Dean Close School - History

History

The School, originally "The Dean Close Memorial School", was founded in 1886 in memory of local former Rector of Cheltenham and Dean of Carlisle Cathedral, Rev Francis Close (1797–1882). Alumni include the poet James Elroy Flecker, whose father was the School's first headmaster (the old Flecker Hall was named after him), and the artist Francis Bacon.

In the First World War more than 120 former pupils were killed; their names, along with the names of young men killed during the Second World War, are recorded in the School's memorial chapel which was consecrated in 1923.

The school buildings were requisitioned by the Home Office during World War II and the staff and pupils were relocated to nearby Monkton Combe School. Ultimately, the buildings were not required by the government, and were handed back in 1940. In December of the same year, the School was hit by five bombs during air raids. Two of the bombs caused substantial damage to the Junior School and shrapnel damage can be observed on what was the Careers building, now an administrative office.

In 1967, the first girl was admitted for tutorials, and by 1969 the School had started encouraging female applicants to study full-time. Enrolment increased over the next 35 years to create a balanced co-educational environment, with almost equal numbers of boys and girls.

Dean Close hit headlines in 2008 when the media and parents discovered that headmaster Rev Timothy Hastie-Smith, (1998 – 10 October 2008) had appointed a teacher despite knowing that he had been involved in a scandal at his former school, Shrewsbury School. He was elected Chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference for the 2008–09 academic year but relinquished both positions as a consequence of the scandal.