Davenant Foundation School

Davenant Foundation School
Davenant Foundation School
Davenant Foundation School Badge Logo.jpg
Established 1680
Religion Christian
Headteacher Mr Chris Seward
Specialism Sports College
Location Chester Road
Loughton
Essex
IG10 2LD
England
Local authority Essex
DfE URN 115342
Ofsted Reports
Students 1078
Gender Coeducational
Ages 11–18
Website Davenant Foundation School

Coordinates: 51°39′45″N 0°05′05″E / 51.66253°N 0.08470°E / 51.66253; 0.08470

Davenant Foundation School is a coeducational, Christian Ecumenical School, founded in 1680, currently located in Loughton, Essex, England. The school is a specialist Sports College.

Contents

History

Foundation in Whitechapel

In February 1680 the Reverend Ralph Davenant drew up his will leaving all of his household goods and plate to his wife with the provision that it should eventually be sold and that the monies raised should be used to build a school for 40 poor boys of Whitechapel.

Ralph Davenant was the son of the Rector of Gillingham in Dorset. Mr Davenant became Rector of Whitechapel (St.Mary's) and was awarded the degree of M.A. by Cambridge University as a result of a directive from King Charles II. It is not known what the connection between Ralph Davenant and the King, but the King was clearly impressed.

In addition to the monies raised from the sale of plate and goods, a number of properties were also given over to the school so that rents and capital could be raised. These consisted of a farm at Sandon near Chelmsford, the site where Tilbury Fort is built and much of the land upon which the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is built. Funds raised thereby went towards the additional educating of 34 poor girls. Boys were to learn reading, writing and arithmetic whilst the girls were to learn reading, writing and sewing.

A site for the proposed school was found in the Whitechapel Road on the Lower Burial Ground, the site is still occupied by the old school buildings and can be clearly seen when passing along the Whitechapel Road.

In 1813, a dramatic change took place when Davenant earned itself the title of 'Cradle of the National Schools of England'.

Monitorial system

Dr Andrew Bell invented a system for educating hundreds of children with only one Master assisted by senior boys. This became known as the monitorial system. 1,000 children (600 boys and 400 girls) were educated by this system in a new building which was erected in Davenant Street.

The Charity School continued to function in the original buildings which were eventually enlarged in 1818 to accommodate 100 boys and 100 girls. The school by now maintained two institutions educating 1,200 children — extraordinarily large for 1818. The third strand of the school came into being in 1858 when a Commercial or Grammar School was built in Leman Street under the direction of the Reverend Welden Champneys, the then Rector of Whitechapel. In 1888 the two charities of Whitechapel and Davenant merged to become 'The Foundation School'.

New buildings

In 1896, the new Renaissance Building was erected behind the 1818 building providing additional up to date classroom space and a magnificent assembly hall which remains to this day. In 1939 the school was evacuated and the buildings were taken over by the Heavy Rescue Service who did irreparable damage to the buildings and destroyed many of the documents and honours boards - which were used to board up broken shop windows. In 1944 the school became Davenant Foundation Grammar School for Boys, a title which it retained until 1980. By now it educated only some 200 boys.

Move to Loughton

In 1966, at the invitation of the Essex County Council, the school moved to the leafy suburb of Loughton. Many East End families had in any case moved out to the suburbs by this time. The population in London was in decline and there was a need for grammar school provision for boys in Loughton. There were, in 1966, many fine grammar schools in the East End including Raine's, George Green, Coopers Coborn and Parmiter's. Davenant's best chance of survival was to move.

The new buildings at Loughton are located at the beautiful Debden Estate and were opened in 1966 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

Comprehensive and coeducational school

The school continued as a two form entry boys' grammar school until 1980. It was then that, after much deliberation, the Governors and Trustees decided that the time was right to further develop the work which Ralph Davenant had put into motion some 300 years before and so it was that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother made her second visit to the school to mark the restoration of the co-educational nature of the school and its ongoing development as a Christian Ecumenical School for 1,000 girls and boys.

House system

A House System was introduced in 2005 with the school being divided up into six houses, one for each form in each year. The houses are named after places in the surrounding area of the school.

The houses are:

  • Debden - Mascot: Dragons - Colour: Red
  • Abbey (after Waltham Abbey) - Mascot: Angels - - Colour: Blue
  • Valley (after Roding Valley) - Mascot: Lions - Colour: Yellow
  • Epping - Mascot: Tigers - Colour: Orange
  • Nazeing - Mascot: Shark - Colour: Purple
  • Theydon (after Theydon Bois) - Mascot: Phoenix - Colour: Green

The first initials of each house spell out D, A, V, E, N, T; which are the letters that make up the school's name - Davenant (minus the repeated letters). Each house has a member of staff as head of house, a house colour and mascot. They also all have sixth form house prefects. However, the House system is taken seriously by students (particularly on sports day)

Rugby

The school has been on 4 rugby tours so far; Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and South America. The tour to South Africa was a successful tour where the team won 3 matches out of 5 - while on this tour Davenant played a team which came from the local townships. The Canada tour in 1994 was more successful as all 5 tour games were won. The school have had many players who have represented at county level (Mainly Essex but also Middlesex). Every year the school is entered for the Daily Mail cup at both Under 18 and Under 15 levels.

The current Davenant 1st XV squad has recently taken on a new coach in the form of notable Blackheath Flanker, former Wales Rugby League and Head of Business studies Dave Brown. He succeeds long time servant Richard Vaughan who left after the 2007/2008 season after 9 glory-filled years as head coach at the school.

In the past years the school 1sts have consistently reached the 3rd or 4th round of the Daily Mail Schools' Cup and last year was knocked out by eventual winners St Benedict's School, Ealing. There is a great rivalry between Davenant and schools close by in the area such as West Hatch and Debden Park.

Alumni

Davenant Foundation School

See also

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Davenant International — is the innovative student forum on global issues launched by the students of Davenant Foundation School in Loughton, Essex, England. This new forum was launched in September 2005 and received widespread media coverage. Davenant Foundation School… …   Wikipedia

  • Davenant — is a surname, and may refer to: Charles Davenant, English economist, son of William Davenant Ralph Davenant, English clergyman William Davenant, English poet Davenant may also refer to: Hain (planet), an important planet in Ursula K. Le Guin s… …   Wikipedia

  • Davenant Centre — The Davenant Centre, situated in Whitechapel in the East End of London is known as a centre of excellence for youth services in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Davenant Centre was built to remember the community work of the Reverend… …   Wikipedia

  • West Hatch High School — Infobox UK school name = West Hatch High School size = latitude = 51.612480 longitude = 0.062933 dms = dms motto = The Best That I Can Be Manu et Mente (By Hand and By Mind) motto pl = established = 1957 approx = closed = c approx = type =… …   Wikipedia

  • Ralph Davenant — Reverend Ralph Davenant founded Davenant Foundation School in 1680, when he left £100 in his will to start up a school for the poor boys of Whitechapel, London.Ralph Davenant was Rector of St Mary s in Whitechapel in the East End of London. ee… …   Wikipedia

  • Colchester Royal Grammar School — For other schools with the name RGS, see Royal Grammar School. Colchester Royal Grammar School Motto Vitae Corona Fides (Faith is the Crown of Life) Established By 1206 Refounded 1539 Refounded 1584 Type …   Wikipedia

  • Voluntary aided school — A voluntary aided school is a school in England where the governing body, as opposed to the Local Education Authority, employs the staff, and decides the admission arrangements, but the school is funded by the state and cannot charge fees. The… …   Wikipedia

  • Dame Alice Owen's School — 1613 2013 Established 1613 Type Academy Headteacher Doctor A J Davison Founder Dame Alice Owen Specialism Languages and Science …   Wikipedia

  • Chelmsford County High School for Girls — Chelmsford County High School main building Chelmsford County High School for Girls Motto Vitai Lampada Ferimus (We carry the lamp of life) Established 1906 …   Wikipedia

  • Bancroft's School — This article is about the school in England. For the school in the United States, see Bancroft School. Bancroft s School Motto Unto God Only Be Honour and Glory Established 1737 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”