Reed's School is an independent secondary day and boarding school for boys with a co-educational sixth form located in Cobham, Surrey, England. There are currently around 700 day pupils (620 boys, 80 girls) and 100 full-time boarders (80 boys, 20 girls). The school was founded in 1813, by Andrew Reed and incorporated by an act of Parliament, the London Orphan Asylum Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. vii), under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Duke of Wellington and the Marquess of Salisbury. From 1951 until her death in 2022 Queen Elizabeth II acted as the school's 15th patron and visited the school twice, in 1997 and in 2014, as the reigning monarch. Alumni of the school are known as 'Old Reedonians'.
Contents
History
London Orphan Asylum, London (1813–1871)
The foundation was established to provide relief to destitute orphans, including children whose fathers had died and whose mothers were unable to provide for them. Initially the Asylum used two houses; one at Hackney Road, Shoreditch for the boys and one in Bethnal Green for the girls. The asylum's first unified site was at Lower Clapton Road, Clapton, where Newcome's School had stood.
Following the school's 1871 move to Watford, the East London buildings were used by the Salvation Army. Only the facade of the classical-style building remains, and forms part of the Clapton Girls' Academy
London Orphan Asylum/School, Watford (1871–1939)
A site in Watford was selected for the new school. The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, and his wife the Princess of Wales and future Queen Alexandra, laid down the foundational stones on 15 July 1869 and the school formally opened in 1871.
The school was renamed to the "London Orphan School" in 1915, following a merge with the recently closed Royal British Orphan School in Slough it was again renamed the "London Orphan School and Royal British Orphan School", before finally being named "Reed's School" in 1939, in honour of the late founder.
In the early 1880s the London Orphan Asylum lost two football matches against the then named Watford Rovers, now known as Watford F.C.
Headmasters at the Watford site included Oliver Carter Cockrem and H.W. Russell.
In the 1980s the buildings were converted into residential accommodation.
Reed's School, Totnes and Towcester (1939–1945)
During World War II the school was evacuated from Watford. The site was used as an Army hospital and then by the Ministry of Labour.
Reed's School, Cobham (1945–present)
The Sandy Lane site had been purpose-built for the Sandyroyd School in around 1905 by architects Treadwell and Martin, who were also responsible for the design of Scott's restaurant (now part of the Trocadero Centre) and other notable structures. The new site provided facilities including a heated indoor swimming pool, a nine-hole golf course, and two squash courts.
A new headmaster, Robert Drayson, was appointed in 1955 and remained until 1964, when he migrated to Stowe.
In 1950, Reed's School began to take fee-paying pupils, while retaining its charitable element.
Royal Patrons since 1815
The school has had many royal patrons.
1815 Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
1817 Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex
1819 Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
1819 Leopold I of Belgium
1821 Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover
1822 Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
1823 George IV
1826 Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
1826 William IV
1837 Queen Victoria
1843 Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
1856 The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII
1870 The Princess of Wales, later Queen Alexandra
1910 George V
1936 George VI
1951–2022 Elizabeth II
Sports
The major sports at Reed's School are rugby, hockey and cricket with academies in tennis, skiing and golf. The senior pupils (13+) play rugby, hockey and cricket in the autumn, spring and summer terms respectively. Pupils in the junior school (11–13) play hockey, rugby and then cricket. The indoor tennis centre was opened by alumnus and former British number one, Tim Henman on 18 November 2014.
Reed's has won the International School Sport Federation's world schools' tennis championship more than any other team (in 2009, 2011 and 2015).
Headmasters
David Jarrett (1997–2014) – the first person to win a cricket blue for both Oxford and Cambridge
Mark Hoskins (2014–present)
Notable staff and associated people
James Edmeston, architect and prolific hymn writer; wrote "Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us" for the children of the London Orphan Asylum
Sir Benjamin Louis Cohen, former President of the London Orphan Asylum
Sir William Blizard, consulting surgeon to the London Orphan Asylum
Keith Medlycott, cricket coach
Tom Hardy, actor
Notable Old Reedonians
Royalty
Prince Zeid Raad of Jordan, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Prince Mired Raad of Jordan
Timothy Taylor (art dealer), husband of Lady Helen Taylor
Business
Alan Bott, founder of Pan Books
Sir Simon Robey, banker and co-founder of Robey Warshaw
Literature
Thomas Burke
Richard Dinnick, screenwriter and author
Sport
Henrik Breimyr, Norwegian professional football player
Paul Brown-Bampoe, professional rugby union player
Jeffrey Bruma, professional footballer, currently playing for PSV Eindhoven
Alex Corbisiero, rugby player for Northampton Saints, England and the British and Irish Lions
Jamie Delgado, British tennis player and coach
Daniel Douthwaite, British cricketer for Glamorgan
Jack Draper, British tennis player who recently placed in the semi finals of the US open
Chris Eaton, British tennis player
Alastair Gray, British tennis player
Phil Salt, England cricketer
Evan Hoyt, British tennis player
Jack Gower, British alpine ski racer
Tim Henman, British tennis player
Oskar Kolk, cricketer
James Morrison, golfer
Luke Steyn, ski racer
Theo Vukašinović, rugby player
Jack Kenningham, rugby player
Arts/entertainment
Richard Bagguley, muralist and artist
Marcel Grant, filmmaker
Dr. Keith Scholey, nature documentary producer
Elvi Hale, actress
Tom Hardy, actor
Sir Simon Keenlyside, opera singer
Sir Nolan, music producer and songwriter
Shaun Scott, actor
Renton Skinner, actor and comedian
Toby Tarrant, radio DJ and son of Chris
Jamie Treays, aka Jamie T, singer-songwriter
Politics
Edward Kellett-Bowman, Conservative Member of the European Parliament
Law
Stuart Popham, British lawyer