrosse, tennis and rounders. Senior teams are run at 1st, 2nd and 3rd levels while each year group has A and B teams and on occasions C and D. The fixtures are played against local schools on both Saturday mornings and afternoons, and on the respective games afternoons of each year group. Our teams enter county and national cup competitions and are very successful. Recent highlights have been the senior girls triumph in the John Taylor hockey tournament and the 1st XV reaching the semi final of the Daily Mail Plate rugby competition.
Aside from sports, there is a huge range of extra curricular activities and clubs and societies for students to get involved in at Cranbrook including music, drama, public speaking, CCF (Army and RAF), Amnesty International, Young Enterprise, book group, art and textiles, cook club, dance and many more.
At Sixth Form level we traditionally enter students into several debating competitions including: The Oxford Union Schools' Debate, the Cambridge Union Debate and the English-Speaking Union Schools' Competition.
Cranbrook's Music Department has a long-standing tradition of excellence in musical performance. A varied and comprehensive concert diary is supported by a regular pattern of weekly rehearsals, many of which are held in the Vickers' Auditorium. The School has an Orchestra, Concert Wind Band, Choir, Flute Choir, String Quartet, Recorder Ensemble, Jazz Combo and a plethora of 'Rock' and 'Pop' bands. In addition to providing music for whole school occasions, such as the Commemoration of Benefactors' Service, Speech Day, the Carol Service, the Festival of Advent Carols and Lessons, pupils regularly take part in Friday Lunchtime Concerts, and recitals organised by the Friends of St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook. There are also many opportunities for pupils to play in School and House Assemblies. Other fixed points in the musical calendar include the Battle of the Bands, the House Shout! Singing Festival, Gala Concerts, Informal Concerts and the Allan House Musical Soirée.
The Drama Department supervises a variety of theatrical experiences during the school year. There are opportunities for acting in House Plays, the Junior Play, and in the end of the year Senior Musical. Many of these productions are directed by our Senior Students. There is a Junior Drama Club which commences after half-term in the Michaelmas Term and which feeds into the Junior Play in the Lent Term. The Queen's Hall is largely run by our competent students who are provided with training in such skills as Lighting, Sound, Stage-Management, Costume and Make-Up. The Team of pupils provide technical support for the range of internal and some external performances in the Queen's Hall.
Science and Maths Specialist
In 2004 the school was awarded Science Specialist Status which has enabled us to expand our teaching in school and to make significant inroads into the wider community.
Over the last two years we have achieved the following:
Built an Observatory to house the 22.5" telescope gifted to the school, refurbished the science laboratories, started new science courses, employed new staff, run science clubs and events, taught in local primary schools, founded the local science society CADSAS, run courses for the local community, run a summer school and Easter revision school.
Sixth Form
Our aim is to provide an environment in which individual students can maximise their educational opportunities. We are a school concerned with academic success but we also put huge efforts into the wider curriculum and it is this, as much as our exam results, which make us such an attractive school to pupils and parents.
The Cranbrook Curriculum is traditional and academic with the majority of pupils opting for traditional A-level courses rather than the vocational courses offered to our students by a local comprehensive. In LVI four AS subjects are the expected norm although around 40% of students study five. In UVI the majority drop to 3 A2 subjects although around 20% continue with four. The arrangements in place allow UVI students to leave the decision to drop a subject as late as they wish. Although many make up their minds after AS exams, decisions can be delayed until after the results are published in August or even well into the Michaelmas term , so that pupils have an opportunity to talk to their subject teachers and a take advice on the implications of discontinuing subjects from Careers staff, before final decisions are taken.
Unless they are studying more than the usual number of subjects, all Seniors must take three enrichment periods a week. In these periods the Key Skills of Numeracy and Communication are covered as are RE and PSE. All Seniors follow a course leading to the AS Critical Thinking qualification and it is popular for students to study a general interest GCSE in LVI as well. Examples are GCSE Spanish, Astronomy, PE, Electronics and Foreign Language at Work. Sixth Form pupils can also take the Sports Leadership Award and a foundation course in University Study. These courses are very popular.
All pupils are treated equally on entry to the sixth form and high achievement is expected from all. Teachers and tutors are made aware of GCSE results and other performance data but this is not used to generate individual performance targets; instead all are encouraged to aim high. DFES value added data confirms that mostly our students achieve much higher grades than are predicted from their GCSE results.
All sixth form pupils are expected to attend school each day. They are required to register between 8.00 and 8.30 each morning and LVI students must remain on the premises until the end of the day. In UVI, students may leave school early provided they have signed out and completed all their school commitments.
The sixth form are not required to wear uniform but on Mondays and Fridays and on other specified Formal Days, all are expected to wear a full matching suit and to look smart. At other times the choice of what to wear is the pupils' own, provided they remain within the bounds of smartness and decency as laid down in the sixth form dress code published in the school rules.
Although Private Study is not supervised, Seniors are expected to use their time productively. They may work in the excellent school library, use the school's ICT facilities, work in the VI Centre or in one of the departmental areas around the school. There are social areas available too. UVI may go off-campus or into town in their PSs. Boarders each have their own study space in their boarding houses and may use those.
The Sixth Form are overseen by a by the Senior Masters who give a Sixth Form assembly each Friday morning.
Notable alumni
★ Sir
Victor Horsley, pioneering neurosurgeon
★
Wallace Duffield Wright,
VC recipient
★
Richard Middleton, poet and short-story writer
★ The
Rootes brothers, car manufacturers
★
Canon John Collins, radical clergyman and political campaigner
★
Hammond Innes, novelist
★
Peter West, television presenter
★
Sir Charles Wheeler, journalist
★
Brian Moore, football commentator
★
Barry Davies, football commentator
★
Phil Edmonds, cricketer
★
Tim Smit, co-founder of the
Eden Project
★
Piers Sellers, astronaut
★
Harry Hill, comedian
★
William Goulstone, professional Clown.
★
Samuel Thomson, famous body-builder and male model.
External links
★
School website
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