Mottoes Glad Day Love and Duty Religion Christian Phone +44 1889 590217 Founded 1889 | Established 1889 Headmaster Steve Fairclough Founder Cecil Reddie Motto Glad Day Love and Duty | |
Type Independent day and boarding school Location Rocester
Derbyshire
ST14 5BS
England Address Abbotsholme School, Rocester, Uttoxeter ST14 5BS, United Kingdom Similar Denstone College, Repton School, Thomas Alleynes High Sch, Derby High School, Abbots Bromley School Profiles | ||
Abbotsholme School is a coeducational independent boarding and day school near the town of Rocester in Staffordshire, England. The school is situated on a 140-acre campus on the banks of the River Dove in Derbyshire, near the county border. It is a member of the SHHIS and is a Round Square school.
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Abbotsholme school
History
Abbotsholme was founded by Scottish academic and educationist Cecil Reddie as an experiment for his progressive educational philosophies and theories. The school, then known "The New School", opened to boys aged 10 to 19 in 1889. From the very beginning, the school departed from the structure of the traditional public school in favour of a less rigid environment and more liberal education. Top hats and "Eton collars" were abandoned in favour of a more comfortable and practical uniform, and English, French and German were taught in place of Classics (Latin and Greek). The fine arts were introduced as core subjects, which was unusual at that time as music and art were mostly taught at cathedral schools or specialist art institutes. Practical skills such as animal husbandry and carpentry were integrated into the curriculum. It has been coeducational since 1969; girls now make up over one third of pupil numbers.
"Culture of fear"
In February 2014, the headmaster of Abbotsholme was quoted as saying that head teachers should instil a “culture of fear” in their schools through the introduction of performance-related pay for teachers.