Tonbridge School

The school occupies an extensive site of about 150 acres (607,000 m²) on the northern edge of the town of Tonbridge, Kent, and is largely self-contained within that site. Since the foundation the school has been rebuilt twice on the original site.

There are currently approximately 770 boys in the school, aged between 13 and 18, with around 440 boarders and 330 day pupils.

The current Headmaster is Tim Haynes, who has been in post since September 2005. He was previously Headmaster of Monmouth School.

History

Sir Andrew, himself a distinguished member of this Company, left property in the City of London and in the parish of St Pancras as an endowment for the school. The income from these estates is at the disposal of the Governors for the general benefit of the Foundation. The memory of Sir Andrew Judd and other benefactors is honoured in an annual Commemoration Service, held on Skinners' Day at the very end of the Summer Term. The school first really began to flourish in the 19th century when it and other public schools supplied the demand for capable men to administer and soldier for the British Empire. It is recorded that alumni served in the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, the Boer War and even under the 8th Earl of Elgin during the Second Opium War. Indeed Headmaster Knox once noted that "wherever the Union Flag stands o'ershadowed, there you will find a Tonbridge boy ready to bring it into the light".

The Edwardian period saw considerable sporting success for the school. In 1905 and 1906 its 1st XI cricket team enjoyed two unbeaten seasons under its captain, Archibald Featherstonehaugh (pronounced "Fanshaw"). In the years that followed Tonbridge produced many first class cricketers, culminating ultimately in Colin Cowdrey in the late 1940s.

World War I

The school suffered heavy losses during the Great War. Not only were many alumni killed, but also several members of staff who volunteered for service. The fabric of the school was unscathed, although in 1916 a German zeppelin passed over Tonbridge, without dropping any bombs.

World War II

In June 1941 a V1 bomb launched by the Nazis almost succeeded in killing Headmaster Eric Whitworth when it landed near Ferox Hall. A bomb dropped by a lone German bomber almost destroyed the Chapel earlier in the War.

However, papers found by the Allies after the fall of Berlin suggested that Hitler's staff intended to make Tonbridge School the Upper-Medway regional HQ for occupying forces, had Operation Sealion gone ahead.

During the War an anti-tank trench was dug alongside the Head (the school's main cricket pitch). The OTC (Officer Training Corps) issued the groundsmen with grenades, rifles and German phrase-books.

On the recommendation of Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff and an Old Tonbridgian, an evacuation plan was drawn up by the school in case of a German invasion. Boys were to disperse across the country while teachers formed resistance cells.

Post-War years

Lawrence Waddy took over as Headmaster in 1949. The Tonbridge he inherited was still a largely Victorian institution; fagging and ritual caning were still in place, and sport was considered more important than academia. Over the next 40 years personal fagging was abolished (ending in 1965), the intellectual life of the school was revitalised (particularly under the Headmastership of the scholarly Michael McCrum), and 1st Year Socials were set up with neighbouring girls' schools. By the 1990s the school was larger and richer than ever before, regularly appearing in the top 50 in independent schools examination league tables. The Headmaster until 2005 was Martin Hammond.

In recent years, Tonbridge has become well-known and respected for its sporting achievements. Tonbridge's 1st XV rugby team was undefeated for 3 straight seasons (2004/5, 2005/6 and 2006/7), against opponents such as Wellington, Radley, Dulwich College, Eton and Harrow. Furthermore, the 1st XI Hockey team was unbeaten in its regular fixtures in the 2006/7 season, while the Athletics squad has enjoyed two unbeaten seasons - 2005/6 and 2006/7.

Notable Old Tonbridgians

Upon graduation, all Tonbridgians join an organization called the Old Tonbridgians Society (OTs).

Houses

There are twelve houses at Tonbridge School; seven boarding, and five day houses. Each house has its own house colours. The houses, in order of foundation:

School House	Boarding	Black and blue
Judde House	Boarding	Magenta and black
Park House	Boarding	White, purple
Hill Side	Boarding	Red and black
Parkside	Boarding	Yellow and amphibione
Ferox Hall	Boarding	Orange and yellow
Manor House	Boarding	Green and red
Welldon House	Day	Light and dark blue
Smythe House	Day	Chocolate and Cerise
Whitworth	Day	Green and white
Cowdrey House	Day	Purple and green
Oakeshott House	Day	Scarlet and Gold

Each house contains approximately 65 students. The names are all drawn from the location of the house itself (e.g. Park House, Parkside House, School House (originally located in the main school building) and Hill Side), or are names of benefactors, headmasters and others who have left their mark on the school over the years (e.g. Smythe House, named after Sir Thomas Smythe (see also Smythe Library), Judde House, named after the founder of the school, Whitworth and Welldon, both named after headmasters of the school, and Cowdrey House, named after Colin Cowdrey, arguably the most famous Tonbridge alumnus). The only exceptions are Ferox Hall, which takes its name from the Latin for ferocious, and Manor House which was named by a former Housemaster.

Competitions between the houses are held in many fields, particularly sport, as well as other activities such as music, debating and design & technology. In these competitions there are age categories: Novi (sometimes form Junior with 2nd year), Junior (either Novi and 2nd year, or 2nd and 3rd year) and Senior (either 3rd Year and 6th form, or just 6th form). One of these is the inter-house shooting competition, as the winning house is awarded the magnificent Hansard Trophy, named after Cornelius Hansard, an Old Tonbridgian. The trophy is currently held by School House for the second year running (2006 & 2007). The most prestigious of these trophies are the senior house match trophies for each of the three main sports (rugby, hockey and cricket) which have been dominated in recent years by Park House.

Buildings

Recent additions to the school's infrastructure include the Vere Hodge Centre, the E.M. Forster Theatre and the Tonbridge School Sport and Media Centre. All three are of modernist design, incorporating quantities of glass and steel and high levels of technology, while the latter contains a swimming, gym, fencing salle and multiple changing rooms, and is being considered as a potential training facility for the 2012 Olympics.

The Chapel of St. Augustine was opened in October 1995 after its predecessor was severely damaged by fire in 1988. The Marcussen organ is a four-manual tracker-action instrument with 66 speaking stops, including two 32' stops.

The Smythe Library, built in 1962, was designed by Sir William Holford in 1962. It contains approximately 26,000 volumes, some of which have been in the school's possession since the 17th century. Now offices, the former Headmaster's House (located next to the High Street) is in fact the oldest part of the school, dating in parts from the 16th century. Its structure contains Roman masonry, most likely quarried from a temple to the god Priapus that is believed to have stood by the Medway near where Tonbridge Castle stands today.

Old Judd, which now houses the Modern Languages Department, was built in the 19th century and is remarkable for the enclosed terrace garden at its rear. The reason that the garden is raised several feet above ground level is that it was in fact built directly on top of the building that formerly occupied the site.

Facilities

Tonbridge School is well known in the local community for its excellent facilities, particularly its sport facilities. It has three hockey astros - one floodlit water based astro and two sand based astros, which are used by Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club and Sevenoaks Hockey Club as well as by the School itself in the Lent term. It has a six lane floodlit tartan athletics track, which is used extensively all year round by Tonbridge Athletics Club, and which Kelly Holmes was often seen to be training on. The School is also famous for its extremely well maintained pitches - indeed, the main cricket pitch (The Head) is often used for county level cricket matches.

Thanks to donations, the new sports centre has now opened and on Friday, 13th June 2008 it was opened officially by Lord Sebastian Coe. The new sports centre complex includes a new swimming pool, indoor sport facilities (such as indoor hockey), a gym, and a sports studio where activities such as fencing, judo, karate and table tennis take place. Due to its excellent location overlooking the athletics track and water based astro pitch, the new centre now forms an integral part of the local sporting community.

Tonbridge terminology

Cras - The School Cross Country race for pupils and staff. The oldest school competition.

School terms

School traditions

Motto

The school's motto (Deus Dat Incrementum) is not to be confused with that of Westminster School, London (Dat Deus Incrementum). The two have quite different meanings due to their word order. Whereas Tonbridge's lays emphasis on the fact that God, and nobody else, gives growth, Westminster's emphasises the fact that God gives growth and does not, for example, receive it, buy it or rent it. However, the motto "Dat Deus Incrementum" can be seen on the main school building at the entrance to the Physics department. The motto is the same as that of Marlborough College.

Tonbridge Society

The Tonbridge community has, in addition to boys, three main groups which come together in the Tonbridge Society to support each other and the school. The Parents' Arts Society provides a focus for parents and other friends of the school and gives them the opportunity to benefit from its educational and cultural facilities. The Old Tonbridgian Society provides a social and support network for the boys after their five years here. Finally, the Tonbridge School Foundation which is committed to supporting the development of the school in many different ways. Collectively the Tonbridge Society represents all members of the Tonbridge family and brings the groups together for events of overlapping interest.

The novi

In Tonbridge terminology 1st Year boys are known as novi (rhyming with "no guy") which in Latin means "new males". However, according to Classical Latin pronunciation, the word should actually be pronounced as "no vee". To an Ancient Roman's ears the Tonbridge pronunciation would indicate the Latin word novae, which unfortunately means "new women".

Uniform

Normal weekday dress, according to the Memoranda (school rules), consists of a school jacket, white shirt, school pants, black socks and black plain dress shoes. All students are expected to dress accordingly on all regular days of school. On Sundays, students are expected to put on formal wear. This consists of the school suit, and polished suits. Boys in the Sixth form may wear school suits on weekdays as long as they have a more formal one for Sunday chapel. Boys in the upper Sixth Form can wear a light colored shirts on the weekdays. School Praepostors may wear brown polishable shoes on weekdays but not on formal occasions. Boys must also wear a school tie with their jackets or suits. School colored scarves may be worn during the winter. After lessons and games and on some weekends, boys can choose to wear casual wear as long as it is of an acceptable nature.

Other information

Combined Cadet Force

The School has a CCF (Combined Cadet Force) contingent, which most of the Fourth Form (14-15 year old Boys) are a part of. Boys can choose to join either the Royal Navy (RN), Army or Royal Air Force (RAF) sections of the CCF. Many older boys keep on CCF as an activity right up to and including their last year at school, the Upper Sixth, by which time, they have become Non-Commissioned Officers^[1], and are helping to run the contingent by teaching the younger boys. This allows them to exercise leadership skills which they have been taught as they have moved up through the ranks, and through the school. The Army Section is affiliated with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR).^[2]

The CCF was last inspected by Colonel Knaggs OBE^[3] on 14th March having recently returned from Afghanistan.

Third, Fourth and Fifth Years

Community Service (helping the old, the infirm and the handicapped members of the local community, or working in local Primary Schools or Hospitals);

Advanced Chemistry; Aero-Modelling; Art, Ceramics and Photography; Assistance to the Librarian; Assistance with some of the First Year activities; Bridge; Chess; Computing projects; Conservation; Design Technology Projects; Film Making; Music, primarily for music specialists; Phytology; Play Writing; Preparation of the School Magazine; Rackets; Radio; Recording Studio; Stage sets, props and lighting; Tonbridge's Literary Supplement; Work within a boy's house

Almost all of the activities listed above can be used for a component of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, should a boy choose to enrol.