Langley School, Loddon
| Langley School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
, , NR14 6BJ | |
| Coordinates | 52°33′11″N 1°28′03″E / 52.5530°N 1.4674°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent day and boarding school |
| Motto | Perseverando Persevere and do well |
| Established | 1910 |
| Founder | J G Chapman |
| Department for Education URN | 121224 Tables |
| Chair of Governors | M Nicolas |
| Headmaster | Simon Cooke |
| Staff | 89 teaching, 65 support |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 10 to 18[1] |
| Enrollment | 520[1] |
| Capacity | 650[1] |
| Houses | Beauchamp, Crome, Mancroft, St Giles |
| Colour(s) | |
| Publication | The Icenian |
| Former pupils | Icenians |
| Website | http://www.langleyschool.co.uk/ |
Langley School is an HMC private co educational day, weekly, flexi and full boarding school situated near the market town of Loddon in South Norfolk, England.[2] The current headmaster is Simon Cooke, who has been in post since 2024, and the school is a member of the Society of Heads.[3] Termly fees are currently £6,750 for day pupils, £11,395 for weekly boarders and £13,365 for full boarders.[4]
History
[edit]Langley Hall is a red-brick, Palladian‑style house, built in 1737 for Richard Berney on land originally belonging to Langley Abbey. In 1744 the estate was inherited by Sir William Beauchamp and remained in his family until the 20th century. The hall is set in grounds laid out by Capability Brown, with an extensive spread of daffodils which are opened to the public on "Daffodil Day" each spring.[5]
In 1910, the Education Committee of Norwich made the decision to amalgamate the middle schools in the city with the Municipal and Presbyterian schools, with all boys to attend a new City of Norwich School, which was to be built at Eaton. Jeremiah George Chapman was offered a post at the new school, but determined instead to found a school of his own, with boarding provision for those boys could not travel to Norwich each day.[6]
Having established his school as the Norwich High School for Boys at St. Giles, Chapman died in September 1936 and was replaced by John Jevons. Under Jevons, the school moved to Langley Hall at Langley Park, near Loddon, and changed its name. Jevons retired in 1965 and was replaced by C.D. Young. Young oversaw the introduction of co-education at Langley with the arrival of three girls in the sixth form in 1978.[6]
Young's successor, James McArthur, saw the number of girls jump from 3 to 40; the school was fully co-educational by 1990. In his turn, McArthur's successor, James Malcolm, doubled the size of the school in his ten-year term of office. James Malcolm would be succeeded as headmaster by Dominic Findlay who joined the school in 2007 from Wymondham College.[6] The current headmaster is John Perriss, announced to be leaving Langley at the close of the 2023-24 academic year after five years in the role in which he will be replaced by Simon Cooke.[7] [8]
Curriculum
[edit]The school offers a broad and balanced curriculum;[9] in addition to the core subjects of English (language and literature), mathematics and the sciences, subjects taught include humanities, media studies, modern languages (French, German and Spanish), social sciences and technology. There is also provision for RS, PSE, and PE and games throughout the school.[9]
Pupils in the senior school study for GCSEs in years 10 and 11, and for 'A' levels in the lower and upper sixth forms.[10]
Almost all senior pupils move to higher educational institutions after 'A' level.[9]
Sport
[edit]The principal sports are Rugby football and cricket for boys and hockey and netball for girls. Minor sports include association football, athletics basketball, equestrianism, golf, polo and skiing.[11]
The school has several cricket, football and rugby pitches, and there is an AstroTurf hockey pitch. Langley operates a polo academy.[12]
Extra-curricular activities
[edit]Academic lessons end at 3.45pm each day, allowing students a short break before engaging in their chosen extra-curricular activities. The school offers a range of activities, including CCF, debating, DoE, history, kayaking, rock climbing, sailing, yoga and Young Enterprise. Many activities involve expert visiting staff.[9]
The activities programme changes at the end of each term and, at the end of each year, students complete questionnaires with their opinions on current activities and offer suggestions for the future.[13]
Music tuition is available on a variety of instruments, and pupils regularly play in concerts and cabarets.[14] Drama is offered both as an academic subject and an extra curricular activity, with pupils mounting several productions during the year.[15] The BBC newsreader and children's author, Zeb Soanes taught speech and drama at the school before joining the BBC.
Boarding
[edit]The school accepts students aged 10 to 18 (Year 6 to Year 13). There are some weekly boarders who live relatively nearby, but the majority are full boarders, including a large number from overseas.[9]
Accommodation
[edit]There is separate accommodation for boys and girls, with communal social facilities. The boys live in the main hall in rooms for up to six students, divided into individual units. Senior students have single and double study bedrooms.
The girls live in Salisbury House (the former stable block) which has mostly single and double rooms. Salisbury has its own common room and limited kitchen and laundry facilities.
Staffing
[edit]There are 13 resident teachers and matrons.
Preparatory School
[edit]The prep school accepts children aged 2 to 13 (Nursery to Year 8). In 2009, it merged with adjacent Thorpe House School, which had provided girls-only education for 100 years.[16]
In early May 2016, the governors of Langley School announced that the prep school would merge with Taverham Hall Preparatory School.[17] The announcement was initially greeted with anger in some quarters[18] and the Charity Commission sent inspectors to the school in July that year, citing "regulatory concerns".[19] Langley's prep-school site, Thorpe House, was sold to developers and the merger was completed for the beginning of the Autumn term, 2016.[20]
More about the school
[edit]The new school's home is in Taverham Hall, a neo-Jacobean mansion built in 1858[21] and purchased from the Mickelthwait family by Rev'd Frank Glass in 1921.[22] The estate extends to over 100 acres (40 ha), and includes a forest school and a swimming pool.[21]
The curriculum in the prep school is broadly based on the National Curriculum, but includes Latin / Classical civilisation for all pupils, and French for some.[23] All pupils study ICT and music.[24] Almost all pupils progress from the prep school to the senior school.[9]
Notable alumni
[edit]Former pupils of the school are known as Icenians, and include:
- Sir John Mills (1926); actor[25]
- Allen Clarke (1928): educationalist; first headmaster of Holland Park School[26]
- Frederic Jevons (1948): biochemist; Vice-chancellor of Deakin University[27]
- Christopher Borrett (1997): cricketer.
- Ben Pienaar (2004): professional rugby player[28]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Langley School". Edubase. HM Government. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ Ofsted Langley School (Unique reference number SC027662)
- ^ "Member Schools". Society of Heads. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ langleymarketing. "Fees - Langley School". langleyschool.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ BBC Norfolk Daffodil Day Feature 2005
- ^ a b c "Langley School History". Langley School. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ ""Energetic and forward-thinking" Headmaster to move on after 5 years at Langley School". Langley School. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "Langley School appoints Mr. Simon Cooke as new Head of Senior School". Langley School. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Newton, Ian (18 February 2011). "ISI Inspection 2011". isi.net. Independent Schools Inspectorate. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ StudyLink, Britannia (31 January 2024). "Langley School Review: Rankings, Fees And More". Britannia StudyLink Malaysia: UK Study Expert. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "Review of the Year" (PDF). Langley School. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "Polo Academy". Langley School. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "Senior Activities". Langley School. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "Music". Langley School. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ "Drama". Langley School. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Scotter, Kate (12 November 2009). "Schools' merger completed". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
- ^ George, Martin (10 May 2016). "Langley Prep and Taverham Hall School announce plans to merge". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ George, Martin (12 May 2016). "Parents' anger at merger of Langley Preparatory School and Taverham Hall Preparatory School". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ George, Martin (20 July 2016). "Threat of legal action over proposed merger of Langley Preparatory School and Taverham Hall Preparatory School". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Home Page". Langley School. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
Langley Prep School opened its doors at our new beautiful 100 acre campus in Taverham, as Langley Preparatory School at Taverham Hall on 12 September.
- ^ a b "Boarding Inspection - Taverham Hall" (PDF). Taverham Hall. ISI. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ "The History of taverham Hall". Taverham Hall. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ "Curriculum" (PDF). Taverham Hall. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
- ^ "Curriculum". Taverham Hall. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ Sally Withey The famous old boys and girls from Norfolk Independent schools Eastern Daily Press March 18th 2010
- ^ Benn, Melissa (25 August 2007). "Allen Clarke Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Catford, John (18 October 2012). "Frederick Jevons Obituary". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ "Good win for Ireland Schools". irishrugby.ie. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
