Clare House Preparatory School Former Pupils' and Staff Association Homepage

If you have followed a link to here for the Abbey School, Ashurst Wood, please note that the Abbey School now has its own site at http://freespace.virgin.net/abbey.school.

The Clare House Preparatory School Former Pupils' and Staff Association offers an opportunity to those who have a connection with the former Clare House Preparatory School, of Beckenham, in Kent, United Kingdom to make contact and share their experiences of the School.

We do hope that, in time, this page will be a place full of interesting experiences and a record of what Clare House Preparatory School has done for its pupils and its Staff.

If you are a former pupil or a former member of staff of Clare House Preparatory School, please join the Association by contacting our Registrar, Peter Barclay-Jones (left 1965), for a Membership details, including a password which will enable you to contribute to the Web forum and enter our Members' area.

Click here to go our links page. This page contains links to Internet pages that have a connection with Clare House Preparatory School, Beckenham and its surrounding area. If you would like to see a page added to the links list, please contact our Webmaster with the details.

...to sign our Association's Guest Book or to contribute to our Web Forum.

If you have a password, please click on the button below for access to our Members' Area.

On 12th October 2002, the Clare House Association became a real Association, with Members meeting to remember the School and the part it played in their lives.

There were around twenty former Clare House pupils, and several wives and partners at the Reunion. We are very pleased that Clare House Primary School made their facilities available to us. We are also proud to have had the involvement of the Beckenham Historical Society, the Beckenham Photographic Society and the Spring Park Cine and Video Society to record the event for us. The Association is grateful to these organisations for giving their time to us.

A Constitution for the Association was also formally adopted by the Membership and the amount of the annual subscription was agreed.

The Association invited the Head of Clare House Primary School to unveil a plaque, donated by James Alcock, commemorating the Preparatory School. This plaque hangs in the foyer of the Primary School for all to see. After this, the first group photograph since 1970 of former Clare House Preparatory School pupils was taken. This and other pictures can be seen in the Members' area.

All the photographs, a CD and a copy of the video can be ordered by Members through the Members' area.

Members then enjoyed a roast beef dinner with wine. Toasts were proposed to The Queen and to the Clare House Schools, both old and new. After dinner, a group of Year 6 children performed a play specially written for this occasion by James Alcock, entitled "The Clare House Time Machine". The play featured the Preparatory School and the Primary School, symbolising the link between the two.

The formal part of the evening was concluded by short speeches by the Chair, the Vice-Chair and the Head of Clare House Primary School, followed by a short slide show presented by Peter Walker (Form II, 1970).

Members may order photographs of the First Reunion from the Association, either on a compact disc or prints.

Clare House Association polo shirts are available on request from James Alcock. These are available at £17.00 each (including postage) in sizes M, L, XL approximately two weeks from the date of order. The shirts are red, matching the Preparatory School's colours, with an embroidered logo of the School's original blazer badge. James also has for sale souvenir replica Clare House caps and he is offering them for sale at £10.00 each (including postage).

Updated copies of the book "Beckenham", written by Eric Inman and the late Nancy Tonkin are now available, having been published in hardback in 2002, at £19.49 (including £2.50 postage). These are available direct from Dr Eric Inman. Members, please order through the link in the Members' area.

Copies of the Spring Vale Cine and Video Society video of the first Reunion are still available from SVCVS. Members, please order through the link in the Members' area.

The Clare House Preparatory School Former Pupils' and Staff Association held a small Reunion on Saturday 6th October 2007. Details are in the Members' area.

Andrew West has kindly allowed the Association to publish this photograph of the Clare House Preparatory School Cricket 1st XI of 1963. Andrew himself is in the picture in the back row, second from the right. If this picture brings back any memories for you about the team, cricket matches or cricket in general at Clare House, or anything about any of those pictured, please get in touch!

	Clare House Preparatory School Cricket 1st XI 1963

	Back row: M P S Stewart; R P Sparrow; C S Gamble; P St J Gooda; A G West; A G D Lachlan Front row: J W Hind; P E Grant; M W J Richards (Capt); S S Norris; J E Fine

In its more recent history, Clare House Preparatory School was run by the Abbey and Clare House Company. This company was based in East Grinstead, Sussex, in the United Kingdom from where it also ran the Abbey School. The fate of Clare House Preparatory School was determined by the demise of the Abbey and Clare House Company in 1969.

Originally in Park Road, Beckenham, the Abbey School moved to Ashurst Wood, near East Grinstead shortly after the start of the Second World War. Click here to go to the Abbey School site.

Chair:		Peter Barclay-Jones		Vice-Chair:		James Alcock
Secretary:		Justin Larkman		Treasurer:		Robert Hudd

			Committee
	Simon Bate		Nick Frank		Andrew West