Established 1922 Phone +44 1424 772385 Gender Mixed-sex education | DfE URN 114622 Tables Founded 1922 | |
Type Independent day and Boarding School Headmaster Mr D Clark, BA, M Phil (Cantab) Location BattleEast SussexTN33 0ADEngland Motto Foy est tout; (Faith is all) Similar Battle Abbey, Claremont School, Buckswood School, Vinehall School, Bede's Senior School Profiles | ||
Life at the abbey battle abbey school
Battle Abbey School is an independent coeducational day and boarding school in the small town of Battle, East Sussex, England. The senior school occupies part of the town's ruined abbey complex, and it is from here that the school derives its name.
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History
The Abbey was initially constructed at the behest of the Norman invader William the Conqueror to commemorate his victory at the site over the Anglo-Saxon King of England, Harold Godwinson in 1066 AD. Subsequently the abbey was partially destroyed during the dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII. During this period many of the Abbey buildings were destroyed however the impressive 13th century Abbot’s house was preserved and passed into private hands. Numerous additional structures also survived including the imposing 14th century gatehouse (which now serves as the main school gate) as well as a ruined monks' dorter (dormitory).
The School itself was founded in 1912, as St. Etheldreda's, Bexhill by May Jacoby and her sister Helen Sheehan-Dare. The school moved into the Abbey in 1922, with an enrollment of thirty three girls. Within the year there were one hundred girls and the Board of Education officially recognized the school in 1926. The aforementioned Abbot's house now forms the centrepiece of the senior school, with the preparatory school and nursery situated in the nearby town of Bexhill-on-Sea.