Established 1863 Headmaster Mr. Mike Piercy Founder John Norman | Type Preparatory School Students c. 400 Phone +44 1732 452131 Founded 1863 | |
Motto Dare Exfumo Lucem(Give light out of darkness) Location Brittains LaneSevenoaksKentTN13 2PBEngland Similar Walthams Hall, Sevenoaks School, West Heath Centre, Tonbridge School, The Granville School Profiles | ||
The New Beacon Preparatory School is an independent all-boys preparatory school, located in Sevenoaks, Kent, United Kingdom, which serves both day students and boarders, in the age range 4-13. The school was founded in 1863, had 62 students by 1913, and grew to 400 students around 2008.
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Overview
The school was founded in 1863 at St John's Hill in Sevenoaks and was known as the Beacon. In 1900 it was relocated to its current location on Britains Lane and renamed the New Beacon.
The New Beacon is situated in 21 acres (85,000 m2) of gardens and playing fields. Pupils are put into one of four "Companies"; Nelson (blue), Drake (Yellow), Marlborough (green) and Wellington (red), and inter-company competitions take place in disciplines such as rugby, cross country, shooting, cricket, football art, athletics and quizzes.
Results
The school's principal function is to prepare boys for the Common Entrance examination, used by British public schools to select pupils; many of the school's pupils go on either to Sevenoaks School or to Tonbridge School; others have gone on to attend public schools such as Eton College, Harrow School, Winchester College and Westminster School.
Notable alumni
Controversy
In 2014, the Charity Commission for England and Wales urged New Beacon School to apologise to a former pupil in respect of statements made by the school to the Press. The statements related to allegations made by the boy against Paul Woodward, a former music teacher, for abusing him at the school between 2005 and 2006. In 2013, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) made an award to the boy in compensation for the abuse the CICA found he had suffered. The Sevenoaks Chronicle reported that Woodward, who was convicted of sexual misconduct offenses against other children and sent to prison indefinitely had been suspended from his post at the school during a previous police investigation involving allegations of sexual abuse but had been allowed back to work by the headmaster, Mr Constantine. The school apologised to the child in 2015, and applauded him for his bravery in bringing Woodward to justice. The child said that after seven years, the apology came "too late".