Bancroft's School
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Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent school in Woodford Green, London, with about 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 19. It was founded in 1737, following the death of its founder Francis Bancroft[1], who left a sizeable sum of money to the Drapers' Company, which continues to act as trustee for the school. Bancroft's began in the Mile End Road in London's East End as a small charitable day school for boys, with an attached almshouse for 24 elderly gentlemen, and over the next 250 years it evolved steadily to its present form; it is now one of the country's leading coeducational schools.
The foundation was originally known as Bancroft's Hospital and until the late 19th century also acted as home for the almsmen. The school then moved to a new site in Woodford Green and the original buildings were demolished; the site is now occupied by Queen Mary College, one of the colleges of the University of London.
The new school in Woodford Green occupies four and a half acres, and the main buildings were designed by Arthur Blomfield, who was also responsible for Selwyn College in Cambridge. Originally there were just one hundred pupils, including sixty boarders, but the numbers grew steadily during the twentieth century, until there were nearly one thousand on the roll. The buildings were also extended, with the Science Block (1910), a new Assembly Hall (1937), the Adams Building (1964), and a new Gymnasium Block (1975).
Following the loss of Direct Grant status in the 1970s, the Governors decided on three courses of action. These were to discontinue boarding, to admit girls for the first time, and to build a new Preparatory Department. These were all completed by 1990. In 1997 the Government abolished the Assisted Places Scheme, which helped children from poor families to attend the school; the Governors replaced these by Francis Bancroft Scholarships, which were supported by the Drapers' Company, and by the residue of Francis Bancroft's original will.
In 2004 a new building programme began. The courtyard Building, consisting of new kitchens, further teaching rooms, and a new Sixth Form Centre, was opened by Chris Woodhead in February 2006, and a new Sports Hall should be completed by Easter 2007.
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[edit] Year names
The preparatory school has four years which are known as:
- Alphas
- Betas
- Prep Ones
- Prep Twos
The senior school has its own naming system, in ascending age order:
- Thirds
- Removes
- Lower Fourths
- Upper Fourths
- Fifth Form
- Lower Sixth
- Upper Sixth
[edit] Curriculum
As an independent school, it is not obliged to follow the National Curriculum, but the syllabus resembles it somewhat, especially in the Lower School. Before beginning the two-year GCSE course, each student chooses three option subjects in addition to the compulsory ones (English, English Literature, Maths, French, Chemistry, Biology and Physics). The option subjects come from the following list:
Art, DT, Music, History, Latin, Ancient Greek, Greek Civilization, Electronics, Religious Studies, Spanish, German, Geography.
[edit] School Motto
Unto God only be Honour and Glory
[edit] Notable Old Bancroftians
| Name | Birth | Death | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connop Thirlwall | 1797 | 1875 | Bishop of Saint David's, 1840–1874, and historian |
| Sir Allan Powell | 1876 | 1948 | Chairman of Governors of the BBC, 1939–1946 |
| Henry Mess | 1884 | 1944 | social worker and sociologist |
| Sir Reader Bullard | 1885 | 1976 | Ambassador to Iran, 1943–1945 |
| Robert "Eddie" Cruickshank | 1888 | 1961 | World War I Victoria Cross |
| Sir Leslie Peppiatt | 1891 | 1968 | solicitor |
| Gilbert Waterhouse | 1893 | 1916 | trench poet |
| Sir Wilfrid Sheldon | 1901 | 1983 | paediatrician |
| Lieutenant-Colonel Augustus Charles Newman | 1904 | 1972 | World War II Victoria Cross |
| Sir Frederick Warner | 1910 | chemical engineer | |
| Denis Quilley | 1927 | 2003 | actor |
| John Bromley | 1934 | 2002 | sports broadcasting executive |
| Sir Neil Macfarlane | 1936 | Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam1974–1992 | |
| Martyn Turner | 1946 | political cartoonist | |
| David Pannick | 1956 | barrister | |
| Michael Richard Lynch | 1965 | the first British-based Internet billionaire entrepreneur | |
| Alan Davies | 1966 | comedian and actor | |
| Martin Fitzpatrick | 1967 | Head of Music ENO | |
| Hari Kunzru | 1969 | novelist | |
| Peter Erskine | Chief Executive Officer, O2 plc | ||
| Joe Lovejoy | Chief Football Writer, The Sunday Times | ||
| Russell Lissack | 1981 | guitarist with Bloc Party |
