Durnford School
Durnford School was a notoriously spartan and uncomfortablepreparatory school which opened in 1894 on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. The school occupied Durnford House, in High Street (postcode BH19 3HB) in the village of Langton Matravers near Swanage. "Strip and swim" was the morning ritual for the boys – watched by headmaster Thomas Pellatt – into the sea from Dancing Ledge on the coast in 1898. Later, Pellatt had quarrymen blast out a pool in the rocks of Dancing Ledge for his pupils to swim. Pellatt wrote his reminiscences in a book: Boys in the making 1936. In 1939, during World War II, Durnford School was occupied by radar scientists; a map showing the location of the school is shown on a map of radar sites scattered throughout Dorset. The Durnford boys were transferred to another prep school in the village, the Old Malthouse. Durnford House was acquired by the owners of the Old Malthouse when the army gave it up in 1948. The main buildings were variously pulled down or sold, leaving the Old Malthouse with the grounds, which were levelled for playing fields.
The Langton Matravers St Georges Parish Church has a memorial of names of those from the school who fell in World War I with 53 names and a further memorial to those from World War II but without names.
Coordinates: 50°36′35″N 2°00′12″W / 50.60972°N 2.00333°W
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