Recent History
In 1882 the school moved to the present Horsdon site, one mile from the original location. The new buildings were designed by Hayward & Son of Exeter, and built in red Halberton stone, the foundation stone was laid by the Earl of Devon, chairman of the governors, in June 1880.
Sir Reginald Blomfield, the architect and garden designer, was responsible for the 1901 additions to the school.
The School's War Memorial was carved by the school's sculpture teacher, Estcourt J. Clack and is a replica of the Celtic Cross in Eyam churchyard, but with the missing part intact.
The clocktower contains a statue by Alain John, a pupil of the School and aspiring sculptor, who joined the RAF as a navigator and was killed during the Second World War. The statue was subsequently re-cast at the commission of Neville Gorton, then Bishop of Coventry, and stands in the ruins of the old Coventry Cathedral as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the war.
In recent years Blundell’s has undergone some quite dramatic reorganisation and development.
In 1989 Ondaatje Hall was opened, following a donation by OB Sir Christopher Ondaatje for its construction. Among its many facilities is a 150 seat professional theatre, which as well as putting on in-house productions is also used for public performances.
Girls were admitted at 13 in 1993 making the school fully co-ed, and to make room for them the boys boarding house North Close (NC) was converted into a girls house.
In 1997 School House (SH) became a junior house for pupils aged 11–13.
The prep school St Aubyn’s was moved to the Blundell’s campus in 2000, taking over the dayboy house Milestones (M) and the Sanatorium, and was renamed Blundell’s Prep School, it currently has about 300 pupils from two and a half years to eleven. The current Headmaster is Nick Folland.
A change to the way the U6 boarders are housed took place when the old Westlake (W) was sold off and the new Westlake was built on the site of the CCF parade ground. Opened in 2004, the new Westlake houses all boys and girls who are in their final year.
The two latest developments to have been completed were the extension to the Music school, and the building of the Popham Academic Centre, which houses the new Economics and Business School department, the new server for the school intranet and a dedicated IT teaching area.
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