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Haileybury and Imperial Service College

Haileybury and Imperial Service College, (usually shortened to Haileybury & ISC or Haileybury), is a famous British independent school founded in 1862. It is a co-educational boarding school enrolling pupils at 11+, 13+ and 16+. Over 750 pupils go to Haileybury, of which 452 live at Haileybury for either week nights or for an entire half term. The pupils who are aged 11-13, numbering around 100, study in a separate building with a boarding house just for the boys that reside at the school; the girls aged 11-13 who wish to board stay in one of the main school houses (Albans). Most day girls in the main school (13+) go into Hailey House.

History

The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, 20 miles from central London in rural Hertfordshire countryside on a site occupied until 1858 by the East India Company College. Its architect, William Wilkins, later designed the National Gallery in London, and Downing College, Cambridge, which bear some similarities. The school is built around four ranges which enclose an area known as Quad, which is the largest academic quadrangle in the UK and one of the largest in the world.

The buildings reopened as Haileybury in 1862. The large dome which dominates the skyline was added as part of Arthur Blomfield's Chapel, completed in 1877. The dome was badly damaged by fire when only a year old and had to be extensively repaired. On 7 July 1932. Later Victorian buildings are by John William Simpson. The Memorial Dining Hall was opened by the future King George VI & Queen Elizabeth as a monument to former pupils who had died in the Great War. In the past 20 years it has been used to commemorate deaths in all conflict countries, typically the wreaths for these countries are placed by pupils from those countries. For a number of years this building was one of the largest unsupported domes in Europe and it has very interesting acoustics. Until the 1990s the entire school of over 700 pupils dined within this building at a single sitting for breakfast, lunch and supper all brought to a silence for the grace before and after each meal by a massive brass howitzer shell, captured from a German gun emplacement during World War I which had been converted into a gong. A gilded plaster boss in the centre of this dome represents an oak tree being struck by lightning. Known as Little Lightning Oak this decoration is a representation of Lightning Oak, the massive oak tree which stands on Terrace, the area of grass in front of the School and visible in this photograph. This tree was struck by lightning and all but destroyed but, miraculously, re-sprouted. The tree was seen as a metaphor for the school, decimated by war but growing back stronger. In 1942, Haileybury absorbed the Imperial Service College, which had already absorbed the United Services College.

As well as the Memorial Dining Hall, there are other impressive memorials to 1,436 alumni who perished in wars. The War Memorial on Terrace which originally commemorated those lost in World War I was unveiled by General Sir Alexander Godley, KCB, KCMG on 7 July 1923. This was designed by former pupil Sir Reginald Blomfield. Known as The Cross of Sacrifice this simple stone cross with a bronze sword applied was the prototype for a memorial that can now be found in every Commonwealth War Cemetery and has been used for many other war memorials around the world.

Seventeen former pupils of Haileybury and its antecedents have received the Victoria Cross, and three the George Cross.

In the late twentieth century, reforming headmaster David Jewell took charge of Haileybury. The current headmaster, Stewart Westley, is responsible for making the school fully co-educational.

Present day

Today Haileybury is a co-educational school for 11-19 year-olds, with recent girls' boarding houses, (Colvin, Melvill, Allenby, Albans, and Hailey for day girls) and many facilities. There are still 7 boys boarding houses in the school, (Edmonstone, Lawrence, Bartle Frere, Kipling, Batten, Thomason and Trevelyan). The Ayckbourn Theatre is a fully functional modern theatre. The college chapel organ was built by Klais in 1997, with two manuals and thirty stops. There is a modern sports centre and a synthetic running track. Haileybury has a rackets court, built in 1908, which is unusual in having a double gallery. During World War II, it was damaged by the blast from a V-2 Rakete (sic) and was not restored until 1952 due to the school being evacuated from bombing risks. The school supports a professional coach (Mr Cawdron) making it one of the 12 schools in England to have a racket court and coach.

Groups originating from Haileybury support a number of charities such as The Children's Trust in Tadworth, the Home Farm Trust and the Boys' Club in Stepney once managed by Old Haileyburian Clement Attlee and Changing faces - a charity designed to help tortured and disfigured victims come to terms with their affliction. Attlee was noted for his promotion of fellow Old Haileyburians.

The school was featured in the TV drama A Class Apart.

Haileybury is attached to a junior school, Lambrook Haileybury, at Winkfield Row, near Bracknell, where it moved in 1998 from Windsor.

In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading private schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by The Times, which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.

Recently (2006/2007), Haileybury has been advising the building of a Haileybury in Almaty, Kazakhstan where all English GCSE's will be taught and the curriculum will be taught similarly under the guidance of Haileybury. The school is to be known as Haileybury Almaty. The students will be made up mostly of Kazakhstan citizens and sons of embassy workers. They will all be required to speak English.

Haileybury also hosts the annual "Haileybury Model United Nations" Conference, in which many schools, such as Bancroft's School, plus schools from many countries including Greece, and Sweden, participate.

Traditions

Elysium

Elysium was a prefects dining club which met in a room next to the balcony of the memorial dining hall. It has since been disbanded after numerous incidents of 'un-gentlemanly' behavior.

Houses and House Masters/Mistresses

Today at Haileybury there are 11 boarding houses, 1 day/boarding house (Hailey) and 1 lower school boarding house (Highfield).

Boys Houses

Bartle Frere, Mr Peter Johns (Main School)
Batten, Mr Angus Head (Main School)
Edmonstone, Mr Steve Dixon (Main School)
Kipling, Mr Russell Matcham (Main School)
Lawrence, Mr Julian Brammer (Main School)
Thomason, Mr Ian Sanders (Main School)
Trevelyan, Mr Julian Alliot (Main School)
Highfield, Mr Dan and Mrs Nicole Payne-Cook (Lower School)

Girls Houses

Allenby, Mrs Rhiannon Fell (Main School)
Albans, Mrs Lizzie Alexandra
Colvin, Mrs Fred Gowen (Main School)
Hailey, Ms Corinne Perri
Melvill, Mrs Ann Spavin (Main School)

Notable alumni

Past pupils are known as Old Haileyburians.

Arts

Michael Aitkens
Alan Ayckbourn
John Blofeld, Taoist and Buddhist author
Reginald Blomfield
Bruce Bairnsfather (attended United Services College)
Dom Joly
Rudyard Kipling (attended United Services College)
Quentin Letts
Chris Lowe (BBC journalist & news presenter)
Simon MacCorkindale
Stephen Mangan
John McCarthy (journalist)
Anthony Meyer (actor)
David Meyer
Christopher Nolan (film director, Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight''')
Hoyt Richards Model and actor
Joe Saward, sports journalist and author
Madeleine Shaw opera singer
Arthur Thomas
Herbert Trench
Rex Whistler - Reginald John 'Rex' Whistler
Raef Bjayou Candidate on The Apprentice series four

Armed Forces

Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
Sir Jonathon Band
Sir Robert Brooke-Popham
Sir Thompson Capper
Sir John Chapple
Lionel Dunsterville (attended United Services College)
Hubert Hamilton
Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Hurdis Ravenshaw
Sir Rupert Smith
Peter Townsend (Group Captain)
Sir Richard Vickers

Victoria Cross and George Cross Holders

Seventeen former pupils of Haileybury and its antecedents have received the Victoria Cross, and three the George Cross. One master also received the Victoria Cross.

Victoria Cross

Pupils

Indian Mutiny 1857

General Sir Hugh Henry Gough, VC, GCB (attended East India College Haileybury)
Ross Lowis Mangles, VC (attended East India College Haileybury) - A Civilian recipient.
William Fraser McDonell, VC (attended East India College Haileybury) - A Civilian recipient.

Persian War 1857

Lieutenant Arthur Thomas Moore VC (attended East India College Haileybury) He later achieved the rank of major general and was made a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB).

Zulu War 1879

Lieutenant Nevill Josiah Aylmer Coghill VC (attended Haileybury College, Trevelyan House from 1865 - 1869)

Sudan Campaign 1898

Brigadier General The Honourable Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC, Croix de Guerre (France and Belgium) . Earl of Gowrie & Viscount Ruthven of Canberra. (attended United Services College 1882.2). He was a Captain when he earned his VC.

Second Boer War 1899 - 1902

Colonel Edward Douglas Browne-Synge-Hutchinson, VC, CB (attended United Services College Day Boy 1875). He was a Major when he earned his VC.
Brigadier General Francis Aylmer Maxwell, VC, CSI, DSO & Bar, (attended United Services College 1883 - 1890)
Captain Conwyn Mansel-Jones, VC, CMG, DSO, (attended Haileybury College, Batten House 1885-1888)

Third Somaliland Expedition 1903

Major General William George Walker, VC, CB (attended Haileybury College, Colvin House, 1876 - 1881)

First World War

Captain Anketell Moutray Read, VC, (attended United Services College 1898 - 1902)
Second Lieutenant Rupert Price Hallowes, VC, MC (attended Haileybury College, Le Bas House 1894 - 1897)
Major General Clifford Coffin, VC, CB, DSO & Bar (attended Haileybury College, Lawrence House, 1884 - 1886)
Captain Clement Robertson, VC (attended Haileybury College, Colvin House 1904 - 1906)
Captain Cyril Hubert Frisby, VC (attended Haileybury College, Hailey House, 1899 - 1903)
Brigadier General George William St. George Grogan, VC, CB, CMG, DSO & Bar (attended United Services College, 1890 - 1893)