Downe House
- web site: www.downehouse.co.uk
- telephone: +44 (0)1635 200286
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Downe House was established as a girls' boarding school in 1907 by Miss Olive Willis, who wished to promote educational excellence within a relaxed but structured framework, which enabled girls to flourish through innovative teaching. It was also to be an environment where mutual respect between staff and pupils was highly valued and pursued.
Born in 1877 Olive Willis was a woman way ahead of her time. She was educated at Roedean School, where she also spent the first of her teaching years, and then at Somerville College, Oxford. In the memoir by Ann Ridler, Olive Willis and Downe House, the spirit of the education Olive Willis aimed to provide is captured:
This memoir describes a headmistress of a very different type, Olive Willis, too ... had an imposing presence, but she never felt the need to imitate the style of Victorian headmasters, which those pioneer women seem to have adopted along with the male curriculum. She was naturally dignified, yet she could also make fun of dignity... The respect which Miss Willis inspired in her pupils had nothing in it of morbid fear or of a homosexual excitement. She had, in fact a remarkable balanced personality, and her influence was always benign:
Downe was not to be revolutionary, but it was to be a place 'where life should be normal'. The teachers would not be on pedestals, remote from their pupils, and the girls would not rush about in a feverish attempt to be like the boys...The freedom and natural pace of life were what Olive wanted for her school ... She hoped to instill a serious attitude to education and to offer something better than the average private school of the time, and in due course to prepare some girls for university.
The School's original location was in the village of Downe in Kent in Darwin's House - Down House. In the years leading up to 1920, it became apparent that the School would for academic, economic and practical reasons need to move to a bigger site so that it could expand its numbers and activities. In addition, the increased noise from the nearby Biggin Hill was becoming a greater nuisance.
In 1920 Olive Willis and those concerned with the School began to look for another location. Miss Willis wanted it to be on a hill, in real country and yet within easy reach of a town and railway station. 'The Cloisters' at Cold Ash fulfilled all her requirements and although it was too small for her needs, and the price asked too high, Miss Willis knew that it could provide just what she wanted and she was determined it should be the home of Downe House.
The house was originally called 'The Cloisters' and was built during the First World War by the architect Maclaren Ross for an organisation which called itself the School of Silence.
However, after all the labour of erecting the buildings at such an unfavourable time, the Order did not flourish; the Founder was unable to pay the interest on the mortgage, and in 1920 she was obliged to forfeit the property and retire.
By December 1921 Olive Willis, with the help of gifts and loans, had become the owner of 'The Cloisters' and in a snowstorm in April 1922, the move began of Downe House from Kent to Cold Ash...
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Performances at 11am and 6pm at 'The Dell', the outdoor performance space in the RSC Centenary Gardens, bordered by the river and Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Bring a picnic, all welcome!
2nd - 4th May in the Performing Arts Centre
‘Times' writer Mary Ann Sieghart gives Summer Term Medley Lecture
Newbury's MP, Richard Benyon, visited Downe House on 25th April speak to thePolitics Society about his work in the House of Commons and the constituency.
Congratulations to Emma Powell (U5) who was selected for NYT's highly acclaimed acting course.
On Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th March, Downe House hosted a charity fashion show. The events were organised by Rosie Fortescue, Georgiana Haig and Celia Thursfield, in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, raising a total of just over £5,500.
Gillian Clarke, renowned poet, who has written poetry and prose for children and adults, visited Downe House on Sunday, 16 March. Her poetry reading began with her first publsihed poem 'The Sundial' and the audience were immediately impressed by her passionate and erudite ideas......
Diane Louise Jordan, businesswoman and one of the most popular presenters of BBC One's Songs of Praise, gave a talk and answered questions about how her faith influences the way she conducts her own business life and on matters relating to business ethics and corporate social responsibility more generally.
If you missed House Drama, or would like to see your daughter's performance again, a professional Double DVD recording by Kingsbridge AV Limited of all five productions will be available to order at a cost of £22.50 each.
Click here to find out how to order
This Trust was established in November 2006 as part of the agreed resolution of the OFT's recent investigation.
The objects of the Trust are to:
There are three criteria for eligibility:
For further details go to <Joining Downe> and click on <Scholarships>