Dulwich Preparatory School

Dulwich Preparatory School

Established	1885
Type	Other Independent School
Religion	Church of England
Headteacher	Paul David
Location	Golford Road Cranbrook Kent TN17 3NP  England
Gender	Boys
Ages	3–13
Website	Dulwich Prep School

Coordinates: 51°26′03″N 0°05′07″W / 51.4342°N 0.0852°W / 51.4342; -0.0852

Dulwich Preparatory School is a co-educational preparatory school for children aged 3 to 13 years. It is situated in 50 acres of Wealden countryside in the heart of Kent. The school has 537 pupils and is divided into three sections: Upper School (9-13 year olds), Little Stream (5-9 year olds) and Nash House (3-5 year olds).

Since September 2010, the Headmaster has been Paul David B.Ed (Hons).

History of the School

In 1938, John Leakey, the then Headmaster of Dulwich College Preparatory School in London, established an evacuation camp in the orchard on his father-in-law's land at Coursehorn, near Cranbrook, Kent. Despite the danger in 1940, the school in London was reopened and run along with the school in Cranbrook. There were plans to move the school to the West Country, but when these fell through Dulwich Prep in Cranbrook was evacuated to Betws-y-Coed in Snowdonia (there remains a memorial planting of trees in that village in memory of this period). Meanwhile, Coursehorn was being used as a camp for the troops, and in 1944 soldiers had been gathered there in preparation for D-Day.

After the war, Mr Leakey decided to take over Coursehorn from his mother-in-law and use that as the junior boarding house - when the army had vacated it. The school,was then scheduled to re-open in September 1945.

Coursehorn began with forty junior boarders (aged six to ten), who then moved on to Brightlands in Dulwich before leaving for their Public Schools, and fifty day boys, mainly the sons of local farmers. The school has gone from strength to strength since those early beginnings, and is now one of the best known and most successful prep. schools in the country. Without the vision and commitment of John Leakey, none of this would have been possible.

The school, which is run as a charitable trust, shares the same governors as Dulwich College Preparatory School in London but is separate from Dulwich College, although there are historical links. The school is still known locally as 'DCPS', but dropped the College from its name in the mid 1990s.

Curriculum

The curriculum follows broadly the requirements of the National Curriculum. In Years 7 & 8, pupils follow the Common Entrance syllabus in each subject. There is also an extensive programme of extra-curricular activities.

Notable Alumni

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Tana Ramsay, Olly Freeman (triathlete)

External Links

Dulwich Prep School's Website