School History

Aldro School was founded in Eastbourne in 1898 and moved to Shackleford in 1940. It is owned and administered by an Educational Trust and is a boarding and day preparatory school for about 200 boys between the ages of 7 and 13. Boys go on to a wide range of leading senior schools. Recently refurbished dormitories accommodate 65 full time boarders.

Aldro is in a setting of rare beauty in the village of Shackleford, within a mile of the A3 and 45 minutes from the centre of London, well placed for Heathrow and Gatwick. The school is very willing to assist those living abroad with travel arrangements to and from airports. An ambitious building programme over the last fifteen years has seen the quality of the school’s facilities improve in every area of school life.

Small classes and firm and friendly encouragement of each individual lead to confidence in academic work. Success is reflected in excellent Common Entrance and Scholarship results, the ablest being accelerated and the less strong given extra assistance where necessary.

The school is committed to a depth and breadth of education that goes beyond the classroom. Each individual has talents to be uncovered and nurtured, and Aldro provides a huge range of possibilities for boys to experience and enjoy. Sport, drama, music and art all feature prominently along with many other hobbies and activities including pétanque, gardening, a model railway club and a bottle collecting club.

An important part of Aldro is the Christian foundation. The lovely chapel is converted from a well-preserved barn and the services are intended to provide a living influence in the boys' lives. For many years there have been links with the Titus Trust Monkton Holidays.

The boys’ happiness is an important priority since it is the fundamental foundation to a successful education. Aldro is a caring environment which aims at excellence and the encouragement of each unique individual to glimpse his potential and begin to realise it.

School Life

A thorough grounding in the basic academic skills is still essential today. The core subjects in the curriculum are English, Mathematics, French, Science, Latin, Scripture, History, Geography, Drama, Art, Music, I.C.T. and Design Technology. A few boys learn Greek. The Centenary Building (opened in 1999) is an outstanding classroom block including a well-equipped ICT suite and a well-stocked and attractive library. Elsewhere, there are two Science laboratories and an Art and Design Technology centre. The Crispin Hill Centre incorporates a theatre and a hall suitable for gymnastics, badminton and short tennis.

The Music School is in an octagonal wing of the Crispin Hill Centre. The orchestra, jazz band, brass group and other ensembles and choirs rehearse there. About three-quarters of the boys have individual music lessons on a variety of instruments.

Rugby, soccer and hockey are the main winter sports, with cricket, athletics and tennis in the summer. There are many fixtures for boys of all ages including 4th teams in the senior age group. Aldro has developed an outstanding sporting reputation and has enjoyed much success at all the main sports. Shooting (.22 rifle and air pistol), cross country, golf, squash and swimming are also part of the games programme for much of the year - as well as a wide variety of indoor games. Facilities for sports include an outdoor heated swimming pool, six tennis courts, a squash court, a rifle range and a pistol range, a covered games area, a nine hole golf course and a lake on which boys enjoy rowing and fishing.

The boys are organised into six different squads (houses) and squad marks are awarded for a whole variety of different contributions to school life. The boys learn to work for others in whatever direction their gifts happen to lie and a spirit of generosity and service is encouraged.The boys are organised into six different squads (houses) and squad marks are awarded for a whole variety of different contributions to school life. The boys learn to work for others in whatever direction their gifts happen to lie and a spirit of generosity and service is encouraged.

Deputy Head
C Rose BEd

Bursar
Mr N Patterson BA BSc MSc

Governors

N.Bewes

Mrs M Blake BA

E P Crips Villiers

The Rev T M Hastie-Smith MA

B R Kirkpatrick MA FCA

Miss G R Morris

E J Pickard

M W Sayers BA (Chairman)

C J Stafford BA

J Stileman BA

Vice Admiral Sir Peter Woodhead KCB

D J Archer BEd

Mrs S P Aston BA PGCE

Miss S Bartley BA BEd

Mr D J A Carr BA PGCE

Miss N Collett-White LLB PGCE

Mr G Drayton

R G Davies BA PGCE

P M Donaghy BEd

Mrs M L Fenwick HDE

Mrs I Gunner BEd

D Hudson BA PGCE

Mrs J Hunt (SENCO)

Dr C Keddie BSc PGCE EdD BA

R W Leach BA

Mrs S Leach BA PGCE MIL AKC

Y Lombardot D.U.E.L., L.E., M.E. (Paris)

C MacIntosh MA

Mrs L Rose BEd

Mrs.J Sloper BPharm

D A Smith BEd

N E Swan BEd

M Thompson MSc CTEFL

Mrs N Thompson BA

D Tuddenham BSc PGCE

N A West BSc PGCE

Administrative Staff

Headmaster's and Admissions Secretary : Mrs S L Spall

School Secretary : Mrs D Mordin

Assistant Bursar : Mrs S J Moore

Accounts Assistant : Mrs J Reynolds

Marketing and ICT Asst : Mrs N Walp

Librarian : Mrs H Wahl

Boarding at Aldro

Boarding at a Prep School can be a memorable and special experience, and this is certainly the case at Aldro. The boarders are an important part of life at Aldro. There are ten comfortable dormitories on the top two floors of the main houses which hold about fifty boys. The boarders and their parents particularly appreciate the family atmosphere that exists in the boarding house at Aldro. The boarders are looked after by the Housemaster and his wife, as well as a team of matrons and other teaching staff who do evening duties in the boarding house.

Many of our boarders live locally, although we also have a small number of boys from overseas. Parental contact during the term is encouraged, either by phone, email and visits to watch matches, plays and concerts. Boys are also allowed to go home for most weekends. For those boys who are staying in over the weekend there are various trips arranged, including adventurous activities like wind-surfing or quad-biking, trips to museums in London, and visits to theme parks.

The weekly routine is also very busy with activities arranged after supper in the evenings (as well as revision sessions when exams are looming), although most boys also like spending quality time with their friends away from the pressure of the school day. The boarders also get to take advantage of all of the facilities at Aldro like the golf-course, the swimming pool and rowing on the lake.

Why boarding?

In general, most boys choose to board because they enjoy it. They get to spend time with their friends doing things that they enjoy.
At the same time boys learn to look after themselves better and to look after their possessions. It is also a chance to learn to live alongside other people and to develop self-confidence and independence.

Who makes a good boarder?
• A boy from a supportive family background, where parents & son are all committed to the boarding life-style.
• A boy who has experienced "sleep-overs" and likes the idea of spending the term with his friends.
• A boy who likes spending lots of time with his friends.
• Above all, a boy who is mature enough to understand the reasons for boarding, and wants to do it.
What effect does boarding have on a boy and his family?
Boarding boys will invariably grow in confidence, as they take greater responsibility for their day-to-day lives. They become more independent as they go up the school and more organized, learning to get to the right place at the right time with the right kit. Living in a community encourages them also to understand that their actions impinge on others, and therefore they learn to think of others more and respect their different opinions and needs.

Boys comment that they have a good social life as boarders, their location enabling them to have more free time, more time to spend with friends, better access to a wide range of activities and an ability to use the facilities available on the school site.

Inevitably there will be moments when things are not going so well and they miss home. But they also understand that life has its ups and downs and that that this is quite normal and something with which they can cope.

Likewise parents too become more a part of the school community and holidays and exeats are more "special." Hard-working parents find "quality time" when their boarding boys are at home.

However, we also know that boarding is not the right thing for many boys. We will not encourage families to board their sons unless we feel it is the right thing. Happy boarders do well and get a lot out of the experience. Unhappy boarders do not.
Will boarding have an adverse affect on my son’s work?
Almost certainly not. Over the past six years two thirds of Aldro’s academic scholarships have been won by boarders. This year (2007) all of them were won by boarders. The Common Entrance results for boarders have also been outstanding.
Obviously it is impossible for a boy to get the same level of attention that a parent can give to him at home, however, there are plenty of opportunities for boys to work in the evenings either on their own or in pairs. In the run up to exams there are organized revision sessions and boys learn to be more self-disciplined as well as spurring each other on. Of course, for those who are struggling the Housemaster is always on hand to make sure that they do get down to some revision.

What sort of boarding does the Aldro offer?
Aldro boarders are a mixture of local, national and international boys, so we offer full boarding. The system allows families to be together regularly where this is possible, and where it is not, for the boys to be well catered for here at school.

How much contact do boys have with their parents in term time?
Boys can buy phone cards to phone home in the evenings and there are regular opportunities to email.
We are always delighted to welcome parents to the school to see their boys take part in musical and dramatic productions and sporting matches.
All boys need to stay in for the first weekend of term and in the Christmas term for last weekend of term. Otherwise, boys can go home after their final school commitment on Saturday and return in time for chapel on the Sunday evening. Parents are always welcome to stay for Chapel and to sit with their sons.

Matches normally start at 2.30pm unless otherwise stated

SHUS – open first Tuesday in month 5.00pm-6.15pm

New Uniform Shop – open Thurs and Sat 8.30am-9.00am

Christmas Term 2008
Start Wednesday 3 September (boarders)
Thursday 4 September (dayboys)
Half Term Friday 17 October – Monday 27 October
End Tuesday 9 December
Weekend leaves: 26/27/28 Sept, 7/8/9 and 20/21/22/23 Nov

Lent Term 2009
Start Sunday 11 January (boarders)
Monday 12 January (dayboys)
Half Term Friday 13 – Monday 23 February
End Friday 20 March

Summer Term 2009
Start Sunday 19 April (boarders)
Monday 20 April (dayboys)
Half Term Friday 22 May – Monday 1 June
End Saturday 4 July
Weekend leaves: 1/2/3/4 May and 18/19/20/21 June

School Office Tel: 01483 810266
Fax: 01483 409010
Boarders Emergency Line (from 8.30pm only) 07780 591458

E-mail addresses:
Headmaster head@aldro.org
Headmaster’s Secretary hmsec@aldro.org
Bursar bursar@aldro.org
Assistant Bursar asstbursar@aldro.org
School Secretary schoolsec@aldro.org
Deputy Head rosec@aldro.org
Housemaster macintoshc@aldro.org
Boys and staff (Surname+first initial)@aldro.org