Dean Close School
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Dean Close School is a co-educational independent school in Cheltenham, England. The school is divided into pre-prep, preparatory and senior schools located on separate but adjacent sites outside Cheltenham town centre, occupying the largest private land area in the town. Students may be enrolled as young as 3 in the pre-preparatory school, and continue through to 18 at the senior school. The school adheres to National Curriculum guidelines, while retaining independent status as a selective, fee-paying institution. Dean Close is a public school.
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[edit] History
The school, originally "The Dean Close Memorial School", was founded in 1886 in memory of local former Rector of Cheltenham and Dean of Carlisle, Reverend Francis Close (1797-1882). Famous alumni include the poet James Elroy Flecker, whose father was the school's first headmaster (the old Flecker Hall was named after him), Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, and the artist Francis Bacon, who loathed the school so much that he ran away.
In the First World War the school suffered the loss of more than 120 boys; their names, along with the names of boys killed during the Second World War are recorded in the memorial chapel, which was consecrated in 1923. The First World War deaths are recorder on the left side, facing the altar, and those from the Second World War on the right. The school buildings were requisitioned by the Home Office during the Second World War, and the staff and pupils were relocated to nearby Monkton Combe School. Ultimately, the buildings were not required by the government, and it was handed back in 1940. In December of the same year, the school was hit by five bombs during air raids. Two of the bombs caused substantial damage to the junior school, and shrapnel damage can be observed on what is now the Careers building.
In 1967, the first girl was admitted for tutorials, and by 1969 the school had started encouraging female applicants to study full-time. Enrollment increased over the next thirty-five years to create a balanced co-educational environment, with equal numbers of boys and girls in boarding and day houses. Admitting girls has led to a need for new rules relating to relationships between boys and girls. The notorious (yet unwritten) "six-inch" rule attempts to dissuade courting couples from being over intimate. It is generally unsuccessful.
The current headmaster is Revd Timothy Hastie-Smith, who took up the post in 1998.
[edit] Houses
There are eight houses:
- Tower - Boys' Boarding
- Gate - Boys' Boarding
- Brook Court - Boys' Boarding
- Field - Boys' Day
- Dale - Boys' Day
- Shelburne - Girls' Boarding
- Fawley - Girls' Boarding
- Mead - Girls' Day
[edit] Notable Old Decanians
- James Elroy Flecker, poet.
- Francis Bacon, artist.
- George Adamson, environmentalist
- Brian Jones, musician, guitarist and founding member of The Rolling Stones.
