History of The Royal Alexandra and Albert School
The earliest link in the school's history goes back to the Orphan Working School which was founded in 1758 by fourteen men meeting in an Inn led by the Rev. Dr. Edward Pickard. The school expanded under the secretaryship of Joseph Soul in Hampstead. It continued to expand and it opened a linked convalescent home in Margate.
The other part of the school was known as the Royal Albert Orphan Asylum, being named in memory of Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert. It was situated in Camberley, just outside Bagshot's boundary, and was opened in 1864. The second school was intended for children between the age of five and eight and was founded by the Orphan Working School with Joseph Soul as the first honorary secretary. In 1867 Queen Victoria planted a Wellingtonia Gigantica tree during an "Inauguration Ceremony" for the school. A "stone" at the site was engraved VIR 1867 and is mistakenly thought by some to be the foundation stone of the building. The Wellingtonia survives to this day. A later patron of the school was the Queen's son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.
After the school left, the site was for a while used as the WRAC College. As well as learning, the boys at the school were required to work: for example on the farm, in the gardens, in a tailor's shop and in a cobbler's workshop.
The two schools, the Royal Alexandra Orphange and the Royal Albert School joined together in Gatton Park, just after the Second World War. Over the years it evolved from an orphanage to a state boarding school. There are around 36 state boarding schools in the UK and these are schools where the education is provided by the state, but the parents pay for the boarding element. This makes their fees significantly less than independent boarding schools. List of state boarding schools in England and Wales
The school's foundation still supports some children whose home circumstances make a boarding education desirable.
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