History

It was first established as 1866 as Conyngham House in Ramsgate

Ramsgate

Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...

 with the first of the buildings on the present site being built 1898. During the Second World War the British Army used the school buildings while the school was temporarily housed at Rannoch

Rannoch

Rannoch is an area of the Scottish Highlands between the A9 road, to the east, and the A82, to the west. The area is crossed from south to north by the West Highland railway line....

. In 1969 the amalgamation with St. Peter's Court another Broadstairs preparatory school occurred (the problems of preparatory schools post war had been predicted during the war by FG Ridgeway of St Peter's Court), with the Wellesley House School site being developed as the sole site over the next few years. The school became co-educational in 1977.

School Organisation

The school is organised into a Junior House (7–9 years) and Senior School (up to 13 years). There are 3 boarding houses, the boys Junior House, the boys in the Main School and Orchard House for girls but all pupils are split into one of four houses, Vikings, Romans, Saxons and Danes. The school is organised into year blocks:

• Form JH
• Form JB
• Block 4
• Block 3
• Block 2
• Block 1

Achievements

The school and St Peter's Court have a long history of success, perhaps disproportionate to their small sizes. Distinguished alumni include soldiers (Peter de la Billière

Peter de la Billière

General Sir Peter Edgar de la Cour de la Billière, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC & Bar is a former British Army officer who was Director SAS during the Iranian Embassy Siege and Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in the 1990 Gulf War...

, John Ruggles-Brise

John Ruggles-Brise

Colonel Sir John Archibald Ruggles-Brise, 2nd Baronet, CB, OBE, TD was Lord Lieutenant of Essex from 1958 to 1978, and was the first Pro-Chancellor of Essex University from 1964 to 1979...

, Lord Jellicoe

John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe

Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...

), politicians (Ian Liddell-Grainger, James Arbuthnot

James Arbuthnot

James Norwich Arbuthnot, MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire.-Early life:...

, Nicholas Lyell, Henry Bellingham) , business (Robin Leigh-Pemberton

Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown

Robert "Robin" Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, is a crossbencher on the House of Lords, and was formerly a lawyer and banker....

, Sir Adrian Swire, Neil Sclater-Booth

Neil Sclater-Booth, 5th Baron Basing

Neil Lutley Sclater-Booth, 5th Baron Basing was a British nobleman and New York financier.The son of George Sclater-Booth, 4th Baron Basing, he was educated at St Peter's Court and Eton College, and graduated with an economics degree from Harvard University, where he played rugby...

, John and Patrick Cobbold

Patrick Cobbold

Patrick Mark Cobbold was an English businessman and a grandson of the Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire.He was educated with his elder brother John at Wellesley House and Eton College...

), literary figures (Jonathon Porritt

Jonathon Porritt

Jonathon Espie Porritt, CBE, is an English environmentalist and writer. Porritt appears frequently in the media, writing in magazines, newspapers and books, and appearing on radio and television regularly.-Early life and family background:...

, Tom Stacey

Tom Stacey

Tom Stacey is a British novelist, publisher, man of letters , traveller/kingmaker, and penologist.-Early life:...

, Simon Astaire

Simon Astaire

Simon Astaire is an author, agent, and media advisor. His first novel, PRIVATE PRIVILEGE, was published Fall 2008 by Quartet Books and became a best seller. The story is a rites of passage through the eyes of a public school boy. The sequel 'AND YOU ARE...?' was published the following year . It...

, Hew Strachan

Hew Strachan

Brigadier Professor Hew Francis Anthony Strachan, DL, FRSE, FRHS is a Scottish military historian, well known for his work on the administration of the British Army and the history of the First World War...

), sportsmen (Graham Cowdrey

Graham Cowdrey

The Honourable Graham Robert Cowdrey was an English cricketer. His nickname of "Van" came from Van Morrison, Cowdrey's favourite musician....

, Alex Loudon

Alex Loudon

Alexander Guy Rushworth Loudon is an English former cricketer. A right-handed batsman and off spin bowler, he was considered a promising future international player....

, George Mann

George Mann

George Mann CBE, DSO, MC was an English cricketer, who played for Cambridge University, Middlesex and England.-Life and career:...

, multiple Olympic medalists) and royalty (Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was a soldier and member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary....

, Prince George, Duke of Kent

Prince George, Duke of Kent

Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...

, Prince William of Gloucester

Prince William of Gloucester

Prince William of Gloucester was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandson of George V.-Early life:...

, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family. Prince Richard is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974. He is currently 20th in the line of succession...

). In 2011 it was voted The Archant Good School.