Lanesborough School

Lanesborough School

Established	1930
Type	Preparatory day school
Headteacher	Clare Turnbull
Location	Maori Road Guildford Surrey GU1 2EL England Coordinates: 51°14′25″N 0°33′24″W / 51.2402°N 0.5566°W
DfE number	936/6047
Students	400~
Gender	Boys
Ages	3–13
Houses	Lancaster      Windsor      York      Tudor
Colours	Blue
Website	Lanesborough School

Lanesborough School is an independent, preparatory school in Guildford, Surrey. The school was established in 1930 and acts as the choir school for Guildford Cathedral. Lanesborough is an important feeder school for RGS Guildford.

History

Lanesborough was founded in 1930 by Mr A. E. J. Inglis and Mr W. H. B. Walker.^[1] Both were former assistant masters at Dulwich College. An initial advertisement stated ‘Boys will be prepared for Public School and the Royal Navy.’ There were only 19 pupils but, by the end of the year, numbers had risen to 55 boys. By 1935 there were 90 boys including a dozen or so boarders. The school continued to function during the war, and in 1949, Mr Stuart Swayne who had been serving in the armed forces returned to become joint headmaster. When Mr Inglis retired in 1953, Mr Swayne took over with Mr. Walker. Mr. Walker retired in April 1955. Expansion continued in 1952 when the pre-prep department took occupancy of Braganza, a house in Aldersey Road. In 1964 another property in Aldersey Road called Kitano, became the Head’s house. Its grounds were donated as extra school playing fields. The grounds became their present size when they were further extended by the acquisition of gardens of Markham House in 1970.

Lanesborough’s connection with the Cathedral dates right back to 1957. Before it had even been consecrated, a forward looking provost, Walter Boulton decided to plan ahead and recruit some boy choristers from Lanesborough. In 1983 Lanesborough joined the Choir School’s Association.

The next watershed in the school’s history took place during 1978 when Lanesborough became ‘the feeder school’ of the Royal Grammar School. This was at a time when the Royal Grammar School was becoming independent of state control, and were worried that their usual intake from state primary schools would dry up once it became fee-paying. Academic standards were pushed higher with this liaison. However, unlike the majority of schools which has a junior and senior section, no guarantees are given for transfer. The school shared the same board of governors but was given a great deal of self-determination. Rising pupil numbers necessitated more space and further modernisation. In 1992 a new purpose built classroom block and gym was opened by Bernard Weatherill, the Speaker of the House of Commons, whose sons had attended the school. The latest acquisition, Markham House, was opened in 2000 it provided yet more purpose built rooms and a new Astroturf.

Choir

Lanesborough has educated Guildford Cathedral's choirboys for much of its existence. Compared to many cathedral choirs in England, Guildford's has a relatively short history and unlike them, Lanesborough does not provide boarding. All choirboys are pupils at the school and are scholarship holders.^[2]

In May 1960, Barry Rose, the school's choir master really, was appointed as the first Organist and Master of the Choristers of the new Guildford Cathedral, and a number of Lanesborough choir boys became part of the first Cathedral Choir.

Old Boys

The most famous "Old Boy" is Flight Lieutenant John Vere Hopgood DFC (1921-1943) a World War II Lancaster pilot who died in the first wave of the Dambusters' raid into Germany. Guy Gibson, the commanding officer stated that in his opinion, "Hoppy" Hopgood, his second in command, was the best pilot in the squadron. George Nash, a bronze medalist rower from the 2012 London Olympic Games, was also from Lanesborough. George Nash also won a gold medal at Rio 2016 for rowing, recently re-visiting the school to open the all new sports hall.

References

1. History of Lanesborough
2. Cathedral Choir

External links

• Official website
• Profile on the ISC