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| The History of Bramcote School Samuel Servington Savery founded Bramcote School, Scarborough in 1893, with just one boy – Frederick Milner Spencer. In fact, he was able to begin the Michaelmas Term of 1893 with three boys. By September 1909 214 boys had studied at the school. Nine of these had gained scholarships to Public Schools and ten obtained naval cadetships. Others had passed the Common Entrance Examination to such schools as Harrow, Rugby, Uppingham, Repton and Oundle. The first scholarship was that of Maurice Platnauer in 1901 to Shrewsbury. Samuel Savery retired from the school in 1911 and later went into politics. He won Holderness (by Hornsea) for the conservatives in 1923 and served as their MP until shortly before his death in 1938. He was knighted in 1937 in the first Honours List of King George VI. But the man who moulded Bramcote into one of the top preparatory schools in the north, excelling in the classics and sports, and whose name became synonymous with it, was Richard Pidcock. Richard Pidcock and Douglas Slater were invited by Savery to join him as Headmasters in 1909. Slater and Pidcock, as joint Headmasters, began the system of each having pastoral and academic responsibility for half of the school. Slater, however, left in 1925. Pidcock was the sole Headmaster for five years, until one of the masters at the school, Oswald Cooper, joined him in the partnership. The position of Headmaster at that time was obtained by buying into the business. Christian names, for masters or boys, were rarely used in those early decades and Pidcock was usually referred to by his surname, initials or as “Pidder”. The new partnership lasted for 15 years with the school divided into Pidcock’s and Cooper’s boys. Pidcock retired immediately after the Second World War. At that time another master, Frank Hamerton, took a minor share in the partnership and in early 1950s Oswald Cooper planned that two others, Jim Hornby and Sandy Stow, would also join them. After some years of deliberations, and with Stow’s departure, the school eventually became an educational Charitable Trust in 1957 with Oswald Cooper as Chairman of the Board, a position he retained until 1970. Under this new arrangement Jim Hornby and Frank Hamerton took over the joint Headmastership. Jim Hornby fulfilled a pivotal role in the school’s history. Through his connections with the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools, of which he became Chairman in 1966, he was keenly aware of the changes which were taking place within education. Until then classics and maths had dominated the Common Entrance Examinations but the need to change the curriculum was becoming apparent. It was through Jim Hornby that Bramcote was one of the pioneers among independent schools as regards teaching science. The school came into an era of adventure and development in the 1970s under Colin McGarrigle and John Fuller-Sessions, with boys and staff putting forward ideas which often went on to shape the school as it is today. With them in this evolving process was a new assistant Headmaster, John Gerrard, and his wife Mary. John Fuller-Sessions retired from the Headmastership in 1990 and John Gerrard continued alone for over two years until he was joined by John Walker, and his wife Janie. John and Janie left Bramcote for Abberley Hall in 1996 and Peter Kirk took over as Headmaster with his wife Rosemary. In 1996 girls were introduced for the first time and the school became fully co-educational. In 2001 Andrew Lewin joined the school as deputy head and he became headmaster in 2003 with his wife Debbie when Peter Kirk left for Bilton Grange. The full history of the school, “Bramcote School – The First 100 Years” by Pip Land is available from the School Office. |
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| Bramcote School Ltd - Registered in England at the Address Above, Company Number 580220, Registered Charity Number 529739 |
