Editing Milton Abbey School

{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox school
| name         = Milton Abbey School 
| logo         = Milton Abbey School (emblem).jpg
| image        = Milton Abbey School 2015.JPG
| established  = {{Start date and age|1954}}
| type         = [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|Private]]<br>Day and boarding school
| religion     = [[Church of England]]
| head_label   = Head
| head         = James Watson
| chair_label  = Chair of Governors
| chair        = Ian G Bromilow
| city         = [[Milton Abbas]]<br>near [[Blandford Forum]]
| county       = [[Dorset]]
| postcode     = DT11 0BZ
| country      = England
| coordinates  = {{Coord|50|49|12.74|N|2|17|14.75|W|display=inline,title}}
| urn          = 113932
| staff        = 129 (including part-time and contracts)
| enrollment   = 224 pupils {{as of|2023|9|lc=on}}
| gender       = [[Co-educational]]
| lower_age    = 13
| upper_age    = 18
| houses       = Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonwell
| publication  =
| alumni       = Milton Abbey Association
| website      = {{URL|https://www.miltonabbey.co.uk}}
}}

'''Milton Abbey School''' is a [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private]] school for day and boarding pupils in the village of [[Milton Abbas]], near [[Blandford Forum]] in Dorset, in [[South West England]]. It has 224 pupils {{as of|2023|9|lc=on}},<ref>[https://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/schools/102308/milton-abbey-school/031369B The Good Schools Guide] Publisher: Lucas Publications Ltd. Published: 30 September 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.</ref> in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonwell.<ref>[https://www.miltonabbey.co.uk/Life-at-Milton-Abbey/Boarding.aspx Milton Abbey School] Publisher: The Council of Milton Abbey School. Published: 28 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.</ref> The school was founded in 1954 and is co-educational.<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000721 Historic England] Publisher: Historic England. Published: 6 March 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2019.</ref>

The school has facilities that include a golf course, a 15th-century dining hall, an Abbey chapel that can be traced back to the 10th century and grounds designed by [[Lancelot "Capability" Brown]]. The main house was built by [[Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester]].

== Academics ==
Milton Abbey School offers the English curriculum of [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSEs]], [[A-level|A-levels]], and [[BTEC National Diplomas|BTECs]]. The school was named BTEC School of the Year 2019 by BTEC awarding body [[Pearson plc|Pearson]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pope |first=Lorraine |date=2019-07-04 |title=BTEC award winners 2019 unveiled |url=https://feweek.co.uk/btec-award-winners-2019-unveiled/ |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=feweek.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2022, Milton Abbey School was noted as having the highest proportion of BTEC student uptake of all English independent schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Top 50 Schools for BTECs |url=https://www.topschoolguide.com/uk/league-tables/schools-by-specialism/best-schools-for-btec/ |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=Top School Guide |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Abbey Church==
[[Image:Milton Abbey School.jpg|thumb|Milton Abbey School]]
[[Image:Milton Abbey 447286953.jpg|thumb|Milton Abbey Chapel and main building]]

The Abbey forms the central heart of the school. A chapel service takes place for the whole school twice a week. On Monday there is a house assembly and Wednesday a whole school assembly. On Sundays the school gathers for a formal Sunday worship, and there are regular communion services throughout the term. The school, although a [[Church of England]] foundation, welcomes people of any faith, and also of none.

The abbey church is built in a mixture of [[Ham stone]], Chilmark stone and [[flint]] and consists only of the choir, central tower and transepts. Its style is mostly [[decorated gothic]] dating from the mid-14th century with some 15th-century details in the tower and north transept. The eastern Lady Chapel was demolished after the suppression and some alterations were made by Wyatt in the late 18th century.<ref name="Betjeman, John 1968 p. 175">Betjeman, John, ed. (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South. London: Collins; p. 175</ref> 
The Earl and Countess of Dorchester were also generous to the church, and their joint tomb, designed by [[Robert Adam]] with sculpture by [[Agostino Carlini]], is to be found in the north transept. Perhaps the most striking feature of the church's interior, however, is its south window, designed as a [[Tree of Jesse]] by [[Augustus Pugin]]. Other features of interest are the 14th-century [[pulpitum]] and [[sedilia]], the 15th-century [[reredos]] and [[pyx]] canopy, and the 16th-century monument to [[John Tregonwell]].<ref name="Betjeman, John 1968 p. 175"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bayliss |first=Jon |date=November 2022 |title=Sir John Tregonwell |url=https://www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/index-of-brasses/sir-john-tregonwell |access-date=17 January 2024 |website=Monumental Brass Society}}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:MiltonAbbeyMorris edited.jpg|thumb|Milton Abbey in the late 19th century]]

'''Milton Abbey''' (fully, the '''Abbey Church of St Mary, St Samson, and St Branwalader''') in [[Dorset]] was a [[Benedictine]] foundation, but only part of the church now survives and is used as the Milton Abbey School chapel. A college of secular canons was founded here by [[Athelstan of England|King Athelstan]], in 933,<ref name=history/> and there are two medieval paintings of the king and his mother in the chancel. This foundation was replaced in 964 by a Benedictine monastery by King Edgar.<ref>Betjeman, John, ed. (1968) ''Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South''. London: Collins; p. 175</ref> The medieval church burned down in 1309,<ref name=history/> and although rebuilding started straight away it did not reach its present size until about 1400.<ref name=history/>

One of the church's benefactors was [[John Tregonwell|Sir John Tregonwell]], whose family came into the possession of the buildings in 1540 following the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] in 1539.<ref name=history>[http://www.miltonabbey.co.uk/Culture/history.aspx Milton Abbey: History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617071605/http://www.miltonabbey.co.uk/Culture/history.aspx |date=17 June 2009 }}</ref> Tregonwell fell from the roof of the church in a childhood accident, but his life was saved when his wide pantaloons filled with air and broke his fall. In thanks, he bequeathed his library to the church. Sir John also was buried in an altar tomb in the Abbey Church.

In 1752, the buildings were bought by the Damer family:<ref name=history/> in 1771, to make way for a new house and landscaped estate, the [[Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester|1st Baron Milton]] (later 1st Earl of Dorchester) demolished the remaining abbey buildings, keeping only part of the church as a private chapel, and the adjacent [[market town]] of [[Milton, Dorset|Milton]] (creating [[Milton Abbas]] to rehouse the former inhabitants) in 1780. The new house was designed by [[William Chambers (architect)|William Chambers]] and the gardens by [[Capability Brown]].<ref name=history/> Several members of the Damer family were buried in the family vault in the Abbey Church.

In 1852, the merchant banker [[Carl Joachim Hambro (banker)|Carl Joachim Hambro]] acquired Milton Abbey to make it his family home.<ref name=history/>
He set about a major restoration programme, including an extensive refurbishment of the Abbey itself. The Hambro family developed and lived at Milton Abbey until 1932,<ref name=history/> when it was sold and for a while they moved to Hedge End Farm nearby, followed by a permanent move to [[Dixton Manor]] in [[Gloucestershire]].

Milton Abbey School was the setting for "Bamfylde School" in the 1980 13-part TV series of [[R. F. Delderfield]]'s ''[[To Serve Them All My Days (TV series)|To Serve Them All My Days]]''. It also featured in the first of the ''[[Ripping Yarns]]'' by [[Michael Palin]] and [[Terry Jones]], titled ''Tomkinson's Schooldays'' and in the [[The Browning Version (1994 film)|1994 film version of ''The Browning Version'']] with [[Albert Finney]] and [[Greta Scacchi]].

===Burials===
*[[Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester]]
*[[John Tregonwell]]
*[[John Damer]]
*[[Carl Joachim Hambro (banker)]]
*[[Angus Hambro]]

===Grounds===
The parklands were landscaped in the late 18th century by Capability Brown. They are Grade II* listed in the [[National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens]].<ref name=garden>{{NHLE |num=1000721 |desc=Milton Abbey |access-date=11 February 2016 |fewer-links=x}}</ref>

In 2009, the school started to develop a farm, which is worked on by staff, to promote environmental awareness and work towards an element of self-sufficiency. Traditional vegetables are grown, in addition to herbs, cutting flowers, fruit and some crops. The estate also has a small number of pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks.

The school has a golf course which winds around the main house and the Abbey Church. Designed by [[Peter Alliss]] and opened in 1972, it is a nine-hole course with par-3 and par-4 hours, which is used by pupils and by visitors, who are required to pay a small green fee. The school employs a PGA Professional, who helps to tutor the students.<ref>[https://www.miltonabbey.co.uk/Sport/Available-sports.aspx Milton Abbey School] Publisher: The Council of Milton Abbey School. Published: 9 September 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.</ref>

==List of headteachers==
*1954–55: Revd. C. K. Francis Brown – founding Headmaster
*1955–69: Cdr. R. H. Hodgkinson – previously an Officer in the Royal Navy; retired 1969.
*1969–79: W. M. T. Holland – previously a housemaster at Eastbourne College; left to enter the priesthood.
*1979–87: S. R. D. Hall – previously housemaster at Haileybury, and subsequently appointed as Warden of Glenalmond.
*1987–95: R. H. Hardy – previously housemaster at Eton College; retired 1995.
*1995–2010: W. J. Hughes-D'Aeth – previously a housemaster at Rugby School, and subsequently appointed to the post of Headmaster of Repton School, Dubai.
*2010–14: G. E. Doodes – previously Deputy Headmaster at Milton Abbey and subsequently Principal of George Heriot's School, Edinburgh.
*2014–18: Magnus Bashaarat – previously Deputy Head of Stowe.
*2018–2023: Judith Fremont-Barnes – previously Head at Duke of Kent School in Surrey.
*2023–current: James Watson – previously Senior Deputy Headmaster at Milton Abbey and Second Master of Bruern Abbey.

==Notable former pupils==
* [[Alastair Bruce]],<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-48749668 New Edinburgh Castle governor is Robert the Bruce descendant] Publisher: BBC News. Published: 24 June 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.</ref><ref>[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/tv-radio/downton-abbeys-etiquette-expert-on-how-1080098 Downton Abbey's etiquette expert on how TV drama was rocked by asparagus rammy] Publisher: ''Daily Record and Sunday Mail''. Published: 7 August 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2013.</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130627010131/http://www.parker-entertainments.com/common/artist.asp?catid=50&sid=5&artistid=159 Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, OBE]}} Publisher: ''Parker Entertainments''. Retrieved 17 April 2013.</ref> Governor of [[Edinburgh Castle]], Major General, professor, royalist, and royal, ceremonial & national events commentator
* [[Rupert Evans]],<ref>[https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/the-dreamboat-rupert-evans-6765198.html The Dreamboat: Rupert Evans] Publisher: ''[[London Evening Standard]]''. Published: 2 October 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2013.</ref><ref name=Tatler>[http://www.tatler.com/guides/schools-guide/2013/public/milton-abbey-school Milton Abbey School – Alumni] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007012321/http://www.tatler.com/guides/schools-guide/2013/public/milton-abbey-school |date=7 October 2015 }} Publisher: ''Tatler Schools Guide 2013''. Retrieved 17 April 2013.</ref> stage, film and television actor
* [[Alexander Faludy]],<ref>[http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/105935.article Too young, too far, too fast?] Publisher: ''[[Times Higher Education]]''. Published: 23 February 1998. Retrieved 17 April 2013.</ref> former child prodigy and youngest [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] undergraduate since 1773
* [[Jonathan Freeman-Attwood]],<ref>[https://www.miltonabbey.co.uk/News-and-Events/Archived-News/Former-Milton-Abbey-pupil-Jonathan-Freeman-Attwood.aspx Former Milton Abbey Pupil Jonathan Freeman Attwood made CBE] Publisher: ''Milton Abbey Association of Milton Abbey School''. Retrieved 28 June 2019.</ref> Principal of the [[Royal Academy of Music]]
* [[Edward Hay, 13th Marquess of Tweeddale]]<ref>Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition'', 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3960.</ref>
* [[Tom Homer (rugby union)|Tom Homer]],<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/club/5033547/Tom-Homer-leads-London-Irish-to-victory.html Tom Homer leads London Irish to victory] Publisher: ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''. Published: 22 March 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2013.</ref> rugby union player
* [[Charles Montagu, 5th Baron Swaythling]]<ref>Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition'', 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3835.</ref>
* [[Francis Fulford (landowner)|Francis Fulford]], landowner and television personality
* [[John Nash, Baron Nash|Baron Nash]],<ref>[http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/8892/John-Alfred-Stoddard-Nash-NASH John Alfred Stoddard Nash – Biography] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20140515011355/http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/8892/John-Alfred-Stoddard-Nash-NASH |date=15 May 2014 }}. Publisher: ''Debrett's People of Today''. Retrieved 15 May 2014.</ref> Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools and co-founder of the charity Future
* [[Edward Barnes (television executive)|Edward Barnes]], <ref> [https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/sep/13/edward-barnes-obituary] Noted creator of children's TV programs, Chess enthusiast, philanthropist, and mathematician.</ref> Noted creator of children's TV programmes, Chess enthusiast, philanthropist, and mathematician.
* [[Josh Ovens]],<ref>[http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Ovens-named-England-20/story-11353558-detail/story.html Ovens named in England Under-20 side] Publisher: ''This is Bath.com – (The Bath Chronicle)''. Published: 2 February 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.thisisdorset.co.uk/School-s-double-honour/story-11779639-detail/story.html School's double honour]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Publisher: ''This is Dorset.com'' Published: 30 January 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2013.</ref> rugby union player
* [[Eric Saumarez, 7th Baron de Saumarez]]<ref>Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 1, page 1111.</ref>
* [[Mark Shand]],travel writer, conservationist and brother to [[Queen Camilla]]
* [[Ray Tarantino]],<ref name=three>{{cite news|url=http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2013/apr/04/italian-troubadour-follows-songwriting-pa-20130404/?print|access-date=14 December 2013|first=Jack W.|last=Hill|title=Italian troubadour follows songwriting path of Dylan|newspaper=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|date=4 April 2013}}</ref> rock singer-songwriter
* [[Cenzo Townshend|Vincenzo Townshend]], record producer
*[[Prince Rostislav Romanov (born 1985)|Prince Rostislav Romanov]]
*[[Rupert Mitford, 6th Baron Redesdale]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Milton Abbey}}
*{{Official website|http://www.miltonabbey.co.uk}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130620235638/http://www.isc.co.uk/schools/england/dorset/blandford/milton-abbey-school Profile] on the [[Independent Schools Council|ISC]] website

{{Schools in Dorset}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Houses in Dorset]]
[[Category:History of Dorset]]
[[Category:Private schools in Dorset]]
[[Category:Boarding schools in Dorset]]
[[Category:Monasteries in Dorset]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon monastic houses]]
[[Category:Benedictine monasteries in England]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Dorset]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Dorset]]
[[Category:1954 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1954]]
[[Category:933 establishments]]
[[Category:Gardens by Capability Brown]]
[[Category:Church of England private schools in the Diocese of Salisbury]]
[[Category:Hambro family]]
[[Category:10th-century establishments in England]]
[[Category:Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation]]