Brentwood School in the post-war era
Dear all
In Monday’s assembly, we had the last of our series of readings previewing our recently published book that retells the History of Brentwood School. We left the story at the end of the Second World War, under the long and impactful leadership of Jimmy Hough, and on Monday we stepped into the post-war era, a time of immense change for Britain and our school, shaped by two significant headmasters, Ralph Allison and Richard Sale, before a pivotal decision that shaped the School as it is today, taken by Mr John Evans.
Eighty years ago, in 1945, Britain was emerging from World War Two. While there was jubilation at the ultimate victory against the forces of Fascism, there was also devastation, in terms of the toll taken on towns and cities by bombing raids and V-rockets, the loss of loved ones killed or injured since 1939, and the enormous cost of fighting a war for almost six years.
It was in these circumstances that Ralph Allison took over from Jimmy Hough as Headmaster of Brentwood School in September 1945. The new Headmaster was an experienced leader, having already been a Headmaster at Alleyn’s School, where he had used Drama as a means of boosting morale during the war.
The period of his Headship at Brentwood, which ran until 1966, was characterised by remarkable academic success. A key reason for this was the 1944 Butler Education Act, which transformed Brentwood into one of 179 Direct Grant schools and meant the school received a grant directly from the Ministry of Education for every pupil, and had to offer at least 25% of its places free to pupils. Critically, fees for other pupils were assessed on a sliding scale based on parents’ income, with the balance paid by the government. By 1956, around 80% of Brentwood pupils received nearly full fee remission, which ensured that places were available on merit to children of any social background.
This period saw exceptional academic results, with twenty places at Oxford or Cambridge being won in most years. Allison believed the school should become the pupils’ entire world while they were here, which led to the incredible range of clubs and societies we still enjoy today.
Allison was also an internationalist, profoundly influenced by his involvement in the League of Nations at university, an early version of the Model United Nations we have today, and during his time at Brentwood, there was an expansion of overseas visits, including the scouts undertaking trips as far as Greece and the Arctic Circle. The arts also flourished, and in 1954, the first House Music Competition was held. This period of school success was capped in 1957 when Queen Elizabeth II visited to open the new science block, now known as The Queen’s Building, as part of the 400th-anniversary celebrations of the School’s foundation (see picture on the left).
There were, of course, difficulties too – concerns that the school was becoming an ‘exams factory’, corporal punishment was given by both teachers and prefects and a system whereby junior boarders acted as ‘gofers’ for their elder peers. Allison also opposed the admission of girls to the school.
Allison was succeeded in 1966 by Richard Sale, a former Major in World War II who participated in the D-Day landings. Sale was a traditionalist with a reputation as a ‘formidable disciplinarian’. Under his Headmastership, he brought continuity and successfully raised significant funds for new buildings (e.g. the Ashton Building), but he resisted major educational changes.
The decision to admit girls to the School was one of the most significant shifts of this era, though it was a slow and often reluctant process under Sale. A small number of girls from the Ursuline Convent School joined A Level History courses in 1966, and the first girl to complete a full Sixth Form course was Lesley Hall, the daughter of a Housemaster, in 1974. Girls were admitted on an ad hoc basis, mostly through family connections, and only into the Sixth Form, but not in any planned or particularly progressive way.
By the time John Evans took over in 1981, Brentwood needed to fully embrace a co-educational future, for both financial (the removal of the Direct Grant Scheme) and educational (to better reflect society as the new Millennium approached) reasons. This was a task for which he was well-suited: a classics scholar with a strong public school background from Rugby, his greatest innovation was systematically integrating girls into the school. From the first cohort of 25 girls in 1989, numbers rapidly grew, and they soon moved into their dedicated building (Huddlestone). The introduction of girls profoundly modernised the school and helped encourage further modernising changes from activities to House competitions and enhanced community engagement.
As I said to the students on Monday, I hope our series of extracts and summaries from our new History of Brentwood School has encouraged you to learn more about a story that stretches back almost 500 years. There have been times when Brentwood has reflected the prevailing local, national, and international trends, and there have been others when it has had significant problems to overcome. The fact that we are still here, as one of the largest and – I think – best schools in the country, is a testament to the thousands of individuals who have gone before us, and our responsibility is to play our part in helping shape the next 500 years of our School’s story.
Copies of the new history book, Virtue, Learning and Manners, The Life and Times of Brentwood School, are available to buy on the Association website.
Have a great weekend
Best wishes
Michael Bond
