Farleigh School

51°10′26″N 1°30′57″W / 51.174°N 1.51572°W / 51.174; -1.51572InformationTypePreparatory day and boardingReligious affiliation(s)Roman CatholicEstablished1953Local authorityHampshireDepartment for Education URN116542 TablesHead teacherSimon EversonGenderCoeducationalAge3 to 13Enrolment440Houses

• Buzzards
• Eagles
• Kestrels
• Merlins

Colour(s)Blue and YellowWebsitewww.farleighschool.com

Farleigh School is a Catholic preparatory day and boarding school in Andover, Hampshire, England. Situated in 60 acres (240,000 m²) of parkland in the Test Valley, Hampshire, it educates around 430 children. The current school comprises a pre-prep department (ages 3–6) and the main prep school (ages 6–13).

History

Farleigh was founded as a boys' boarding school in 1953 at Farleigh House, near Basingstoke, Hampshire, the seat of the earls of Portsmouth, by the late Jocelyn Francis Trappes-Lomax. It started out with 35 boys.^[1]

Since moving to Red Rice in 1982, the school has acquired an indoor swimming pool, a new art and DT facility, and a new headmaster. Father Simon Everson, in addition to his duties as headmaster at Farleigh School, also takes responsibility as chaplain at the school.

Since 1982 it has been located in a Georgian country house previously named Red Rice House, where the future George IV of the United Kingdom (then still Prince of Wales) was believed to have secretly – and illegally – married the Roman Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert in 1785. The legend was disproved in 1905 when Mrs Fitzherbert's papers were made public.^[2] The house is situated in the hamlet Red Rice, near Andover, Hampshire.

Boarding

Boarding is available to both boys and girls aged 7 (Year 3) and above. Around 40% of pupils board either full-time or on weekdays. The younger boarders are housed separate sections of the Junior House. Boarders in Year 7 and above reside in two senior houses (1 for boys and 1 for girls).^[3]

Notable alumni

• Rupert Allason
• Raymond Asquith, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Asquith
• Rupert Everett
• Alexander Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh
• Earl Jellicoe
• John Home Robertson
• Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford
• Hugh Vyvyan
• Tarka L'Herpiniere
• Cressida Bonas

Former staff

The former Hampshire cricketer and Crystal Palace and Southampton footballer, Bernard Harrison, was for many years a teacher of Mathematics and Sports at the school.^[4]

References

External links

• School Website
• Profile on the ISC website
• ISI Inspection Reports