WORTH SCHOOL

'Established'
1933 (Secondary school 1959)


'School type'
Catholic Independent boarding and day school


'Ethos'
Benedictine


'Headmaster'
Mr Gino Carminati


'Deputy Head'
Dr James Whitehead


'Chaplain'
Fr Martin McGee, OSB


'Location'
Crawley RH10 4SD


'Enrolment'
450 Yrs 7-13


'School Colours'
Blue and Gold


'Website'
www.worthschool.co.uk



'Worth School', near the village of Turners Hill, Crawley, West Sussex, England, is a boarding and day school for students aged between 11-18 years. The school is located alongside Worth Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in 500 acres of the Sussex countryside. As of 2005 the school has some 305 boarders and 150 day students.
Worth aims to provide a broad education and a balanced lifestyle that is rooted in the Benedictine tradition.

Contents

History of Worth

Houses

Voluntary Community Service

OFT Investigation

Links With Girls Schools

Alumni

Notable staff

External links

History of Worth

Before Worth became a School in 1933, it was the country estate of Lord Cowdray. In that year, the estate, previously known as Paddockhurst, was purchased by the Benedictine monks of Downside Abbey (in Somerset), who founded a priory and a prep school for boys aged 7 to 13 on the Worth campus. During the Second World War the school was evacuated to Downside.
In 1957, Worth Priory became an independent monastery, before becoming Worth Abbey in 1965. In 1959 Worth School, for boys aged 13 to 18, was founded , and Worth Prep School was scaled down year by year until in 1965 it became the Junior House for boys aged 11 to 13. Like many boys' independent schools of that period, Worth was exclusively a boarding school. Today, Worth School retains a boarding tradition, while also admitting day students. The school is currently planning an expansion in its facilities to allow it to become fully co-educational.

Houses

There are seven houses:

★ Austin - Junior House - Navy Blue and Yellow Ties

★ Butler - Senior Boarding House - Royal Blue Ties

★ Chapman - Senior Day House - Red and Royal Blue Ties

★ Farwell - Senior Day House - Grey and Black Ties

★ Gervase - Upper Sixth House - Yellow and Black Ties

★ Rutherford - Senior Boarding House - Burgundy Ties

★ St. Bedes - Senior Boarding House - Green Ties
Chapman and Farwell are the Day houses, Austin is a junior house for all boys in years 7 and 8, (regardless of boarding/day), similarly Gervase is for Upper 6th Students only.

Voluntary Community Service

Worth runs a wide range of Community Service in association with Worth Abbey. It includes-

★ Day Centre

★ Age Concern Shopping

★ Soup Run

★ Amnesty International

★ Recycling

★ IT and Sport Classes for nearby Junior School

★ Conservation

OFT Investigation

In May 2006, 50 independent schools agreed to pay nominal penalties, as a result of a 2005-2006 investigation by the Office of Fair Trading :

★ http://www.isc.co.uk/index.php/888

★ http://www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press+releases/2006/88-06.htm
This situation came about as a result of a dispute between the UK Charity Commission, which regulates the behaviour of UK charities, and the Office of Fair Trading, responsible for profit-making businesses. While, on the one hand, UK Charities are required to share financial and other information among themselves, UK businesses are not allowed to do so. The Competition Act (1998), which regulates the behaviour of businesses, was altered in 2000 to place independent schools, which are charities, in the same category as businesses as far as exchange of financial information is concerned. It may be significant that this alteration to the act was neither notified to Parliament nor debated there. In 2004, UK independent schools (who, like Parliament, had not been advised that the law had changed) became aware that the Competition Act now applied to their regular exchange of information, and the practice ceased. The following year, the OFT began an investigation which lasted nearly two years, at a cost to the UK taxpayer which has not been disclosed.
Worth School was among the 50 schools affected by the OFT investigation.

Links With Girls Schools

The school currently has links to Burgess Hill School For Girls, Woldingham School, Mayfield School, St Mary's School Ascot and Royal School Haslemere which are local independent girls schools, with pupils from each schools being involved in plays, socials and music concerts with Worth.
The school is to accept girls in 2008.

Alumni

Alumni of Worth School include:

★ Michael Aris (academic)

★ Robert Bathurst (comic actor)

★ Sir David Bell, chairman of the Financial Times Group (FTG)

★ Harry Enfield (comedian)

★ Michael Ellis (businessman), partner and founder Newport Asia, LLC.

★ Sir Peter Jonas (musician)

★ Stephen Rhind-Tutt, (businessman), president and founder Alexander Street Press, LLC.

★ Tony Tyler (COO, Cathay Pacific)

★ Michael Spencer (businessman), founded ICAP plc

★ Austen Ivereigh (journalist)

★ Jim Pinnock (actor)

★ Tim Hutchings (Athlete)

★ Larry Achike (Athlete)

★ Nich Walshe (Professional Rugby Player) Bath and England

Notable staff

★ Andrew Bertie

External links

★ Worth School official site

★ Worth Old Boys Society (WOBS)

★ Hobson's UK Independent School Review