The Elms School
Address
Walwyn Road, Colwall

Malvern
,
Worcestershire
,
WR13 6EF

England
Coordinates52°04′26″N 2°21′54″W / 52.074°N 2.365°W / 52.074; -2.365
Information
TypeIndependent preparatory school
MottoGod Grant Grace
Religious affiliation(s)Christian
Established1614 (1614)
FounderHumphrey Walwyn, Worshipful Company of Grocers
OfstedReports
Chairman of GovernorsJames Rose
Headmaster (2023)Ed Lyddon[1]
Staff55 (2022) [2]
GenderCoeducational
Age3 to 13
Enrolment166 (2022)[1]
Colour(s)  Maroon   Black
Websitehttp://elmsschool.co.uk/

The Elms School is a co-educational private boarding prep school located in Colwall, Herefordshire, England. Including the Early Years and Pre-Prep departments, it caters for children from 3 to 13 years old. The Headmaster from April 2023 is Mr Ed Lyddon, who is a member of the Boarding Schools Association and the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS); The Elms was one of the IAPS's founding schools.

History

The Elms was founded in 1614 by Humphrey Walwyn of the Worshipful Company of Grocers, and is the oldest prep school still on its original site. The original school house was based on a farmhouse, built in the 1550s, on the edge of the village of Colwall in the lee of the Malvern Hills.

Although it is often referred to as the oldest prep school in the United Kingdom still located on its original site,[3][4] according to The Rise of the English Prep School, the official inception date of The Elms as a prep school dates back to only 1867.[5]

In 2014 The Elms School celebrated its 400-year anniversary, and named a new dormitory after the late former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[6] It maintains close links with the Grocers' Company, and receives financial assistance from the company's charitable arm.

Facilities

The school has 150 acres of land, including a farm and a large outdoor arena for riding.[7][8] As of 2013, The Elms was one of 98 schools in the UK with its own farm.[9] The Elms has herds of Hereford cattle and Gloucester Old Spot pigs, which pupils help to tend,[9] and show at county agricultural shows.[10] Meat from the farm is served in the school canteen and sold to parents.[9] Each class is responsible for tending a garden, and fruits and vegetables they grow are also used in the school kitchens.[7]

Pupils may stable their own ponies at the school.[11] The equestrian programme includes hunting.[8] The school has its own puppy show, where children learn to judge hounds.[8] In 2019, an annual hunt meeting at The Elms School was cancelled due to controversy on social media.[12]

The school also has a sports hall, theatre, swimming pool, astroturf, and science laboratories, as well as sports fields.[11]

Academic life

The Elms is a preparatory school, preparing pupils for Common Entrance and senior school Scholarship examinations, mainly at 13+. Pupils from the school have moved onto such schools as Cheltenham College, The Cheltenham Ladies' College, Dean Close, Eton, Gordonstoun, Harrow, Shrewsbury, St Marys, Calne and Tudor Hall.

Pupils study all the subjects of a standard curriculum, with the addition of Greek (for some pupils), Latin and Rural Studies. Pupils are largely taught by a form teacher in the early years, but there is an increasing degree of specialist subject teaching as they move up the school.[11]

Sport

Pupils play Association football, Rugby football, cricket, hockey, netball, rounders, athletics, triathlon and heptathlon. School teams have been successful in County and National level competitions.[11]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 "EduBase - the Elms School". Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Elms staff list | the Elms School, Malvern". Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Ferguson, Paul (24 July 2008). "School unveils theatre plan". Hereford Times. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "Choosing the right British boarding school". Country Life. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. ↑ Leinster-Mackay, Donald (2021). The Rise of the English Prep School. Routledge. ISBN 9781000357547 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Walker, Tim (17 June 2014). "The Elms School celebrates Margaret Thatcher". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 June 2022 – via Gale.
  7. 1 2 "School Catering: Home-Grown Mouth-Watering Menus". Independent School Parent. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Terry, Martha (15 September 2016). "6 dream schools for horsey children". Horse & Hound. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Paton, Graeme (5 February 2013). "Jamie Oliver philosophy is breeding more school farms". The Daily Telegraph. p. 3. Retrieved 17 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Independent Schools Inspectorate (2021). Integrated Inspection: The Elms School. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ "Planned hunt meeting at The Elms School postponed after angry social media reaction". Malvern Gazette. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2022 – via Gale.
  13. ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (2007). "DAVIES Stephen John James Frank". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  14. ↑ Stephen Davies's CV Archived 2007-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
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