Aldenham School
 |
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| Motto | In God Is All Our Trust |
|---|---|
| Established | 1597 |
| Type | Independent day and boarding |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Headmaster | Mr James Fowler MA Oxon. |
| Deputy Head | Mr Andy Williams BSc Loughborough University |
| Chairman of Governors | Mr JT Barton OA |
| Founder | Richard Platt |
| Location |
Elstree Hertfordshire WD6 3AJ England Coordinates: 51°39′49″N 0°19′41″W / 51.663529°N 0.328152°W |
| DfE URN | 919/6003 Tables |
| Students | 700 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 3–18 |
| Houses | 7 houses McGill's, Paull's, Leeman's, Riding's, Kennedy's, Beevor's, Martineau's |
| Colours | Black and Gold |
| Former pupils | Old Aldenhamians |
| Website | www |
Aldenham School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ages of five to thirteen. Founded in the late sixteenth century by Richard Platt, Aldenham School is not only one of the oldest schools in Britain, but one of the oldest schools in the world.
The school was founded in 1597 by Richard Platt, a proprietor of a London brewery and Master of the Brewers' Company in 1576 and 1581. In 1596 Queen Elizabeth I granted him letters patent to build "the Free Grammar School and Almshouses" at Aldenham; the foundation stone was laid in 1597. Before Platt died in 1600 he obtained an endowment for the School by a covenant between himself and the Brewers' Company. It became a village elementary school, taking in private pupils.
In the early 19th century an investigation by the Education Charities Commission of the Poor led to the Tudor Grammar School being demolished and replaced by two new schools: a lower school providing an elementary education for the local population, and a grammar school for fee paying boarders.
In the 1860s, the Platt estate in St Pancras, London, which provided the endowment of the school, was compulsorily purchased for the construction of St Pancras railway station. In a measure described by the headmaster of the time as "a violent act of confiscation", more than half of the £81,000 paid in compensation was diverted by the Charity Commissioners, acting under the Endowed Schools Act 1869. In the scheme approved in 1875, £20,000 went to the North London Collegiate School and Camden School for Girls, £13,333/6/8d to support secondary education in Watford (see Watford Grammar School for Boys), and £8000 to elementary schools at Medburn (serving Radlett) and Delrow (serving Aldenham).
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Wikipedia