Leighton Park School

Established	1890
Type	Independent day and boarding school
Religion	Quaker
Head	Alex McGrath BA PGCE
Deputy Heads	Nigel Williams and Eddie Falshaw
Founders	Dame Elizabeth and George Cadbury
Location	Shinfield Road Reading Berkshire RG2 7ED England
Staff	100 (approx.)
Students	500
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11–18
Houses	5 (4 Senior, 1 Junior)
Colours	Blue, Gold, Brown
Publication	The Park
Former pupils	Old Leightonians
Campus	60-acre (240,000 m2) parkland campus
Website	www.leightonpark.com

Leighton Park School sign

Leighton Park School is a co-educational Quaker independent school for both day and boarding pupils. It is situated in the town of Reading in Berkshire, in South East England. The school was founded in 1890, following the closure of Grove House School, also a Quaker establishment.

Overview[link]

The school is based in a parkland estate setting just south of the town centre of Reading, adjacent to the Whiteknights Park campus of the University of Reading. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. From 2009, the school has offered the International Baccalaureate qualification. In January 2011, John Dunston stepped down as Headmaster after over a decade in the post. He was succeeded by Alex McGrath, former deputy head of Trent College.

The latest edition of The Good Schools Guide describes Leighton Park as "one of the most distinctive schools we'd visited and we came away with a renewed sense of hope for the future. More schools would do well to adopt the LP model — it has integrity and honesty at heart".^[1] In December 2010, following inspection, the ISI wrote "The excellent personal development of the pupils is a strength of the school."^[2]

The School House and Attached Laboratories at Leighton Park School are Grade II listed buildings.^[3]

History[link]

The teaching of young people has always been a priority for Quakers; from the late seventeenth century onwards, many were involved in establishing schools for their own children and others in need. In this light, Leighton Park was opened in 1890 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), as a public school for boys, with the specific aim of preparing academically able boys to enter university, to think for themselves and to develop self-reliance.

The school was founded after Grove House School, also a Quaker school, closed in 1877. Grove School had educated notable personalities such as Lord Lister, Alfred Waterhouse and Thomas Hodgkin.

Nicknamed 'the Quaker Eton', Leighton Park has sent a high proportion of its pupils to Oxford or Cambridge.^[4] To this day it retains academic prestige, being described as a school that possesses "outstanding teaching, facilities and excellent academic results [that] give it the qualities that parents seek in a school" recently by ISBI schools.^[5]

Leighton Park grew from 4 boys in 1890 to 103 in the 1920s. By 1970 the school had 300 pupils, and in 1975 girls were admitted to the sixth form. In 1993 the school became fully coeducational.^[6] Today the school is home to 500 pupils drawn from over twenty different countries.^[7]

In 2004, 'Oakview', the new central-dining facility was introduced instead of traditional in-house dining. The facility was officially opened by Sir Steve Redgrave.

Traditions and routines[link]

Leighton Park, due to its Quaker faith, has marked customs and traditions which differ from those in Anglican schools. Some of these traditions are:

• "Collect": The daily routine meeting similar to that of assembly in other schools, where the school gathers for presentations and talks. Every collect is then finished with a silence lasting several minutes to reflect on the topic addressed in the meeting. The distinct difference between "Collect" and other similar meetings in Anglican schools is the omission of hymn singing.

• "Meeting for Worship": A weekly event which replaces "Collect" on Thursday, similar to Quaker meetings across the country. The meeting is held in silence to reflect on thoughts and feelings, with a free forum for anyone to stand up and break the silence by speaking about the issue on their mind. "Meeting for Worship" currently lasts 20–25 minutes, reduced from longer lengths over the years.

• "Monthly Meeting": A meeting held once a month which gives the chance for the pupil body to air grievances on any matter (such as dress code, lunch queues etc.). It is usually clerked by the Head Boy and Head Girl, alongside a member of staff who takes the minutes. The school senior management are usually present to respond to grievances. This form of response differs from other, more traditional, forms of Quaker Monthly Meeting. In its present form, senior staff respond directly to issues as they are raised. Traditionally, issues are not just considered by the senior management, but by the meeting as a whole. Such a method of consensus problem-solving reflects the quaker value of Equality.

Houses[link]

There are five houses at Leighton Park; four senior and one junior; with an average of 100 pupils in each senior house and approximately 90 pupils in the junior house. The first house established is named 'Grove', after Grove School, which Leighton Park has historical links with. The junior house, 'Fryer', houses pupils aged 11–13. All houses are mixed sex, and they all have facilities for day and boarding pupils. In early 2012, plans for a change to the house structure were considered and approved by Governors and the Senior Management Team. On announcement to the school and Old Leightonians it received concern and has since been suspended. Any future proposed changes will be subject to wide consultation.^[8]

Sport[link]

The school has a floodlit astroturf sports pitch and 22 tennis courts, along with four main sports fields.^[9] The school's sporting strengths lie in cricket and rugby for boys; hockey and netball for girls. Many other sports are catered for including football, athletics, tennis and swimming. The school awards scholarships for talented and capable sportsmen and women.

The school hosts an annual cross-country competition: the race is over 2.5km long. There is also a house 'Road Relay' race where 12 pupils, teams of four from each senior house, race to complete one lap of the kilometre-long road track. The results of the road relay count towards the annual House Cup, awarded at the end of each academic year. There are also other regular house sport competitions: rugby, football, athletics, hockey, tennis and swimming.

In April 2011, student Charlotte Turner (Year 10) qualified for the UK National County Cross-Country Championships.^[10]

The school recently hosted a Super Six Rugby Sevens Tournament, a spin-off of the 'Super Six' rugby XV cup competition that the school founded and takes part in with five other schools. It has won the cup on several occasions. The school also participates in the Daily Mail Cup rugby competition.

Music and drama[link]

Music[link]

The current^[when?] Head of Music is Rosemary Scales. At Leighton Park many instruments are taught, with opportunities being given to all students should they wish to learn. The school also has a fully equipped specialist recording studio. Leighton Park gives scholarships for dedicated and talented musicians.

Leighton Park is known for its annual House Music competition. The competition involves many students - from House 'Big Group' (where songs such as Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and Shania Twain's 'Man! I feel like a woman!' have been performed), to solo artists (Laura Marling competed live in 2007, but lost out in her category of "Original Song"). The house music competition's final standings award points to Houses, which go towards the annual House Cup.

The school offers Music GCSE and A-Level.

Drama[link]

There is one main theatre outside of the drama department at Leighton Park, Main Hall, where the annual School Play, and other plays, take place. There is usually one main School Play per academic year. The School Play usually takes place in the Spring Term and has a high reputation. It is normally fully booked every night.

In the past, the school has put on Evita, The Crucible, West Side Story, Grease and Much Ado About Nothing, as well as several other well known dramatic pieces.

The drama department is headed by Geraint Thomas, and supplemented by several other teachers. The school offers GCSE drama as well as A-level Theatre Studies.

Press[link]

Leighton Park has featured in the press most recently in light of the BBC Politics Show, which was hosted at Leighton Park in December 2010.^[11]

In April 2005, Quaker-based Sunday Worship was broadcast live from Leighton Park on BBC Radio 4. Heard by an estimated 1.75 million listeners, the sequence of readings, music, ministry and silence "reflected the essence of Quaker values to the wider world."^[12]

Leighton Park also featured in the press in 2005 for the introduction of a music workshop by ex-child soldier turned musician, Ben Okafor.^[13]

The school is mentioned in the play and film, The History Boys, by Alan Bennett. The headmaster mentions schools he would like to emulate regarding high pupil entry to Oxford; among them is Leighton Park — 'or is that an open prison?', he adds.

Former pupils[link]

Notable old pupils include:

• Sir David Lean, Oscar award-winning film director
• Tony Baldry, MP
• Michael Foot, former Labour Party leader
• John Ryman, former Labour Party MP
• Jim Broadbent, actor
• Quentin Davies, former MP and minister
• Lord Caradon, former ambassador
• Stuart Zender, musician
• Sir John Adye, former director of the GCHQ
• Sir Roland Penrose, artist, historian and poet
• Ian Stillman, missionary
• Laura Marling, singer and songwriter

Further reading[link]

• The Leightonian [school magazine]. (Pub. 1895).
• Old Leightonians Club. A list of names and addresses of the old boys of Leighton Park School. (Pub. 1945, 1957, 1973, 1990).
• Brown, S.W. Leighton Park: A history of the school. (Pub. 1952).
• Leighton Park School, Leighton Park: The first 100 years. (Pub. 1990).
• The Park [school magazine]. (Pub. Termly).

See also[link]

• List of Friends Schools
• Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
• Old Leightonians Cricket Club

References[link]

External links[link]

• School website
• Old Leightonians Cricket Club website
• ISBI entry

Coordinates: 51°26′15″N 0°56′51″W / 51.4375°N 0.9475°W / 51.4375; -0.9475

Park School may refer to:

United Kingdom[link]

• Parc Primary School, Treorchy, Wales
• Park C.P. Infants School, Wrexham, Wales
• Park Community School, Havant, England
• Park Junior School, Wrexham, Wales
• Park Primary, Bargoed, Wales
• Park Primary School, Doncaster, England
• Park High School (Stanmore), England
• Park High School (Birkenhead), Birkenhead, England
• Park School (Blackpool), Blackpool, England
• Park School (Kilmarnock), Kilmarnock, Scotland
• Park School (Stranraer), Stranraer, Scotland
• Park School for Girls, Ilford, England
• Stocklake Park Community School (formerly known as Park School), Aylesbury, England
• The Park Community School, Barnstaple, England

United States[link]

• Roy H. Park School of Communications of Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York
• Park School of Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland
• Park Elementary School (Moorhead, Minnesota), listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Clay County, Minnesota
• Park School (Omaha), Nebraska (closed)
• The Park School, Brookline, MA
• Park Elementary School in Natrona County, WY
• Park School in Mill Valley, CA

This disambiguation page lists articles about schools, colleges, or other educational institutions which are associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Maxwell Ashby Armfield (October 5, 1881 – January 23, 1972) was an English artist, illustrator and writer.

Born to a Quaker family in Ringwood, Hampshire, Armfield was educated at Sidcot School and at Leighton Park School. In 1887 he was admitted to Birmingham School of Art, then under the headmastership of Edward R. Taylor and established as a major centre of the Arts and Crafts Movement. There he studied under Henry Payne and Arthur Gaskin and, outside the school, received instruction in tempera painting from Joseph Southall at Southall's studio in Edgbaston.^[1]

He was later to recall:

Leaving Birmingham in 1902, he moved to Paris to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière under Gustave Courtois and René Menard, where he became an associate of Gaston Lachaise, Keith Henderson, and Norman Wilkinson. He exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1904, where his painting Faustine was bought and donated to the Musée du Luxembourg.^[1]

In 1909 he married the author and playwright Constance Smedley and, like many with connections to the Arts and Crafts Movement in Birmingham, settled in the Cotswolds. The couple became close collaborators: working together to combine design, illustration, text and theatre. Armfield's wife also influenced him to become a pacifist and Christian Scientist.^[2]

From 1915 the couple spent seven years in the United States.^[3]

A detail from Armfield's painting Self-Portrait, 1901, is used as the cover illustration of the Oxford World's Classics 2006 edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Armfield has paintings in the collection of several British institutions including Derby Art Gallery, Southampton and Nottingham Gallery and the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery.^[4]

References[link]

Laura Marling
Performing at The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, in November 2009.
Background information
Born	(1990-02-01) 1 February 1990 (age 22)
Origin	Eversley, Hampshire, England
Genres	Contemporary folk, folk rock
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano
Years active	2006–present
Labels	WayOutWest, Virgin
Associated acts	Noah and the Whale, The Rakes, Mystery Jets, Johnny Flynn, Mumford & Sons
Website	LauraMarling.com

Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is an English folk musician from Eversley, Hampshire.

Initially prominent within the London folk scene, she has also toured with a number of well-known indie artists in the UK. Her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim and her second album I Speak Because I Can were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2008 and 2010 respectively. She won Best Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards.

Biography[link]

Marling was born in Hampshire, England, the youngest of three daughters of a music teacher,^[1] and learned guitar at an early age. Her father, who ran a recording studio, introduced her to folk music and shaped her musical taste. This was "a bit of a blessing and a bit of a curse. I couldn’t slot myself into the age-appropriate genre", she later remembered.^[2] Marling was educated at Leighton Park School, a private Quaker school in Reading, Berkshire.^[3] She has said that during this time she felt uneasy around other people and had a fear of death.^[4]

At the age of 16 Marling moved to London, where she soon became part of a cluster of intertwined bands drawn to acoustic instruments and tradition-tinged melodies which formed a movement labelled "nu-folk" by the British press.^[2] She became part of the original line-up of indie folk band Noah and the Whale and was romantically linked with singer/guitarist Charlie Fink.^[3][5] She is featured as a background vocalist on their début album Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down; however, she left the group before the album's 2008 release and split up with Fink that same year.^[5][6] She also appeared on The Rakes track "Suspicious Eyes", from the band's 2007 album Ten New Messages, credited as 'Laura Marlin'. Marling would later collaborate with Mystery Jets, contributing guest vocals to the single "Young Love", released 10 March 2008. Previously, Marling was in a relationship with Marcus Mumford; they broke up around Christmas 2010, but are reportedly still friends.^[7]

[edit] Alas, I Cannot Swim

She was personally invited to tour with Jamie T after he attended her second-ever solo gig. She has also toured with a number of other musicians from the UK and beyond, including Adam Green from the anti-folk band The Moldy Peaches. She performed at the 2007 O₂ Wireless Festival and also performed at the first Underage Festival in August 2007 at Victoria Park, East London, before releasing her debut EP "London Town" on WayOutWest Records.

Her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim was released on 4 February 2008,^[8] and later nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize.^[9] The album, as well as subsequent singles, were released on Virgin Records. The third and final single from her album, "Night Terror" was released on 27 October 2008, coinciding with a 6-date "Night Terror tour".^[10]

Marling's television appearances include The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Later With Jools Holland, performing "Ghosts" and "New Romantic" respectively. In 2008 she appeared on Russell Brand's Radio 2 show alongside her sister. She once chose to perform on the street after being denied entry to one of her own performances for being underage.^[11][12]

[edit] I Speak Because I Can

The follow-up to Alas I Cannot Swim, titled I Speak Because I Can, was released on 22 March 2010. Produced by Ethan Johns, the album has a more mature sound and lyricism, dealing with "responsibility, particularly the responsibility of womanhood."^[13] The album is preceded by the singles "Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)", released on iTunes in December 2009^[14] and "Devil's Spoke" on 15 March 2010. On 28 March 2010, I Speak Because I Can entered the UK Albums Chart at Number 4. It was also nominated for the 2010 Mercury Music Prize.

[edit] A Creature I Don't Know

In 2010, Marling announced that she would release two albums in 2010, the first of which being I Speak Because I Can. She later announced that there was a change of plan and that she wouldn't be releasing a second album that year. She did, however, add that the album would be better due to the delay, and that she hoped to have it finished for February 2011. In June 2011, the new album's title was revealed to be A Creature I Don't Know and the album was released on 12 September 2011.^[15]

Discography[link]

• Alas, I Cannot Swim (2008)
• I Speak Because I Can (2010)
• A Creature I Don't Know (2011)

Laura Marling also has recorded various songs such as "Soulless Child", "Candlelight", "Karma" and "Mexico" (all of which can be heard on YouTube but are not yet for sale) as well as "She's Changed" (of which a live version is for sale, but not a studio version) and "Such a Shame" (which is neither for sale nor available on YouTube).

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Laura Marling

• Official Website

Jools Holland
Holland at the British Academy Television Awards 2009
Background information
Birth name	Julian Miles Holland
Born	(1958-01-24) 24 January 1958 (age 54) Blackheath, London, England
Genres	Boogie-woogie, jazz, blues, R&B
Occupations	Musician, composer, television presenter, bandleader
Instruments	Piano, keyboard, guitar
Years active	1974–present
Associated acts	Squeeze Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
Website	Official site

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze (1974-1980 & 1985-1990) and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Magazine and Bono.

Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004, he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B music. He currently hosts Later... with Jools Holland, a music-based show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show Hootenanny, is based.^[1]