St Dunstan's College

St Dunstan's College (SDC) is a co-educational independent school in Catford, London, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, and was an all-boys establishment until 1994. Located on an urban site in Lewisham, many additions have been made to the original Victorian building complex, including a large glass-walled dining hall utilising a hyperbolic paraboloid roof requiring no internal supports,[2] the prototype for a similar structure in the city of Calgary in Alberta in Western Canada. Sports facilities include an onsite sports hall complex, swimming pool, netball courts, fives courts and extensive playing fields for such an urban location. The pre-prep and prep schools are in separate buildings on the same site. Most Junior School children transfer into the senior school. The pre-prep school used to be the residence of a previous headmaster.

St Dunstan's College
Address
Stanstead Road, Catford

London Borough of Lewisham, London
,
SE6 4TY

England
Coordinates51.44386°N 0.02937°W / 51.44386; -0.02937
Information
TypeIndependent day school
MottoAlbam Exorna
(English: Adorn the white)
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England[1]
Established1446 (1446)
Refounded in 1888
FounderKing Henry VI
Local authorityLewisham (209)
Department for Education URN100754 Tables
Chairman of GovernorsPeter Coling
HeadmasterNicholas Hewlett
Staff90
GenderCo-educational
Age3 to 18
Enrolment938 (2019)[1]
Houses4
Colour(s)Maroon & Royal Blue         
Former pupilsOld Dunstonians
Websitehttp://www.stdunstans.org.uk

Admission into the College is competitive at all points of entry, the school consistently achieves above average examination results at all levels.[3]

A wide range of subjects are offered, with drama and economics indicated as being strong in the most recent Independent Schools Inspectorate report. Many sports and games are played, and some pupils have played at an international level. The Forder programme (co-curricular activities) is wide ranging and covers areas including sports, CCF, music, drama, community service and many others. The college offers over 100 activities.

History
St Dunstan's (2016) by D. Long. This is the front entrance to the College.

SDC was founded in 1446 in the Parish of St Dunstan-in-the-East, now part of the Tower Ward in the City of London.[4] Dunstan is the school's namesake, his likeness is prominent throughout the school's architecture and insignia.

In 1446 King Henry VI declared the parish school to be one of the efficient schools of the city, operating until the early sixteenth-century. [5]

The school was re-founded in 1888 on a green field site in Catford in the Parish of Lewisham but still maintains strong links with the City of London and the Parish of St Dunstan-in-the-East. The school commemorates its founding each year at Southwark Cathedral.

The main school building was designed by the architect Edward Middleton Barry in 1867 in accordance with the ideals of the school's first governor Owen Roberts, who advocated for integrating scientific practice into education. As such, the school was the first in the country to incorporate laboratories into its design.[6]

By the late nineteenth century the school was participating in the Officers' Training Corps. During the First World War, 977 boys and old boys of the school went into the armed services to fight, of whom 237 were killed in action, one of the highest mortality rates of any independent school in the country.[7] They are memorialised on an honours board on the dais of the College's Great Hall.

Houses

The first house system was introduced in 1914 to help improve the school's moral and organize sport teams. The houses were named after places near to the school (e.g. Catford, Forest Hill, Hither Green) and pupils were allocated to them based on where they lived.[8] However, after the first World War, where hundreds of boys from the school had lost their lives, the houses were renamed after some of the most decorated pupils that served in the war. The new house names were as follows: Bennett (pink), Goosey (dark blue), Griffiths (green), Johnson (purple), Lane (black), Ross (yellow), Thomas (red) and Wilson (light blue).

Currently, the houses are named after the first four headmasters of the college. They are called Usherwood (Yellow), Forder (Red), Stuart (Blue) and Hecker (Green).[9]

Old Dunstonian Association

Old Dunstonian Association (ODA) is the alumni organisation for St Dunstan's College.[10] It was founded in 1897 by H.M. Webb and Y. Kirkpatrick.[11] The association sponsors a number of events for its members and several sports clubs which members can join. The Association and its constituent clubs are run by voluntary, unpaid Boards and Committees.

The Old Dunstonian Clubhouse and Ground is located in Park Langley mid-way between Beckenham and West Wickham in North West Kent. The Clubhouse and its cottage are set in several acres of Green Belt with facilities for rugby, cricket, football, archery, croquet and hardcourt tennis.

Notable Old Dunstonians

References
  1. "St Dunstan's College - GOV.UK". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  2. Cherry, B. and Pevsner, N. "London 2: South: The Buildings of England", Yale University,1983, pp 418
  3. "BBC News, School league tables 2004, St Dunstan's College". BBC News. 2 November 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  4. Watson, Nigel. St. Dunstan's College A Centenary History 1888-1988. London: St. Dunstan's College Educational Fund. p. 3. ISBN 0951409506.
  5. St Dunstan's College - About Us - Aims & History
  8. Watson, Nigel. St. Dunstan's College A Centenary History 1888-1988. London: St. Dunstan's Education Fund. p. 67. ISBN 0951409506.
  9. "St. Dunstan's College House System". St. Dunstan's College. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  10. St Dunstan's College - Alumni - Old Dunstonian Association
  11. St Dunstan's College - Alumni - History
  12. ‘JUDGE, Sir Paul (Rupert)’, in Who's Who 2012 (London: A. & C. Black, 2012), online page (subscription required), accessed 5 June 2012
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