Our History
Beech Hall is a large country house set in over sixteen acres of wooded grounds. A house named Beech Hall has been in existence on the site since 1435, when it was the main residence of the Worth family – although signs of a bronze age settlement were discovered when the swimming pool was being built. The main building on the site dates from the Victorian period as was once the home of one of the silk barons of the area.
Beech Hall School was formed in 1926 by Mr. W. Edwards as a Preparatory School for boys. Most of its pupils boarded. The school passed to a Mr Hunt in 1935 who in turn was succeeded by his son in law, Mr Worthington, in 1956. In 1966, the school became a limited company and a charitable trust, although the freehold was retained by the Hunt-Worthington family.
In 1982 Mr Fitzgerald became headmaster. Changing trends during his tenure saw Beech Hall become coeducational and extend its range to include a nursery, now called Little Griffins. As with many prep schools, boarding numbers withered during the early 1990s and ceased altogether towards the end of the decade; however the overall number of pupils at the school expanded.
Towards the end of Jim Fitzgerald’s headship, the freehold passed to a property developer. Such was the parents’ enthusiasm for the education provided at the school and its ethos of friendly acceptance and encouragement of each individual that a tremendous campaign ensued; Beech Hall’s future was secured with the purchase of the freehold and the establishment of a more proactive governing body
Mark Atkins became headmaster in 2003 and, with great energy, began the process modernising school procedures and improving its facilities whilst maintaining its distinctive ethos. The changing attitude of local independent senior schools to transfer at 13+ caused the governing body to consider whether to retrench as a prep school that provided education to 11+ or extend its range to GCSE, thereby providing a more intimate alternative to large secondary schools. The latter option was chosen and so began the process of improving facilities further to suit the needs of pupils between the ages of 6 months and 16 years.
In January 2007 the current headmaster, Tim Scott, succeeded Mark Atkins and has continued the process of modernising the school whilst retaining its most cherished traditions. Recent developments have included refurbished computing facilities, libraries and playgrounds. An astro turf pitch was installed in January 2007 and a performing arts building was completed in the autumn of 2008. The school was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in February 2008 and the outcome of this was very encouraging.
A full version of the ISI Report is available at the ISI website. Already an IAPS School (Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS), following this inspection we also became accredited members of The Independent Schools Association (ISA).
Later in the year, our first cohort of Year 11 pupils took their GCSEs. 78% achieved five or more A* - C passes and results were generally encouraging.