Bancroft's School

Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent school located in Woodford Green, London Borough of Redbridge. The school currently has around 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 18, around 200 of whom are pupils of the Preparatory School and 800 of whom are pupils of the Senior School.

This article is about the school in England. For the school in the United States, see Bancroft School.

Bancroft's School
Address
High Road Woodford Green , London , IG8 0RF England
Coordinates	51°36′17″N 0°01′39″E
Information
Type	Independent day school
Motto	Unto God Only Be Honour and Glory
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England
Established	1737
Founder	Francis Bancroft
Local authority	Redbridge
Department for Education URN	102875 Tables
Chairman of governors	Professor Philip Ogden
Head master	Simon Marshall
Chaplain	Rev I. Moore
Staff	c. 90
Gender	Coeducational
Age	7 to 18
Enrolment	1100 (including 260 in the preparatory school)
Houses	North      East      West      School
Colour(s)	Navy blue, black
Former pupils	Old Bancroftians
Website	http://www.bancrofts.org/

The school's alumni – or "Old Bancroftians" – include naturalists, poets, academics, politicians, authors, sportsmen, actors, and military figures. These include two recipients of the Victoria Cross – Britain's highest military award for gallantry.

In recent years these have included David Pannick, Alan Davies, Hari Kunzru, Russell Lissack and YolanDa Brown

History

Bancroft's School in Woodford Green

The school was founded in 1737, following the 1728 death of Francis Bancroft,[1] who bequeathed 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.

The foundation was originally known as Bancroft's Hospital and until the late 19th century also acted as home for almsmen who had been freemen of the Company of Drapers.[2] In 1884 the almshouse was abolished and the school moved to a new site at Woodford Green and the original buildings were demolished; the site is now occupied by Queen Mary, University of London.

A school cricket match in front of the prep school

The current school location 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 a hundred pupils, including sixty boarders. The numbers grew steadily during the twentieth century until there were nearly one thousand on the roll. The buildings were also extended, with the original Science Block (1910) then further extended (1969/70 and officially opened by Sir Solly Zuckerman), new Assembly Hall (1937), the Adams Building (1964), a new Gymnasium Block (1975), the Preparatory School (1990), the Courtyard Building (2006), new Sports Block (2007), and Preparatory School Extension (2009).

Following the Education Act 1944, Bancroft's became a direct grant grammar school. However, the removal of this status in the 1970s prompted the governors to decide on three courses of action: to discontinue boarding, to admit girls for the first time and become fully independent. Some years later the decision was also taken to build a new preparatory school. These were all completed by 1990; the school now takes half its pupils from age 7, and half the pupils are now girls. In 1997, the government abolished the Assisted Places Scheme, which had 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. These awards are means-tested, and can be worth the entire school fee.

In 2004, a new major building programme began. The Courtyard Building, consisting of new kitchens, a communal atrium, staff offices, further teaching rooms and a new Sixth Form Centre, was opened by Chris Woodhead in February 2006, and a new large Sports Hall was completed at the beginning of the Summer Term 2007. In 2009, a conversion of the old gymnasium into a modern Drama Centre was finished with students enjoying the new facilities available. A large new building for the preparatory school and a second floor in the historic library for additional computer usage was completed in 2010. In 2011, an extension to the recently built 6th form block comprising a number of new facilities including a separate 6th form library was completed. The school also continues to invest heavily in its IT infrastructure with the roll-out of new hardware and software systems in 2007.

Mary Ireland became headmistress in January 2008, succeeding Peter Scott. She last worked at Christ's Hospital, where she was deputy head to Peter Southern, himself a previous headmaster at Bancroft's. It was announced in October 2015 that Mary Ireland would be succeeded by Simon Marshall as Head following the 2015–2016 academic year.[3]

The school team, led by English teacher Kevin Gallagher, won the Kids' Lit Quiz in 2009 at the world final in South Africa.[4]

Year groups

Preparatory School

Year	Name
Year 3	Alpha
Year 4	Beta
Year 5	Prep 1
Year 6	Prep 2

Senior School

Year	Name
Year 7	Thirds
Year 8	Removes
Year 9	Lower Fourth
Year 10	Upper Fourth
Year 11	Fifth Form
Year 12	Lower Sixth
Year 13	Upper Sixth

Preparatory School

Bancroft's Preparatory School
Information
Type	Preparatory day school
Established	1990
Department for Education URN	132134 Tables
Head	Joe Layburn
Gender	Coeducational
Age	7 to 11
Enrolment	200~
Website	http://www.bancrofts.org/index.php/prep-school

The Preparatory School was founded in 1990 after the senior school had converted from a direct grant grammar to an independent school. Unlike most traditional preparatory schools, the final year is Year 6 (age 11) and not Year 8 (age 13).

Curriculum

For the first two years, students study the following subjects: English, Maths, Spanish, German, Combined Science, Drama, Religious Studies, Geography, PSHE, History, PE, Games, Music, Technology and Art.

In the Removes year (Year 8), students choose two languages to study out of French, German, and Spanish, and also study Latin.

In the Lower Fourth year (Year 9) students choose three subjects from Latin, Classics, Ancient Greek, Russian, French, Spanish and German and two creative subjects from Art, Music, Design Technology, Electronics, Drama and Computer Science.

At GCSE level, all pupils take the following core subjects: English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Four additional subjects are chosen from the following, one of which must be a language: Art, DT, Electronics, Music, Spanish, German, French, Latin, Classical Civilisation, Classical Greek, Religious Studies, Geography, and History.

The school has follows the IGCSE syllabi in Mathematics and English. Around a quarter of pupils take Mathematics a year early, going on to do an FSMQ in Additional Mathematics in the Fifth Form. A smaller number of pupils take French a year early, and then go on to study a third of the AS Level course, along with Critical Thinking as well, with the option of taking the Critical Thinking AS at the end of the year.

A-Level students choose three to five of the subjects offered by the school: Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Classical Civilisation, Classical Greek, Critical Thinking, Design Technology, Drama, Economics, Electronics, English Literature, French, Geography, German, History, Latin, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Religious Studies and Spanish. There are also courses to AS level in Government and Politics and Music Technology.

Theatre Studies, German (beginners), Spanish (beginners), Creative Writing, Computer Programming, Financial Studies, PPE (Politics, Philosophy, and Ethics for aspiring Medical Students), Geology, Astronomy, Mandarin, Carpentry, Law and Critical Thinking are also offered to Sixth Form students as a so-called Additional Studies option not resulting in a formal qualification.[5]

Grading system

Pre-GCSE students (Thirds, Removes and Lower-Fourths [up to the last half-term of the year]) are given grades with A to D measuring effort (With A representing the highest level of effort given) and 6 to 1 measuring achievement (With 6 representing the highest level of achievement). GCSE students receive a number grade for achievement ranging from 1 to 9, 9 being a high A*, 8 being an A*, 7 being an A/A*, 6 being an A, and so on, along with three separate letter grades, which are based on a student's attitude, classwork and homework. Students who achieve 8A* or more (usually around 2% of a cohort), will be awarded an honorary scholarship. In the sixth form years, grading is carried out using the same letter and number grades as those used for GCSE students, but numeric grades correspond to expected AS or A Level results instead.

Heads

Name	Joined	Left
Herbert Clement Playne	1906	1931
Thomas Grantham Wells	1931	1943
Sydney Adams	1944	1965
Ian MacDonald Richardson	1965	1985
Peter Campbell David Southern	1985	1995
Peter Scott	1995	2008
Mary Ireland	2008	2016
Simon Marshall	2016	–

[6]

Notable alumni

Name	Born	Died	Known For
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
Sir Reader Bullard	1885	1976	Ambassador to Iran, 1943–1945
Robert "Eddie" Cruickshank	1888	1961	World War I Victoria Cross
Gilbert Waterhouse	1893	1916	Trench poet
Sir Kenneth Peppiatt	1893	1983	20th Chief Cashier, Bank of England, 1934–1949
Victor Purcell	1896	1965
Anthony Jacques Mantle, DFC	1899	1988	World War I Distinguished Flying Cross
Sir Wilfrid Percy Henry Sheldon, KCVO	1901	1983	Consulting physician; physician-pediatrician to Queen Elizabeth II
Lieutenant-Colonel Augustus Charles Newman	1904	1972	World War II Victoria Cross
Norman Suckling	1904	1994	Biographer, composer, pianist, writer on music, and educator
Sir Frederick Warner	1910	2010	Chemical engineer
Denis Quilley	1927	2003	Actor
Sir Neil Macfarlane	1936		Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam 1974–1992
John F. Dewey	1937		Structural geologist, authority on the development and evolution of mountain ranges
Colin Barker	1939	2019	Marxist sociologist
Martyn Turner	1948		Political cartoonist
David Pannick	1956		Barrister
Michael Richard Lynch	1965		The first British-based internet billionaire entrepreneur
Alan Davies	1966		Comedian, writer and actor
Samantha Spiro	1968		Olivier Award-winning actress (Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick)
Hari Kunzru	1969		British Indian novelist (The Impressionist)
Samantha Smith	1971		Former British No. 1 ladies tennis player
Anita Anand	1972		Radio and television presenter and journalist
Adam Foulds	1974		Novelist and poet
Russell Lissack	1981		Lead Guitarist, Bloc Party
Ayesha Antoine	1981		Actress Grange Hill and Holby City
YolanDa Brown	1982		Musician, Double MOBO winning saxophonist

The Old Bancroftians Association

The Old Bancroftians Association (OBA) was founded in 1892 when the Old Bancroftians' Football Club was formed, although there were already a few unofficial groups which had been around since the 1860s. The first meeting was held in 1896 at the Haunch of Venison in Fleet Street. However, a constitution was not agreed until 1909, when the first President, H.C Playne[7] (who was also the school's Head Master), was appointed. The idea of the association was to keep young and old members together.

The association grew rapidly over the years, to a size of 3175 members in 2005, when membership for life was introduced for all Bancroftians.[8]

The association provides a range of services for former members of the school, including the organisation of reunions and sports activities, including cricket, rugby golf, and a Masonic Lodge.

References

1. The Drapers' Company – Francis Bancroft's Trust. Retrieved May 2008 Archived 15 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
2. Low, Sampson (1862). The Charities of London in 1861: Comprising an Account of the Operations, Resources, and General Conditions of the Charitable, Educational, and Religious Institutions of London. S. Low, son, & Company. p. 248.
3. The Guardian http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/13843334.New_school_leader_named_as_headteacher_set_to_leave/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
4. "Kids' Lit Quiz 2009". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
5. Kitchen, The Web. "Bancroft's School". Bancroft's. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
6. "The Bancroftian Network". The Old Bancroftian's Association.
7. "The Old Bancroftians Association". Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
8. "Bancroftian Network: A Brief History of the OBA". bancroftians.net. Retrieved 3 June 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Bancroft's School's Virtual Learning Environment
• Profile on the ISC website
• Old Bancroftians website
• Bancroftian Lodge