Old Buckenham Hall School
Address
Brettenham Park

Brettenham
,
Suffolk
,
IP7 7PH

England
Coordinates52°08′23″N 0°51′31″E / 52.1397°N 0.8585°E / 52.1397; 0.8585
Information
TypePreparatory day and boarding
MottoSpero (I hope)
Established1862
FoundersEllen and Margaret Ringer
Department for Education URN124873 Tables
Chairman of GovernorsAndrew McGregor
HeadmasterJames Large[1]
GenderCoeducational
Age3 to 13[1]
Enrolment216[1]
HousesJupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn
Colour(s)Navy Blue  
PublicationThe OBH Magazine
Websitehttp://www.obh.co.uk

Old Buckenham Hall School (commonly known as OBH[2][3][4][5]) is a day and boarding preparatory school with pre-prep for boys and girls in the village of Brettenham, Suffolk, England.[6]

Founded in 1862, the school has been on its current site since 1956, and currently accommodates about 125 boys and 125 girls between the ages of 2 and 13 years.[7]

The school is located in Brettenham Park, a grade II* listed building in about 80 acres (320,000 m2) of parkland in the Suffolk village of Brettenham. Its pupils take the Common Entrance exam, going on to a range of public schools such as Uppingham, Oundle, Harrow, Rugby, Framlingham and The Leys.

History

The school was founded as a dame school in 1862 by Misses Ellen and Margaret Ringer in the Suffolk coastal town of Lowestoft in a terraced house on Wellington Esplanade. In 1872 they built South Lodge, and the school was known by the name 'South Lodge Preparatory School'. The school remained there for over 50 years before moving in 1936 to much larger premises at Old Buckenham Hall in the village of Old Buckenham, Norfolk, previously the residence of financier Lionel Robinson. In December 1952, disaster struck and the Hall was burnt down by fire.[8] In January of the following year the school found new premises at Merton Hall near Thetford, Norfolk. Disaster struck again with a second fire in January 1956.[9] After various options were considered, the school became aware that Brettenham Park in Suffolk had come onto the market and the property was acquired. The school, by then known as Old Buckenham Hall School, moved there in September 1956. The school has been on this site since, first taking on girls in the 1990s. It became fully co-educational in 1998.

The school celebrated its centenary in 1962, which included the commissioning of an anthem setting the text of Psalm 150 by Benjamin Britten, an alumnus.[10] The work was also performed at the school's 150th anniversary celebrations in 2012.

Present school

The School is currently divided into the three parts:

  • Nursery (ages 3–4)
  • Pre-Prep School (Reception – Year 2)
  • Prep School (Years 3–8)

The prep school is also split vertically into four houses:

  • Jupiter
  • Mars
  • Mercury
  • Saturn

These houses were chosen in the 1960s to link the Ancient Greeks and the Space Age.[11]

Facilities and activities

The school makes use of its sports pitches and facilities including three rugby pitches, two football pitches, five football and six hockey pitches, five cricket squares, seven tennis courts, two squash courts, all-weather netball courts, a 2,000-yard (1,800 m) nine-hole golf course, and an outdoor heated swimming pool. Pupils spend five of six afternoons a week playing games. Pupils at OBH play a wide variety of sports including rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis, football, athletics, gymnastics, cross country running, golf, swimming, and netball.

Being a predominantly day and transitional boarding school, the school offers a wide range of activities for the pupils including archery, sailing, and clay pigeon shooting.

The school has landscaped Japanese Gardens (known as 'The Japs'), located to the south of the Stable Yard. There are three ponds on the estate: the island pond, the mirror (South) pond and Dragonfly pond (in the Japanese Gardens). The school maintains an orchard, a historic arboretum, the big woods, two outdoor classrooms, owl boxes, beehives and also keeps chickens and ducks. The school's famous Thatched Pavilion played host to an England XI versus the touring Australian Ashes side in 1921 when it was located in Old Buckenham.[12]

The main multi-purpose hall, the Britten Hall, is named for the school's most distinguished alumnus, Benjamin Britten.

The school is also home to the Brettenham Village Cricket Club and hosts an annual fireworks event for the local community.[13]

Notable former pupils

Benjamin Britten, alumnus of South Lodge School

Head Masters

"Five heads in 130 years" is the subtitle of J. D. Sewell's 1992 history of the school.[11]

1862–1890 Ellen and Margaret Ringer (However "there was only one master, Mr Annesley") [11]

1891–1923 The Rev. W. Richmond Phillips

1923–1967 Thomas J. Elliott Sewell

1967–1991 J. Donald Sewell

1991–1997 Hugh Cocke

1997–2010 Martin Ives

2010–2014 John A. Brett[14]

2015–2018 Thomas O'Sullivan[15]

2018–2023 David W. Griffiths[16]

2023– James P. I. Large[17]

Brettenham Park

The North and South lodges at the end of the school drive

The school has occupied Brettenham Park since 1956. It was purchased from the Warner family, whose lineage includes Courtenay Warner, and from whom the school derives its coat of arms and motto.

The Grade II* listed house is of C16 origin and built upon the site of a much earlier residence. It was enlarged in the C19 as the residence of Joseph Bonaparte.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "URN 124873 Old Buckenham Hall School". Edubase. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "Tennis players travelled to OBH | Finborough School". Finborough School. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  3. ↑ Stott, Matt. "OBH School in Suffolk ranked in top five at Tatler Schools Awards 2017". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "'Women in Science and Engineering Day' at OBH – Framlingham College". www.framcollege.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Old Buckenham Hall hosts Rugby 7s and Girls Hockey Tournament". IAPS. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "School Guide 2013 - Old Buckenham Hall". Tatler.
  7. ↑ Old Buckenham Hall School, Suffolk, Independent Schools
  8. ↑ "Fire destroys Norfolk School". ?East Anglian Daily Times. 5 December 1952. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "Merton Hall". Eastern Daily Press. 16 January 1956. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "Benjamin Britten - Psalm 150".
  11. 1 2 3 Sewell, Donald (1992). A History of Old Buckenham Hall School. Brettenham: Old Buckenham Hall School. p. 35.
  12. ↑ "Lionel Robinson: Cricket at Old Buckenham".
  13. ↑ "Living in Brettenham" (PDF). March 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  14. ↑ Brett, John (9 May 2014). "HM Announcement" (PDF). OBH.
  15. ↑ Bullen, Nick (2 July 2014). "New Headmaster from 2015". OBH.
  16. ↑ O'Sullivan, Tom (23 February 2018). "And finally" (PDF). OBH.
  17. ↑ "OBH Email". OBH. 11 November 2022.
  18. ↑ England, Historic. "OLD BUCKENHAM HALL SCHOOL, Brettenham - 1037349 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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