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The History of the Preparatory School
...continued from Part 1
By then both Hartnell and the Rev. R. B Poole had built large houses nearer the school and were offering boarding facilities. Rodborough House, in Percival road, had spacious accomodation for Mr Hartnell and his family and a separate front entrance for the boys. A large hall, quickly decorated by honours boards, was the centre of the house; there the boys said morning and evening prayers, were addressed by their housemaster and ate their meals. Olden Lodge, the residence of Mr Poole, had similar facilities but was situated nearer to the heart of the school.
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In Big School screens of 'nut brown hue' divided the forms from one another, but holes were quickly made in them to see what was going on:
Each master had a bell, which he sounded when he wished to admonish his colleagues that the noise was intolerable and his own form inaudible. Not infrequently all five bells sounded at once. The strain on the masters must have been considerable!
Hansom's Junior School
As this situation was so unsatisfactory and more teaching space was required, it was decided to erect a serparate Junior School. A site was chosen north east of the Chapel and fronting the Close. Architect Charles Hansom created a building in keeping with the rest of the school. A large central room, flanked by two form rooms on each side, was completed in 1876 and this was enlarged in 1879 with an additional form room. The boys must have appreciated the space and a place of their own. An added attraction was its situation near the confectioner's shop known as "The Grubber", which was initially a branch of one of the shops in Clifton. From here buns and biscuits could be purchased at the eleven o'clock break.
Although it was generally agreed that the building was one of the least successful designed for the school, it lasted 50 years until, in 1924, it was demolished to make space for a new Science School for the Upper School.
A house at 94 Pembroke Road was purchased for the junior boys but it was not really suitable and the College Council became increasingly aware that a decision needed to be made about their future.
So it was that in September 1927, the feasibility of combining the Junior and Preparatory Schools was first seriously comtemplated. The total number of boys in the school was then 768. Of these, 132 were in the Junior (74 boarders and 58 Town) and 51 in the Preparatory (18 boarders and 33 Town). Norman Whatley, then Headmaster, wrote a memorandum to the Council:
He recommended the amalgamation of the two departments, covering the age range 7 to 14, although he recognised there would be difficulties over differing staff salary scales and fees, and insufficient classroom accomodation. He also considered that the combined school should have a greater measure of independence.
It was decided that teaching and boarding facilities should be as close as possible and that adequate playing fields needed to be considered.
Already the major problem was apparent. Since the foundation of the school the area around Clifton had become very developed and for the next 18 months little progress was made in finding a suitable site, during which time the numbers at the Preparatory School had risen to 70 (28 boarders, 42 Town) under the new headship of E. G. Sharp.
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