Summer Fields School - History

History

Originally called Summerfield, it became a Boys' Preparatory School in 1864 with seven pupils. Its owner, Archibald Maclaren, was a fencing teacher who ran a gymnasium in Oxford; he himself was educated at Dollar Academy. He strongly believed in the importance of physical fitness. His wife, Gertrude, was a classical scholar and teacher. The school motto is Mens Sana in Corpore Sano - 'A healthy mind in a healthy body'.

The school grew and needed more staff, two of whom married into the Maclaren family. The Reverend Dr Charles Williams ("Doctor"), who took over the scholarship form from Mrs Maclaren, married Mabel Maclaren in 1879. The Revd Hugh Alington married Margaret Maclaren in 1885 and took over the boys' games. The school remained in the hands of the Maclaren, Williams and Alington families for its first 75 years.

At the end of the 19th Century, "Doctor" became headmaster and there was much building at the school. A second school "Summers mi" was opened at St Leonards-on-Sea Sussex for boys to benefit from the sea air. In 1918 Doctor passed the headmastership to Hugh Alington. There was a lean spell in the 1930s and numbers fell, but John Evans and Geoffrey Bolton ("G.B.") took over in 1939. During World War II three other schools were evacuated to Summer Fields - Famborough School, Hampshire, Summers mi, and St Cyprian's School from Eastbourne - and this restored the numbers.

In 1955, the school became a charitable trust with a board of governors, including Harold Macmillan, who had been at the school as a boy and was soon to become Prime Minister.

During the 1960s Pat Savage was headmaster, with the assistance of Jimmy Bell and Pat Marston. By the centenary in 1964, the school's appearance had changed relatively little (see illustration), but was thriving and energetic enough to celebrate with a hardback book of 332 pages, with contributions from "O.S." (old Summerfieldians) including stories about Field Marshal Wavell and Harold Macmillan, and a friendly greeting in verse from arch-rival, Horris Hill School. One O.S. recollected

Then I met the Ogre . For my first few weeks I was terrified by this 'monster'. His appearance was formidable. He growled and shook the room as he entered. But once I learnt that he didn't actually eat little boys, even on Black Fridays, the classes became amusing, exhilarating and even relaxing.

In 1975, Nigel Talbot Rice took over as headmaster. He put the school on a sound financial footing through a series of appeals which financed an ambitious building programme: new classrooms, the Macmillan Hall and Music Centre, an indoor swimming-pool, the Wavell Arts and Technology Centre (named after the first Earl Wavell), and the Sports Hall. In 1997, Talbot Rice retired and was succeeded by Robin Badham-Thornhill. In 2010 David Faber, an old boy and governor, took over as headmaster.

In 2002 a new lodge called "Savage's" was built. In recent years a new year group was added at the bottom of the school.