Embley Park near Romsey

Romsey

Romsey is a small market town in the county of Hampshire, England.It is 8 miles northwest of Southampton and 11 miles southwest of Winchester, neighbouring the village of North Baddesley...

, Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 was the family home of Florence Nightingale from 1825 until her death in 1910. It is also where Florence Nightingale claimed she had received her divine calling from God. It is now a co-educational school for 3 -18 year olds.

The House

In 1826, Florence Nightingale's father purchased Embley Park house for the family to use as a permanent residence with Lea Hurst being used as a summer residence. The house was the larger of the two and was described as:

“a good-sized plain square house of the late Georgian period, the situation warm and sheltered, the gardens very large and exceptionally fine. The shooting was good, London was reasonably near, and Fanny’s two married sisters, Mrs Nicholson at Waverley Abbey near Farnham and Mrs Bonham-Carter at Fair Oak, near Winchester, were within easy reach.”

Florence Nightingale claimed she had received her first divine calling from God in 1837 at Embley whilst she was sat underneath a tree in the grounds. She then stayed here after her return from the Crimea for some time before returning for visits whilst living in London. After her death in London in 1910 her body was brought by train back to Romsey and her coffin carried from the station to the church at East Wellow where she is buried.

The school

In 1946 Embley Park became a boarding school

Boarding school

A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

 for boys between the ages of 11-18. In 1996, the school joined with an all girls school in based in Romsey formally known as La Sagesse Convent.

It then become an educational school consisting of a junior school (ages 3–11), a senior school (ages 11–16) and a sixth form college (ages 16–18).

In 2006, the school underwent another merger with The Atherley School

The Atherley School

The Atherley school was an all girls independent school based in Southampton, Hampshire from 1926 - 2006 until it merged with Embley Park school to become Hampshire Collegiate School.-History of the school:...

 which destroyed the Embley Park as we knew it. The merger of these schools formed a new school renamed Hampshire Collegiate School, part of the United Church Schools Trust

United Church Schools Trust

The United Church Schools Trust is a large education charity in the United Kingdom which owns and operates a group of 11 independent schools.-History:...

whose headmaster was David Chapman (the former Embley Park headmaster) and is now Hector McDonald. An investment of £14 million expanded the senior school and a created a brand new junior school, since then a new all weather astroturf pitch and 6 new tennis courts have been built and there are further plans for expansion on the site.

The school is continually improving exam results. In 2008 at GCSE 98.9% of students have achieved at least five A*-C passes, and 71% gained A*-B grades. At A-level 100% entered the university of their choice and the average UCAS points was over 270.

External links

• Hampshire Collegiate School website