Wellington College Prep (formerly Eagle House School) is a 3–13 co–educational preparatory school near Sandhurst in Berkshire, England. Founded in 1820, it originally only admitted boys, keeping them "until they went out into the world", however, as of 2000, it admits both boys and girls. It is one of the country's oldest preparatory schools. In September 2024, it changed its name to Wellington College Prep to reflect the close links it has with Wellington College.
History Wellington College Prep was founded as Eagle House School in 1820Wendy Bosberry-Scott, ed., John Catt's Preparatory Schools 2010 (2010), p. 34 at Brook Green, Hammersmith. In 1860 it moved to a house named Brackenbury's at Wimbledon, then in 1886, after a major fire,J. S. Cockburn, H. P. F. King, K. G. T. McDonnell, A History of the county of Middlesex: Volume 5 (1995), p. 375 moved to its present home at Sandhurst.Country Life, vol. 171 (1982), p. 25: "THE FIRST EAGLE HOUSE SCHOOL, AT BROOK GREEN, HAMMERSMITH, moved to Wimbledon in 1860, and to Sandhurst in 1886..."Donald P. Leinster-Mackay, The Rise of the English prep school (1984), p. 126 In 1930 a severe outbreak of chicken-pox and measles reduced the school's numbers from twenty-nine to five, but the school soon recovered.Eagle House Magazine dated Lent Term, 1930 The school was purchased by Wellington College in 1968 and shares most of its governors.2009 ISI Inspection Report
Between 1957 and 1962 Nick Drake, later a singer-songwriter, attended the school and became head boy. He was taught French at the school by John Watson, who while still at Eagle House came second in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 with his song "Looking High, High, High".Patrick Humphries, Nick Drake: the biography (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 1998), p. 22.
Lieutenant-General Sir John Cowley chaired the school's Governing Body from 1968 to 1976."COWLEY, Lt-Gen. Sir John Guise" in Who's Who 1990 (London: A. & C. Black, 1990).
Present day Originally for boys only, Wellington College Prep now caters for boys and girls between the ages of two and thirteen. It is in the same ownership as Wellington College, forming part of the same registered charitable organization. A majority of pupils continue their secondary education at the college. Before the college became fully coeducational in 2005, most girls left at age 11 for secondary school.
Headmasters 1820: Joseph Railton 1833: Edward Wickham 1858: Edward HuntingfordThomas Moore, Nicholas Lee Torré, Cantus hibernici, vol. 2 (1858), p. viii: "Huntingford, Rev. Edward, DCL, Head Master of Eagle House School" 1874: Arthur MalanAlfred Hiley, Recapitulatory examples in arithmetic (1882), p. ii 1906: Robert Bruce-Lockhart 1928: Arnold Jones 1929: John Parmiter 1939: Paul Wooton 1968: Michael Haggard 1974: John Greenish 1988: Simon Carder 2003: Andrew Barnard 2023: Ed Venables
Notable former pupils
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, soldier Stuart Burge, actor and director'BURGE, Stuart', in Who Was Who (A. & C. Black, 1920–2008); online article (subscription site), by Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 20 April 2012 James Chalmers, actor Nick Drake, singer-songwriter John Gardner, composer'GARDNER, John Linton', in Who's Who 2012 (London: A. & C. Black, 2012) online article (subscription site), by Oxford University Press, January 2012, accessed 20 April 2012 Lewis Moody, rugby player Ellie Bamber, actor John Bruce Lockhart, schoolmaster and cricketer Ed Stewart, British radio presenter James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex, son of The Duke of Edinburgh and grandson of Queen Elizabeth II
References
Further reading Daniel Jones, ": , " [Phonetics in English Schools: Eagle House School, Sandhurst], in Le Maître phonétique (1911) Page 3.
External links School Website Profile on the ISC website Profile on the Good Schools Guide