Woolverstone Hall School
Encyclopedia
In the early 1950s the London County Council
obtained use of Woolverstone Hall
near Ipswich
, Suffolk
, and some 50 acres (202,343 m²) of adjoining land for the purpose of establishing a secondary grammar boarding school
for London boys. The premises were previously occupied by the LNS Woolverstone, a branch of the London Nautical School
, some students of which were permitted to complete their education in the new environment, which commenced experimentally in 1950. In September 1951, the new school formally opened with mostly new teaching staff under a new headmaster, Mr J. S. H. Smitherman. It became comprehensive
in 1977, under the auspices of the Inner London Education Authority
. The school closed in 1990 and the site was sold to the Girls' Day School Trust
. It is now the home of Ipswich High School
.
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
obtained use of Woolverstone Hall
Woolverstone Hall
Woolverstone Hall is a large country house, now in use as a school located south of the centre of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It is set in on the banks of the River Orwell. Built in 1776 for William Berners by the architect John Johnson of Leicestershire, it is one of the finest examples of...
near Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, and some 50 acres (202,343 m²) of adjoining land for the purpose of establishing a secondary grammar 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 London boys. The premises were previously occupied by the LNS Woolverstone, a branch of the London Nautical School
London Nautical School
The London Nautical School was founded in 1915, as a consequence of the official report into the loss of the Titanic. The primary aim of the school is "to educate and prepare pupils to meet the needs of society either at sea or in any other occupation where responsibility, attention to duty and...
, some students of which were permitted to complete their education in the new environment, which commenced experimentally in 1950. In September 1951, the new school formally opened with mostly new teaching staff under a new headmaster, Mr J. S. H. Smitherman. It became comprehensive
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in 1977, under the auspices of the Inner London Education Authority
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority was the education authority for the 12 inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990.-History:...
. The school closed in 1990 and the site was sold to the Girls' Day School Trust
Girls' Day School Trust
The Girls' Day School Trust is a group of 26 independent schools - 24 schools and two Academies - in England and Wales, catering for pupils aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each year...
. It is now the home of Ipswich High School
Ipswich High School
Ipswich High School is a girls' independent school located at Woolverstone, near the town of Ipswich, England. It was founded in 1872 and is one of the schools of the Girls' Day School Trust.-History:...
.
Notable former students
- Peter AlexanderPeter Alexander (English actor)Peter Alexander is an English actor and director. He is probably best known for playing the character of Phil Pearce in Emmerdale Farm for three years....
starred as Phil Pearce in Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s - Graham BarlowGraham BarlowGraham Derek Barlow is a former cricketer and was a middle-order batsman for Middlesex and, briefly, for England. He was also an England under-23 Rugby Union cap,...
(cricketer) - Richard Bryan (counter-tenor in CantabileCantabileCantabile is a musical term meaning literally "singable" or "songlike" . It has several meanings in different contexts. In instrumental music, it indicates a particular style of playing designed to imitate the human voice. For 18th century composers, the term is often used synonymously with...
- The London Quartet) - Tim CresswellTim CresswellTim Cresswell is a human geographer at the Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London. He is the author of four books on the role of space and mobility in cultural life.-Education:After attending Woolverstone Hall School, he received his B.A...
(geographer) - John Cuffley (drummer with Emile FordEmile FordEmile Ford is a musician and singer, who was popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Life and career:...
and the Checkmates (1958-1963) and the Climax Blues BandClimax Blues BandClimax Blues Band was formed in Stafford, England in 1968. The original members were guitarists Peter Haycock and Derek Holt; keyboardist Arthur Wood; bassist Richard Jones; drummer George Newsome; and vocalist and harmonica player, Colin Cooper.In 1970, the group shortened its name to the Climax...
(1973-1983) - Charles De'AthCharles De'AthCharles De'Ath, also known as Charlie De'Ath, Charles De-Ath, and Charles Death is a British film and television actor.-Acting:Charles' first role was in the television Fatherland.-Filmography:-External links:...
(actor) - Cedric DelvesCedric DelvesLieutenant General Sir Cedric Norman George Delves KBE DSO is a former British Army general.-Military career:Educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Cedric Delves was commissioned into the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment in 1968...
(former Director of the SAS, and Colonel of Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry) - Peter DonaldsonPeter DonaldsonPeter Ian Donaldson is a main newsreader on BBC Radio 4.He was born in Cairo, Egypt and moved to Cyprus in 1952 at the time of the overthrow of King Farouk. He was a frequent listener to the BBC World Service and the BFBS....
(Radio 4 newsreader) - Udi Eichler (TV producer and actor)
- Alan GouldAlan GouldAlan Gould is a contemporary Australian novelist and poet.Born in London Alan Gould's family lived in Northern Ireland, Germany and Singapore before arriving in Australia in 1966. He completed a BA at Australian National University and a Diploma of Education at the then Canberra College of...
(novelist and poet) - George HargreavesGeorge Hargreaves (politician)James George Hargreaves , known as George Hargreaves or J. G. Hargreaves, is a religious minister, political campaigner, leader of the Christian Party , and former music producer and songwriter.-Early life:...
(politician) - Phill JupitusPhill JupitusPhillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
(TV personality, comedian) - Ian McCullochIan McCulloch (actor)Ian McCulloch is a Scottish actor.He is best known for his role as Greg Preston in Survivors. Though he debuted in the second episode, "Genesis", Greg would become the male lead for the first series, and got to show off his singing and guitar playing in several episodes...
(TV actor and writer) - Ian McEwanIan McEwanIan Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
(novelist, Booker Prize winner) - Martin OffiahMartin OffiahMartin Offiah MBE is an English former rugby league and rugby union footballer.He is known as "Chariots" Offiah after the film Chariots of Fire...
(England and Great Britain rugby league international) - Ben OnwukweBen OnwukweBen Onwukwe is a British film, radio, television, theatre and voice actor.He is perhaps best known for appearing as Stuart 'Recall' MacKenzie in thirty-nine episodes of London's Burning, a dramatic television series first aired on the British television network ITV.-Career:In addition to his...
(actor) - Neil PearsonNeil PearsonNeil Joshua Pearson is a British actor best known for his work on television.-Biography:Pearson grew up in Battersea, London, the son of a panel beater, who left home when he was five, and a legal secretary, and was educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Suffolk, a boarding school, where he first...
(actor) - Christopher Prendergast (Cambridge Professor Emeritus in French and Fellow of the British Academy)
- Fay PrestoFay PrestoFay Presto is a British trans woman who is known as a magician and a member of The Inner Magic Circle. In 2001, Fay Presto played herself in ITV's Emmerdale. In 1998 she was voted ‘Party Entertainer of the Year’ by Tatler Magazine...
(magician) - Jean Roussel (musician with Cat Stevens and Sting)
- Bill Sanderson (illustrator, notably of Tolkien's The Legend of Sigurd and GudrunThe Legend of Sigurd and GudrúnThe Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is a narrative poem composed by J. R. R. Tolkien. The book was released worldwide on May 5, 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and HarperCollins....
) - Jonathan SayeedJonathan SayeedJonathan Sayeed is a British politician who was a Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2005....
(ex-Conservative MP) - Guy StevensGuy StevensGuy Stevens worked in a number of different roles in the British music industry including producer and manager. He gave the rock bands Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople their distinctive names....
(music executive) - Mark Wing-DaveyMark Wing-DaveyMark Wing-Davey is a British actor and director.-Early life and career:The son of actor and actress Peter Davey and Anna Wing, Wing-Davey went to school at Woolverstone Hall School, before studying at Cambridge University where he was a member of the Footlights from 1967 to 1970.He had a featured...
(actor- Zaphod BeeblebroxZaphod BeeblebroxZaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the various versions of the humorous science fiction story The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams who based him on his Cambridge contemporary, Johnny Simpson....
, theatre director) - Dylan Winter (Radio 4 presenter and journalist)
- Michael Volpe (General Manager of Opera Holland ParkOpera Holland ParkOpera Holland Park is a summer opera company which produces an annual season of opera performances staged under a temporary canopy in Holland Park, a public park in a wealthy district of west central London of the same name. The venue is fully covered but is open at the sides.The canopy was...
) - Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot (lead singer of Curiosity Killed the CatCuriosity Killed the CatCuriosity Killed the Cat was a British pop band that found success in the UK Singles Chart in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Career:The band tried to play soulful, jazzy, and funky pop music and was initially signed to Phonogram Records' Mercury imprint. They first came to notice of the UK music...
)