Alleyn's School

Alleyn's School

The School in 2007
Motto	God's Gift
Established	1619 as part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift, although separated from Dulwich College in 1882.[1]
Type	Public School Independent day school
Religion	Church of England
Headmaster	G. Savage
Chairman of the Governing Board	Iain Barbour
Founder	Edward Alleyn
Location	Townley Road Dulwich London SE22 8SU England
DfE URN	100864 Tables
Students	1,218
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	4–18
Houses	8 (See Houses)
Colours	Red, black, white and navy
Former pupils	Alleyn's Old Boys / Girls
Affiliation	Alleyn's College of God's Gift
Website	www.alleyns.org.uk

Alleyn's School.

Alleyn's School is an independent, co-educational day school situated in Dulwich, south London, England. It is a registered charity^[2] and was originally part of the Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation, which also included James Allen's Girls' School (JAGS), Dulwich College and their affiliate schools (JAPS and Alleyn's Junior School). The official religion is Church of England.^[3] The school is also listed in the Good Schools Guide.^[4]

History

Edward Alleyn

In 1619, Edward Alleyn established his "College of God's Gift" (the gift of love) with twelve pupils.^[5][6] Alleyn's School is a direct descendant of Edward Alleyn's original foundation and was established as a boys' school in 1882. It still exists as part of a foundation alongside Dulwich College and JAGS; it split with Dulwich College after the "Dulwich College Act" of 1857, with the upper school of the original foundation moving to a new site further south and the lower school staying put, becoming an independent boys school in 1882 and later also moving to its own site.

The original school is now the foundation chapel and the offices for the Dulwich Estate, which belongs to the foundation schools.^[5] Alleyn's became a public school with the election of the Headmaster to the Headmasters' Conference (HMC) in 1919. It was a direct grant grammar school from 1958 until the abolition of that status in 1975. The Governors then opted for outright independence and co-education.

The College of God's Gift

For the original College of God's Gift, 24 students had to be chosen from the four parishes with which Edward Alleyn had been connected. Saint Giles, Camberwell (in which Dulwich was situated), Saint Saviour, Southwark (where the Bear Pit stood on Bankside), Saint Botolph, Bishopsgate (where Alleyn was born), and Saint Giles, Cripplegate (home to the Fortune Theatre).^[5]

Front of the main building of Alleyn's School.

May 2009 H1N1 flu cases

On 4 May 2009, six children in Year 7 were diagnosed with Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 2009 swine flu outbreak.^[7] The school was closed for one week to contain the outbreak and exams were rescheduled. All pupils and staff were offered a course of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, distributed from the school. All the infected pupils responded to treatment, and were named with quotes in the newspapers.^[8]

Headmasters

The new library building was opened in 2002 by the then poet laureate Andrew Motion

Playing in the snow, January 2007

The Edward Alleyn Building

Building work commencing on the new Edward Alleyn Building

Alleyn's started developing a new theatre complex, named the Edward Alleyn Building, on 10 February 2007. The £8.5million^[9] building was completed in 2008 and had a Grand Gala Opening in 2009 featuring many performances by several pupils and Old Boys. The building includes the state-of-the-art MCT, ethe Robert Laurie Lecture Theatre, National Youth Theatre studio, a café, improved classrooms, and a sixth form study area.

Extra-curricular activities

The school has one of the largest Combined Cadet Force in the country^[10]

Two Alleyn's students playing Fives

Alleyn's Old Boys and Girls

• Felix Barrett, theatre director^[11][12]
• Peter Lyons. Director of Music, Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Master of Choristers and Director of Music, Wells Cathedral and Wells Cathedral School, Headmaster, Witham Hall School.^[13][14]
• Stuart Blanch, Baron Blanch (1918–1994), Bishop of Liverpool, 1966–1975, and Archbishop of York, 1975–1983^[15]
• Harold Bradfield (1898–1960) Bishop of Bath and Wells
• Nancy Carroll (born 1974) actress^[11]
• Jack Chalker (1918–2014) artist^[16]
• Ray Cooney (born 1932) playwright and actor^[11]
• Donal Coonan (born 1981), presenter of Channel 4's web show, thisisaknife
• Sir Henry Cotton (1907–1987), golfer^[11][15]
• Peter Darling, choreographer^[11]
• Michael Edwards (born 1940), cricketer
• Ken Farrington (born 1936), actor
• C. S. Forester (1899–1966), novelist^[11][15][17]
• Rich Fownes (born 1983), songwriter/Nine Inch Nails bassist
• Pixie Geldof (born 1990), British model, socialite and daughter of Bob Geldof (Roper's House)
• Julian Glover (born 1935), actor^[15]
• Air Marshal Sir Victor Groom KCVO, KBE, CB, DFC & Bar (1898–1990) senior officer in the Royal Air Force
• Harry Guntrip (1901–1975), psychotherapist and Congregational minister^[15]
• Eddie Hardin (born 1949), keyboard player for Spencer Davis Group
• Air Marshal Sir Christopher Harper, Air Marshal, RAF, Director General of NATO International Military Staff 2013–2015
• Michael Hastings (born 1937) author and playwright
• David Hemmings (1941–2003) was an English film, theatre and television actor
• Terence Higgins, Baron Higgins (born 1928), politician
• Douglas Higgs (born 1951), director, Molecular Haematology Unit of the Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford
• Zezi Ifore (born 1985), TV Presenter
• Sir Joe Hooper (1914–1994), director, Government Communications Headquarters, 1965–1973, and Government Intelligence Co-ordinator, 1973–1978^[15]
• Leslie Howard (1893–1943), actor 1907–1910^[18]
• R. V. Jones (1911–1997), physicist, military intelligence expert, and Professor of Natural Philosophy, University of Aberdeen, 1946–1981^[11][15]
• Baron Ajay Kakkar (born 1964), Professor of Surgical Science, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London (Roper's house. Also a school governor)^[11]
• Jude Law (born 1972), actor^[11][15]
• Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (born 1965), television presenter and architect^[19]
• Kelvin MacKenzie (born 1946), former editor of The Sun
• James Bolivar Manson (1879–1945), painter and director, Tate Gallery, 1930–1938^[15]
• Mitch McGugan, musician^[11][20]
• Jack Peñate (born 1984), singer-songwriter (Spurgeon's house)^[11]
• Air Marshall Sir Walter Pretty KBE CB (1909 –1975) Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command.
• Sir V. S. Pritchett (1900–1997), writer and critic^[11][15]
• Colin Robbins (born 1964), software engineer and company director (Roper's house)
• Marcus Reeves (born 1979) Writer/Performer (Dutton's House)
• Jacob Shaw (born 1988), Cellist,^[21] (Dutton's house)
• Robin Shroot (born 1988) Birmingham City F.C. midfielder
• Ed Simons (born 1970), one half of the Chemical Brothers
• Kenneth Spring (1921–1997), British Army officer and painter
• Mickey Stewart (born 1933), cricketer^[11]
• John Stride (born 1936), actor^[11]
• Dobrinka Tabakova, composer
• Frank Thornton (1921–2013), actor
• Simon Ward (1941–2012), actor^[11][15]
• Hannah Ware (born 1982), model and actress, Boss^[22]
• Jessie Ware Singer, journalist^[23]
• Arthur Watson (1880–1969), editor, Daily Telegraph, 1924–1950^[15]
• Sir Cullum Welch, 1st Baronet (1895–1980), Lord Mayor of London
• Florence Welch (born 1986), vocalist of Florence and the Machine (spurgeon's house)^[11]
• Samuel West (born 1966), actor^[24]
• David Weston (born 1938) actor.
• Felix White, guitarist and vocalist of The Maccabees^[11]
• Sir Philip Woodfield (1923–2000), British civil servant.
• Sir Frank George Young (1908–1988), biochemist and first Master of Darwin College, Cambridge, 1964–1976^[15]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alleyn's School.

• Official website
• Charity Commission. Alleyn's School, registered charity no. 1057971. 
• Good Schools Guide

Coordinates: 51°27′17″N 0°04′55″W / 51.45472°N 0.08194°W / 51.45472; -0.08194