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Heathfield School, Ascot

March 28, 2024

Heathfield School is a girls' independent boarding and day school in Ascot, Berkshire, England.[2] In 2006, the school absorbed St Mary's School, Wantage and was briefly named Heathfield St Mary's School but reverted to Heathfield School in 2009 to prevent confusion with another local girls' school St Mary's School, Ascot. The school's grounds cover 36 acres (15 ha) situated on the edge of Ascot (actually in Bracknell Forest), providing access from London, the major airports, the M3 and M4 motorways.

Heathfield School
Address
London Road

Ascot
,
Berkshire
,
SL5 8BQ

England
Coordinates51°24′50″N 0°42′35″W / 51.4138°N 0.7098°W / 51.4138; -0.7098
Information
TypeIndependent boarding and day school
MottoThe Merit of One is the Honour of All
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
Established1899
FounderEleanor Beatrice Wyatt
Local authorityBracknell Forest
Department for Education URN110117 Tables
HeadmistressSarah Wilson[1]
Genderfemale
Age11 to 18
Enrolment240
HousesAusten
de Valois
Seacole
Somerville
Former pupilsHOGS & SMOGS
Websitewww.heathfieldschool.net

History edit

Heathfield Ascot edit

The school stands in 36 acres of grounds on the outskirts of Ascot and has done so since Heathfield School was founded in 1899 by Eleanor Beatrice Wyatt, its first headmistress. In 1882, at the age of 24, Miss Wyatt and her mother had opened Queen's Gate School in South Kensington, London.[3]

Until this point Miss Wyatt had been concentrating on educating boys and girls from the lower-middle and lower classes; however, she was convinced that the best way to further education for all was to educate those who could in turn educate others. This coincided with Miss Wyatt's desire to move out of a congested and claustrophobic London. The problem she faced was that, while wishing to move to a more spacious country location, she still wanted to maintain in proximity to London and the school's active Old Girl network. In 1899 the solution was found in Ascot, Berkshire, and Heathfield School was founded in a beautiful Italianate building, the original home of the Paravacini family. On 8 May, the school was officially opened and the Chapel blessed.[citation needed]

St Mary's Wantage edit

Main article: St Mary's School, Wantage

The Reverend William John Butler became Vicar of Wantage on 1 January 1847. His main aims were, first, to revive the religious life in England and second, to improve education. He hoped to achieve these aims by setting up an order of teaching sisters, but he faced many disappointments and spent 25 years trying to improve various day schools in the parish before St Mary's School was founded in 1873.[citation needed]

The school was run by the sisters of the Community of St Mary the Virgin and was based in the Queen Anne house on Newbury Street. Sister Ellen was the first Sister-in-Charge and Sister Juliana succeeded her in 1887. Sister Juliana had studied at Cambridge and set a high standard for the girls, entering them for the Oxford and Cambridge local examinations.

Sister Annie Louisa joined the school in 1898 and started a guide movement called Scout Patrols in 1899 before Boy Scouts had even begun. She succeeded Sister Juliana as Headmistress in 1903. Sister Annie Louisa was responsible for the chief structural improvements at St Mary's including a science wing and the conversion of an old barn into a gymnasium. By the time Sister Annie Louisa left in 1919, St Mary's was recognised as a "public school with an unusually high standard of scholarship".

Facilities edit

The school is equipped with teaching, sporting and leisure facilities. In 2000, the school opened a 25m indoor heated swimming pool.

Following the merger of Heathfield School and St Mary's Wantage in 2006, a development plan was launched which delivered new facilities. Phase one of redevelopment, the enlargement of the main Library, and phase two, a new Cookery building and Performing Arts Centre, were completed in 2009. The Performing Arts Centre was officially opened in December 2009 as the St Mary's Theatre.

In the summer of 2014, work started on a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) building, providing a hub for the girls to study science subjects.[4] At the same time, the Spectrum (Learning Support and English as a Foreign Language) facility was moved and greatly expanded into four smart new classrooms and a meeting area. At the beginning of Michaelmas term 2015, the STEM building was completed and teaching in the new classrooms commenced. The eight classrooms are four Science Labs, two Maths classrooms, Psychology and PE classrooms. There is also a Science Prep room for the preparation of experiments. All classrooms are equipped with interactive SMARTboards, the four Labs receiving 65" HD touch displays.

In September 2022, The Cadogan Sixth Form Centre was opened - comprising dedicated Sixth Form classrooms, a large communal common room with kitchen, study room, wellbeing room and offices.

The school focuses on keeping the class sizes small which helps to focus on individual learning.

Academic edit

The 2018 ISI Inspection report noted that "The quality of pupils' academic and other achievements is excellent" and commended the pupils' enthusiastic committed approach to their learning.[5] It also found the quality of the pupils' personal development excellent. "The overall achievement of the pupils is excellent and represents the successful fulfilment of the school's ambitious aims."

Houses edit

All girls are placed in one of the four houses upon entry. A Head of House looks after the girls and is the first point of contact for parents and girls on issues.[6]

House Colour
Austen   [7]
de Valois   [8]
Seacole   [9]
Somerville   [10]

Boarding edit

The boarding houses are separate from the house system. Instead, boarders are grouped into dormitories and boarding houses by years. A housemistress for each year and full-time residential staff reside on campus. Girls in Sixth Form live in separate accommodation similar to that of a hall of residence to prepare them for university life.[11] Having been one of the few remaining full boarding school for girls in the country, Heathfield School started accepting day girls who resided locally from the 2015–16 academic year onwards.[12]

Notable former pupils edit

See also: Category:People educated at Heathfield School, Ascot

References edit

  1. ^ "Heathfield School - Staff & Governors". Heathfield School. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Schools Guide 2013 - Heathfield School". Tatler.
  3. ^ Our History 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, heathfieldschool.net; accessed 12 November 2014.
  4. ^ New STEM Building
  5. ^ 2018 ISI Inspection Report
  6. ^ House System
  7. ^ Austen House
  8. ^ "De Valois House". Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Seacole House". Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  10. ^ Somerville House
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  12. ^ Day Boarding

External links edit

March 28, 2024
heathfield, school, ascot, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Heathfield School Ascot news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Heathfield School is a girls independent boarding and day school in Ascot Berkshire England 2 In 2006 the school absorbed St Mary s School Wantage and was briefly named Heathfield St Mary s School but reverted to Heathfield School in 2009 to prevent confusion with another local girls school St Mary s School Ascot The school s grounds cover 36 acres 15 ha situated on the edge of Ascot actually in Bracknell Forest providing access from London the major airports the M3 and M4 motorways Heathfield SchoolAddressLondon RoadAscot Berkshire SL5 8BQEnglandCoordinates51 24 50 N 0 42 35 W 51 4138 N 0 7098 W 51 4138 0 7098InformationTypeIndependent boarding and day schoolMottoThe Merit of One is the Honour of AllReligious affiliation s Church of EnglandEstablished1899FounderEleanor Beatrice WyattLocal authorityBracknell ForestDepartment for Education URN110117 TablesHeadmistressSarah Wilson 1 GenderfemaleAge11 to 18Enrolment240HousesAustende ValoisSeacoleSomervilleFormer pupilsHOGS amp SMOGSWebsitewww wbr heathfieldschool wbr net Contents 1 History 1 1 Heathfield Ascot 1 2 St Mary s Wantage 2 Facilities 3 Academic 4 Houses 5 Boarding 6 Notable former pupils 7 References 8 External linksHistory editHeathfield Ascot edit The school stands in 36 acres of grounds on the outskirts of Ascot and has done so since Heathfield School was founded in 1899 by Eleanor Beatrice Wyatt its first headmistress In 1882 at the age of 24 Miss Wyatt and her mother had opened Queen s Gate School in South Kensington London 3 Until this point Miss Wyatt had been concentrating on educating boys and girls from the lower middle and lower classes however she was convinced that the best way to further education for all was to educate those who could in turn educate others This coincided with Miss Wyatt s desire to move out of a congested and claustrophobic London The problem she faced was that while wishing to move to a more spacious country location she still wanted to maintain in proximity to London and the school s active Old Girl network In 1899 the solution was found in Ascot Berkshire and Heathfield School was founded in a beautiful Italianate building the original home of the Paravacini family On 8 May the school was officially opened and the Chapel blessed citation needed St Mary s Wantage edit Main article St Mary s School Wantage The Reverend William John Butler became Vicar of Wantage on 1 January 1847 His main aims were first to revive the religious life in England and second to improve education He hoped to achieve these aims by setting up an order of teaching sisters but he faced many disappointments and spent 25 years trying to improve various day schools in the parish before St Mary s School was founded in 1873 citation needed The school was run by the sisters of the Community of St Mary the Virgin and was based in the Queen Anne house on Newbury Street Sister Ellen was the first Sister in Charge and Sister Juliana succeeded her in 1887 Sister Juliana had studied at Cambridge and set a high standard for the girls entering them for the Oxford and Cambridge local examinations Sister Annie Louisa joined the school in 1898 and started a guide movement called Scout Patrols in 1899 before Boy Scouts had even begun She succeeded Sister Juliana as Headmistress in 1903 Sister Annie Louisa was responsible for the chief structural improvements at St Mary s including a science wing and the conversion of an old barn into a gymnasium By the time Sister Annie Louisa left in 1919 St Mary s was recognised as a public school with an unusually high standard of scholarship Facilities editThe school is equipped with teaching sporting and leisure facilities In 2000 the school opened a 25m indoor heated swimming pool Following the merger of Heathfield School and St Mary s Wantage in 2006 a development plan was launched which delivered new facilities Phase one of redevelopment the enlargement of the main Library and phase two a new Cookery building and Performing Arts Centre were completed in 2009 The Performing Arts Centre was officially opened in December 2009 as the St Mary s Theatre In the summer of 2014 work started on a new STEM Science Technology Engineering amp Mathematics building providing a hub for the girls to study science subjects 4 At the same time the Spectrum Learning Support and English as a Foreign Language facility was moved and greatly expanded into four smart new classrooms and a meeting area At the beginning of Michaelmas term 2015 the STEM building was completed and teaching in the new classrooms commenced The eight classrooms are four Science Labs two Maths classrooms Psychology and PE classrooms There is also a Science Prep room for the preparation of experiments All classrooms are equipped with interactive SMARTboards the four Labs receiving 65 HD touch displays In September 2022 The Cadogan Sixth Form Centre was opened comprising dedicated Sixth Form classrooms a large communal common room with kitchen study room wellbeing room and offices The school focuses on keeping the class sizes small which helps to focus on individual learning Academic editThe 2018 ISI Inspection report noted that The quality of pupils academic and other achievements is excellent and commended the pupils enthusiastic committed approach to their learning 5 It also found the quality of the pupils personal development excellent The overall achievement of the pupils is excellent and represents the successful fulfilment of the school s ambitious aims Houses editAll girls are placed in one of the four houses upon entry A Head of House looks after the girls and is the first point of contact for parents and girls on issues 6 House ColourAusten 7 de Valois 8 Seacole 9 Somerville 10 Boarding editThe boarding houses are separate from the house system Instead boarders are grouped into dormitories and boarding houses by years A housemistress for each year and full time residential staff reside on campus Girls in Sixth Form live in separate accommodation similar to that of a hall of residence to prepare them for university life 11 Having been one of the few remaining full boarding school for girls in the country Heathfield School started accepting day girls who resided locally from the 2015 16 academic year onwards 12 Notable former pupils editSee also Category People educated at Heathfield School Ascot Alexandra Hamilton Duchess of Abercorn Eileen Agar surrealist artist Alexandra Queen Consort of Yugoslavia Isabella Anstruther Gough Calthorpe model and socialite Marisa Berenson actress Isabella Blow fashion editor Harriet Bridgeman Viscountess Bridgeman founder of Bridgeman Art Library Nina Campbell interior designer Susannah Constantine fashion advisor and author citation needed Davina Ingrams 18th Baroness Darcy de Knayth Martine Franck photographer Victoria Glendinning novelist and broadcaster Lucinda Green three day eventer Daphne Guinness Phyllis Hartnoll poet Judith Keppel quiz panellist first million pound winner of Who wants to be a millionaire Amber Le Bon daughter of Duran Duran s Simon Le Bon and supermodel Yasmin Le Bon Tara Lee yoga instructor Tiggy Legge Bourke nanny to Princes William and Harry Serena Armstrong Jones Countess of Snowdon Candida Lycett Green daughter of Sir John Betjeman horsewoman and writer Susan Cunliffe Lister Baroness Masham of Ilton Tamara Mellon CEO of Jimmy Choo Sienna Miller actress Tessa Montgomery Viscountess Montgomery of Alamein Emma Nicholson Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne politician Princess Alexandra The Honourable Lady Ogilvy cousin of The Queen Alice Orr Ewing actress Flora Fraser 21st Lady Saltoun Lady Henrietta Spencer Churchill daughter of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and interior designer Rosie Stancer nee Clayton polar adventurer Tara Summers actress Lady Helen Taylor Susan Travers served with the French Foreign Legion Natalia Grosvenor Duchess of Westminster Dame Jane Whiteley Judith Wilcox Baroness Wilcox Gabriella Wilde actressReferences edit Heathfield School Staff amp Governors Heathfield School Retrieved 8 February 2021 Schools Guide 2013 Heathfield School Tatler Our History Archived 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine heathfieldschool net accessed 12 November 2014 New STEM Building 2018 ISI Inspection Report House System Austen House De Valois House Archived from the original on 2 August 2012 Retrieved 15 May 2012 Seacole House Archived from the original on 2 August 2012 Retrieved 15 May 2012 Somerville House Boarding Archived from the original on 2 May 2012 Retrieved 15 May 2012 Day BoardingExternal links editSchool website Heathfield Old Girls St Mary s Wantage Old Girls Profile on the Independent Schools Council website ISI Inspection Reports Charity Commission Report Profile on Good Schools Guide Profile on MyDaughter Heathfield Conference Centre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Heathfield School Ascot amp oldid 1214246603, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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