Name: Highgate School
Address: North Road,
London, N6 4AY
Founded: 1565
Situated in the vaguely picturesque setting of North London's Highgate Village, Highgate School is a private (fee-paying) school. It currently consists of three parts, the Junior School, the Senior School and the most recent addition, the Pre-Prep.
PRE-PREP
The pre-prep was established in 1993 by the governors of Highgate School in response to local demand for a school of excellence for young children in the very first years of schooling. It occupies a large house on Bishopswood Road, just down a short lane from the main school's dining hall. Children can begin their time in the pre-prep in the nursery from the age of three and stay (in 'proper' classes from the age of four) until six, at which point they may (if male, more in a bit) move onto the Junior school.
The pre-prep is the only part of the whole school to be co-educational. Boys and girls aged three-six are educated together but presumably the girls are left to find other education at this point. The rest of the school has announced its intentions to become mixed in the near future.
JUNIOR SCHOOL
Highgate Junior School was established in 1889 by the then Headmaster of Highgate, the Reverend Charles McDowell. It's first home was Cholmeley House and it was here, in 1916, that a young John Betjeman was taught English by T.S. Eliot. Now situated in the new Cholmeley House on Bishopswood Road, the Junior School offers a high class education to boys aged seven-thirteen. The Junior School has very strong links with the Senior School, to which boys usually automatically transfer.
The uniform for the Junior School is:
- smart brown or black shoes
- grey trousers
- white shirt and blue / maroon striped tie
- maroon jacket with blue trim
SENIOR SCHOOL
Highgate Senior School has been situated in Highgate Village at the top of Highgate Hill since it's foundation in 1565. Boys either join straight from the Junior School or via taking an entrance exam at the age of 13. After a single year of 'settling in', the GCSE studies are begun and after two years, the exams taken. The pupils will then move up to the Sixth Form and begin their A Levels, which take a further two years. The school is split into houses, supposedly seperated by geographical area (I didn't live near any of my housemates), to encourage some sort of paternal relationship with your housemaster, who you could approach with any problems. Didn't work, obviously.
The uniform for ages thirteen-sixteen is:
- smart black shoes
- dark grey / black trousers
- white shirt and blue / maroon striped tie
- blue jacket with maroon trim
And for ages seventeen-eighteen (Sixth Form) is:
- smart black shoes
- smart suit of your own choosing
- white shirt and sixth form (or prefect) tie
MALLINSON SPORTS CENTRE
The Mallinson sports centre is situated on Bishopswood Road and is available for all members of the school to use. It has an indoor football / basketball court, a swimming pool and an indoor cricket arrangement thing. it is open to the public in the evenings and at weekends.
FAMOUS ALUMNI
I thought I'd finish off with a little bit of fun, some famous names to wow you with. The following all studied at Highgate: