St Andrew's School is an independent preparatory school in the hamlet of Buckhold, near Pangbourne, Berkshire, England. Together with its 'Pre-Prep – Early Years' department, the school educates girls and boys aged between three and thirteen. In 2011, there were 266 children at the school, of whom 155 were boys and 111 were girls.
Scholarships are awarded to some children above the age of eleven, based on merit. St Andrew's has a school council to involve children in decisions.
In March 2011 an Independent Schools Inspectorate report endorsed the school's success.
History The school was founded in 1934 as a boarding school for boys, and consisted of just two staff and eight boys.Donald P. Leinster-Mackay, The Rise of the English Prep School (1984), p. 340 Historically, as the school grew, boys would leave to go onto schools such as Eton, Harrow and Winchester, however its ties with these schools slowly deteriorated after it first admitted girls in 1971, going on to become fully co-educational.ISI Report, March 2011, online The school's main building, a listed Victorian Gothic country house called Buckhold, which was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1885 for Herbert Watney, is set in fifty-four acres of woods and playing fields.
Catherine, Princess of Wales The school's most famous alumna is Catherine, Princess of Wales. Following her family's return to Berkshire from Amman when she was four years old, Catherine was enrolled at St Andrew's, and she boarded part-weekly at the school in her later years. It was at this school in 1991 that Middleton first saw her future husband, Prince William, when he was part of a Ludgrove School hockey team that came to play a match at Middleton's school.Daily Telegraph Reporter, Kate Middleton 'first laid eyes on Prince William as a 10-year-old schoolgirl' dated 27 November 2010 at telegraph.co.uk
Notable former pupils
Former students of the school are called "Old St Andrew's", and there is an OSA Association.OSA page of St Andrew's School web site Adrian Liddell Hart, author and adventurerLIDDELL HART, Adrian John (1922–1991) at aim25.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2011 Adam Boulton, journalist, broadcaster and author John le Carré (David Cornwell), spy fiction writerHarold Bloom, John le Carré (Chelsea House, 1987), p. 165 Adam Hart-Davis, broadcaster Sir Howard Hodgkin, artist Will Lyons (born 1976), journalist, broadcaster and wine writer Catherine, Princess of Wales, wife of William, Prince of WalesSt Andrew's Celebrates the Royal Wedding at standrewspangbourne.co.ukJulian Knight, The Royal Wedding for Dummies (2011), p. 10 James Middleton, businessman Pippa Middleton, events manager, columnistNick Curtis, Everything you never knew about Pippa Middleton dated 10 May 2011 at thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle. Retrieved 29 April 2012
Notable former staff William Anthony Nugent, 13th Earl of WestmeathPatrick W. Montague-Smith, Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (Debrett's Peerage Ltd., 1980), p. 200: "William Anthony Nugent, 13th Earl... Assist. Master, St Andrew's Sch., Pangbourne".
Headmasters 1934 – 1954: R. W. Robertson-Glasgow 1934 – 1945: Bill Ward-Clark 1945 – 1975: Jack Llewellyn-Smith 1952 – 1970: Rodney Stebbing 1949 – 1952: Bill Berkley 1975(?)- 1985: Bill Philipps 1985 – 1995: Bob Acheson 1995 – 2009: Jeremy Snow 2009 – 2015: Dr David Livingstone 2015 – 2021: Jonathan R. Bartlett 2021–Present: Edward Graham
Notes
External links Official website Profile on the ISC website Independent Schools Inspectorate Report (March 2011)