We are proud of our historic connections with the Services both directly, through the Frewen family, and through our predecessor schools.

 

A number of Frewens have served their country with distinction down the centuries, from Major Sir Edward Frewen (1661-1723) down to Admiral Sir John Frewen GCB (1911-1975), who established the Frewen Educational Trust in 1972. Other members of the family have served as MPs, clerics (including an Archbishop of York) and physicians.

 

Our predecessor school Down House School, the first school known to recognise and welcome dyslexics, was established in Rottingdean, Sussex in 1910 by Colonel Seaburne Moens.The school was evacuated to Worcestershire during the Second World War, and then moved here to Brickwall in 1946. This followed the repatriation of the Canadian forces billeted here at ‘Brickwall Fortress’ during the war. (One dormitory, ’Hellcats’, still bears witness to their time here, as does a certain amount of damage to the brick walls!) A memorial to seven old boys of Down House who gave their lives in the First World War is displayed prominently in the dining room.