Addey and Stanhope School

The Addey School

The School's origins date to 1606 when John Addey (1550–1606), Master shipwright at Deptford Dockyard, having made his fortune in shipbuilding, left £150 to help the poor of Deptford; this money was then invested in land and the rent from that land was to be given away as charity. This amounted to 40 shillings each, per annum given to 100 parishioners of Deptford. However, in 1820 the trustees felt that this type of poor relief encouraged fecklessness and instead decided to found the Addey School in 1821 on Church Street, Deptford. 'A Topographical Dictionary of England' (1848) it is explained that the Addey School "by direction of the court of chancery, erected a spacious building containing two large schoolrooms, with houses for the master and mistress; the school is wholly supported by the endowment, from which also 48 aged persons are paid £2 each annually.". Later in 1862 the School was enlarged. To commemorate Addey's charity and the help given to the poor of Deptford, a plaque was erected in St Nicholas Church, Deptford in 1862, following is quoted the inscription on the tablet:

The Stanhope School

The School's second founder Dean George Stanhope (1660–1728) the vicar of St Nicholas, Deptford, and St Mary’s, Lewisham, and who later rose to be Dean of Canterbury, and friend of Jonathan Swift, founded the Stanhope School in 1715. Dr Stanhope had previously given £150 for the establishment of a girls school in Lewisham in 1699. Originally the school educated fifty deprived children of Deptford, twenty five girls and twenty five boys, in purely practical skills such as needlework and carpentry. According to the National Archives, the school was enlarged in 1812, and in 1874, with the charity changing its name to the Stanhope Foundation. Two statues of a girl and a boy pupil once adorned the front of the Stanhope School, the statue of the girl now resides in the entrance to the main Addey and Stanhope school building. The Stanhope School was financed partly out of the sale of sermons, donations and public subscriptions. Each subscriber was entitled to put one child into the school. Additionally, several benefactions were left in the wills of a number of Deptford residents who made provision for the local poor. The School, as it was a charity school was often known as the Bluecoat School, Daniel Lysons (1796) explains Dr Stanhope's biography:

The Stanhope School also published rules for both parents and pupils to follow while attending the School: 1 January 1814

The Schools Amalgamate

The Education Act 1870 took the responsibility for elementary education out of private hands and into local authority control, as a result the governors of the Stanhope School decided to close the school and use the money to send children to other schools in the local area. By 1891 the governors of the Addey School also felt that their School was no longer useful, the two schools eventually merged in 1894 to found the Addey and Stanhope School for Art and Science. Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas, a leading architect in the High Edwardian Baroque style, designed the main school building, a dignified L-shaped red-brick building with prominent gables and a grand doorcase, it was completed in 1899. Along with the statue of the schoolgirl, a tablet to John Addey was erected in 1906 in the entrance hall to commemorate the tricentenary of his death.

20th century

Addey and Stanhope was a grammar school from 1944 until 1977 and was one of the first co-educational secondary schools in England. After the merger, Mr Salter became the headmaster in 1896, remaining head for 28 years. During this time, the present school building was opened in 1900, the south wing being added in 1933. Basil Alvin Howard became headmaster in 1924, encouraging co-education, beginning foreign School trips and was the author of two books "The Mixed School" and "The Proper Study of Man" before retiring in 1956 . In 1991 the Basil Howard Research Studentship was established for Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, at the bequest of Basil Howard, who had graduated from Sidney Sussex College in 1913. The Studentship is designed for those wishing to study a Ph.D in any subject at Cambridge. Due to the threat of bombing, the School was evacuated in 1939 to a mansion in Burwash Common, East Sussex. However, as World War II progressed the School moved again to Garnant, South Wales for the duration of the War. On the afternoon of 25 November 1944, New Cross Gate suffered the single most devastating V-2 rocket attack on a civilian population in the entire war. The rocket landed on a very busy Woolworths on New Cross Road killing 168 people and wounding 121; among the dead were two Addey and Stanhope school pupils, Ronald James Kenwood and Norman Henry Wilkins, both aged 11. Two more pupils were killed during the war, Stanley Fox aged 12 and Henry Jack Foweather aged 19, both killed at their homes in air raids.

Towards the end of the twentieth century the school gained new buildings and teaching facilities in an effort to provide better learning conditions for pupils and provide space for a larger intake of children. A new Design & Technology, Art and Music building was built in 1997; while a new wing to the main building of the school was built with classrooms for French and mathematics, a large gym and changing rooms, and ICT rooms.

21st century

In 2003, HRH The Duke of York visited the school to open the new wing containing larger computer rooms, a new gym and rooms for maths and languages. The Duke toured the whole school, speaking with the pupils before meeting the teachers and school governors. The school became a specialist science and technology school in 2006, adding emphasis on the use of computers, science and maths; the school also receives extra funding and support for its new speciality. Joan Ruddock, Member of Parliament for the local constituency said:

Under the Building Schools for the Future programme, an older building from the 1970s was demolished and a new one constructed in 2012. The new building provides new dining and kitchen facilities and a larger school library, and a larger area for sports.

Overview

A small school, Addey and Stanhope attempts to use its lack of size to develop an atmosphere of intimacy and inclusiveness for its pupils. Addeys is a non-denominational school, however, the school has a strong moral ethos, which values and celebrates its students cultural and religious richness, and has a strong connection with the Church of England and especially St. Paul's, Deptford.

Houses

The school is divided into four houses; two are named after the founders, Addey House, and Stanhope House, the other two are named after historical figures with local connections, Pepys House after Samuel Pepys, Evelyn House after John Evelyn. Peyps was a 17th-century diarist who often visited the Royal Dockyards at Deptford as Clerk to the Navy Board, and John Evelyn, another celebrated 17th Century diarist and writer, who settled in Sayes Court, Deptford. Each year the four houses compete for the House Sports Cup and the House of the Year Cup which is won by the house with the largest accumulation of merits by the students in that house.

Founders' Day

Founders' Day, held on the first Thursday in March of every year, is celebrated by the School and allows many past and present staff, parents and students to congregate to celebrate the founding of the school, a tradition observed since 1907. A service is held in St Alfege's Church, Greenwich, where the congregation receives readings, performances, sings hymns and the Addey and Stanhope School Song. Afterwards a celebration is held in the School hall for former students and staff. The School also has its own prayer dedicated to the founders:

Ethos

Cliff Hardcastle OBE, Chair of Governors, described the School ethos as "Building upon this long and proud history, the school focuses of the present needs of our community. Whilst this is overwhelmingly focused on the successful education of our students, we also pay attention to their general wellbeing and that of the community in which we are based. As a specialist technology school we want to support local people, including business interests.

The school has a clear purpose, developing students' personal strengths and also addressing their weaknesses, ensuring that they have full access to a modern and changing society. We aim to: develop in each child a strong character based upon justice, courage, intelligence and a clear morality; embed the ability to learn, think critically, reason, understand and evaluate; equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to maximise employment choices; introduce students to a range of opportunities to develop their interests and abilities in order to choose a safe, healthy and fulfilled lifestyle; be aware of the environmental impact of their choices."

Old Addeyans