- Great Ayton Friends' School
Great Ayton Friends' School (1841-1997) in
Great Ayton ,North Yorkshire ,England . It was an independent, co-educational, agriculturalboarding school , run by theReligious Society of Friends (the Quakers).The school was situated on High Green on an estate of around 70 acres in a picturesque setting in the shadow of the Cleveland Hills. The River Leven (a
tributary of theRiver Tees ), ran through the school grounds and was bridged in several places.History
Quakers in
County Durham , having concern for children of disowned Friends who were not eligible for Quaker education, were searching for a suitable site to establish an agricultural school on their behalf. Unable to find a site in the preferred area ofBishop Auckland , Durham Friends sought the assistance ofThomas Richardson , a Quaker fromDarlington who had come to live in Great Ayton on his retirement in 1830.In 1841 the school was established "for the maintenance of 36 boys and the same number of girls belonging to or connected with the Society of Friends; others are admitted at a charge representing about the average cost of each child per annum. There is now accommodation for 80 boarders. The course of instruction embraces Latin, French, Euclid, Geometry, Algebra, and various scientific subjects - Agriculture, Chemistry, Physiology, Botany, &c. The girls are trained either for domestic work or a higher sphere of life" Bulmer's History, Topography, and Directory of North Yorkshire,1890. ] .
An estate of nearly 70 acres was purchased for the purposes of the school, and many additions were made to the premises.
Disownment for 'marrying out' ended in 1854, and the school changed with the times, becoming the Friends’ School.
The school gradually attracted greater numbers of pupils until there was no room large enough to contain all of the 300 pupils. In 1968 the Meeting House was enlarged to accommodate the complete student body.
In 1991 the school adopted a more commercial approach. It dropped its named association with the Quakers and adopted the new name 'Ayton School'. It appointed a marketing manager to promote the school’s facilities to the general public, a move that signalled hard times were around the corner.
The closure of the school in 1997 came as a shock and bereavement to the Quakers, the villagers of Great Ayton and the staff and pupils at the school. Dwindling pupil numbers had given the trustees no other option but to close the school at the end of the term. In a letter to parents, chairman Robert Campbell explained that 37 of the school’s 200 pupils had withdrawn from the school recently leaving the school massively short of funds.
The school’s 28 teachers and 22 other staff lost their jobs and the school’s grade II
listed building and its 30 acre estate were put up for sale.During its 157-year history the school was attended by almost 7,500 pupils and employed 550 staff.
Headmasters
George Dixon: 1841-1865,
Ralph Dixon: 1866-1895,
F. Rivers Arundel: 1896-1913,
Herbert Dennis: 1913-1940,
J. Stanley Carr 1940-1952,
John Reader 1953-1975,
Fred Sessa 1976-1984,
David Cook 1985-1994,
Chris Scaife 1994.
Headmistresses
M. Sophia Wells 1902-1938
Evelyn Nicholson 1938-1967
Alice Meager 1995-1997.
Present
The Friends school estate was sold to Wimpey Homes. Working with
English Heritage and TheGeorgian Society , the company established a development with attempted sympathy to the local style and to the surrounding architecture. Many of the school’s original features have been retained and the local wildlife and landscapes have been carefully managed.Wimpey built 63 exclusive properties on the grounds. The styles vary from the farmhouse family homes, to cottages and traditional three-story town houses.
In the Richardson School Hall, 21 apartments were sold, ranging in price from £120,000 to £200,000.
The Quakers in Great Ayton set aside part of the meeting house as an 'Old Scholars' room containing many items selected by Old Scholars to be retained as mementoes of the School. The War Memorial plaque from the School dining room is placed there while the memorial benches remain in the meeting room.
References
Further reading
G. Alston Watson; 'Ayton School Centenery History' 1841-1941.Headley Bros, 1941.
External links
* [http://www.manannan.org.im/aosa/index.html Ayton Old Scholars]
* [http://www.aytonschool.co.uk Ayton School, photographs of Great Ayton]
* - West central building
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