North Perrott Manor
The main school building, originally built as North Perrott Manor, was completed in 1876 and replaced an earlier manor house that had stood to the north-east of the church and had been damaged by fire.
The Manor was home to the Hoskyns family until the outbreak of the Second World War.
Feltonfleet School (1940-1945)
During the Second World War a number of schools from London and the home counties were evacuated to rural locations well away from any targets likely to be visited by the Luftwaffe. One such school was Feltonfleet, based in Surrey, which was evacuated to North Perrott Manor in 1940.
Feltonfleet stayed at North Perrott for the duration of the war and returned to Surrey in early 1945. Rather than returning to his family seat, Major Hoskyns decided to lease the Manor as a school.
The Grundys (1946-1970)
One of the members of the Feltonfleet staff was Bill Grundy; he and his wife Nora had spent the war years at North Perrott. After the war they decided to stay at the manor house and Perrott Hill School was formed.
From a mere 18 pupils in their first term, the autumn of 1946, the Grundys rapidly built the school up. Despite some inevitable alterations, the house largely retained its manor house appearance and character. The greatest change came with the addition of a new block on the west end of the main building to house changing facilities and dormitories.
The Grundys remained at Perrott Hill from 1946 until their retirement in 1970.
Derek and Lydia had a year alongside Bill and Nora Grundy before finally taking over the school in 1970.
The Hoares kept the numbers at around 100, 75 of whom were boarders. The catchment area was mainly local but there was always a handful of children with parents living in London and several from overseas.
Their years saw a fair amount of building work at the school. In 1971, an extra floor was added to the new block as the result of an appeal when the Grundys left. This enabled the creation of the Grundy Hall. Before that only half the hall was available for assemblies and for school plays, leading to some extremely cramped performances. Later, a pitched roof was added - dramatically improving its looks as well as preventing the frequent leaks that the flat roof had suffered.
"I cannot remember when the sloping roof was put on, although as it was in process of being built it rained continuously for 24 hours and the gale tore the covering off. The builders and I were powerless to do anything except to put masses of buckets all over the upper floor to try and catch the water as it cascaded in!" said Derek Hoare
A new classroom block, the ‘Coates Building’, named after Norman Coates, senior master from 1956–1972, was erected on the edge of the ‘Tree Stump Area’. The science block was doubled in size, the art room and craft centre were created, and the pavillion was built. The school also acquired its first computers.
Finally two other buildings went up on the other side of the garden wall from the ‘Tree Stump Area’ to provide a recreations room, additional classrooms, a shooting range and pet house. The construction of the recreations room meant the sad removal of much of the vegetable garden and for the first time since its founding Perrott Hill was unable to survive on home-grown veg!
In 1990 a French exchange was organised with a school in Versailles - St Jean de Bethune, and during each Easter term for the next three years parties of nine and ten-year-olds spent a week en famille and attended French school.
The Barnes (1992-1998)
Upon Derek and Lydia Hoare’s retirement in July 1992 James and Liz Barnes were appointed as successors. James had been teaching at Akeley Wood School, near Buckingham, and had west country connections, having taught previously at Dumpton School, where Liz was matron.
James and Liz Barnes, Bill and Nora Grundy, Derek and Lydia Hoare
James and Liz introduced boarding for girls in an attempt to increase the number of girls in the school. Initially Churchill, at the top of the New Block, was the girls’ dormitory. The other fundamental change was the setting up of a Pre-Prep department for children aged from 3 to 7. As the school then adopted the National Curriculum the old form names disappeared to be replaced by ‘Years’. This caused confusion since the numbers did not correlate: previously children in their final year were in Form 6, now they were in Year 8.
As the school expanded, the need for indoor space increased. It soon became impossible to accommodate the whole school plus parents within the Grundy Hall in the main building. Thus Prize Giving had to be held outside on the terrace and for several years the weather held but it seemed unreasonable to expect such good fortune ad infinitum! School plays were another event that demonstrated the need for more space.
In 1996 an appeal was launched to raise funds to pay for a new multi-purpose hall to be constructed on what was left of the vegetable garden.
This building was completed in 1998 and it is hard now to imagine how the school coped without it! It not only provided a venue for theatrical productions and social events but was used as a sports hall and a place for boarders to play on wet weekends.
The Davies (1998-2008)
James and Liz Barnes left Perrott Hill after six years and moved to Chafyn Grove, in Salisbury. Mike and Isabelle Davies, with baby Pierre, arrived from Ashdown House in Sussex where Mike had been Deputy Head. Isabelle had taught English at a French School in Paris.
Initially, Mike and Isabelle lived in the flat in the main school and were in charge of the boarding; their door was always open and hot chocolate available. In 2005 they moved to Broomcroft Lodge and the Hodgins took over as Housemaster and Housemistress.
Mike and Isabelle Davies made their mark on the school in many ways. The Pre-Prep were arranged in, and around, the converted coach house and stable courtyard and the Music Department now double in size, moved to the top floor of the manor house. The popular, and very successful, Montessori Nursery was created and the annual Year 7 French exchange programme to Paris started in 2000. The school also saw the addition of a new ICT department, tennis and netball hardcourts and the refurbishment of the Orangery. In 2008 the new, much larger, sports hall was built and the theatre, complete with tiered seating for 300, was created out of the old sports hall.
The numbers at the school increased to approximately 200. Mike was a passionate historian; he could also be seen coaching games or directing the Year 8 leavers' plays. The Davies, with Pierre, Jacques and Anna-Louise, left Perrott Hill for Edge Grove in December 2008.
Robert and Lottie Morse, with their children, Daisy and Harry, and black labrador, Nel, moved to Perrott Hill in December 2008. Robert was Deputy Head at St Anselm's in Derbyshire and had previously been Housemaster at Mount House in Tavistock. Lottie had been Head of Art, and a housemistress and is passionate about drama. She produced the brilliant Year 8 leavers' play 'Bugsy Malone' at Perrott Hill in July 2009.
The school continues to thrive under Robert's enthusiastic and dedicated leadership. He is popular with pupils, staff and parents alike. The Music Wing has been re-decorated and the boys and girls dorm landings refurbished. Boarding is in demand and the boarding community is busier than ever.
