School pdf admissions brochure - Flipbook - Page 7
Berkhampstead has grown considerably since it was founded over
75 years ago both in terms of numbers and physical size.
The school’s founder, Mrs Edna Andrews, decided to start a
school when her husband fell ill and was less able to provide for
the family. The rambling family home - named ‘Berkhampstead’
- was partly converted into school rooms, and the new
establishment opened its doors in 1945 with 22 pupils aged
from 3-11. The earliest school fees were £5 per term.
Pupil numbers grew and with the success came a need to expand
so the current Pre-Prep building was purchased to complement
Berkhampstead (the Prep building). In 1964, Mrs Andrews sold
the school and retired to Devon but returned to Cheltenham in
the 1990s and regularly attended school functions and events until
her death, aged 105, in 2009.
The school’s growing popularity has resulted in a need to continue
to extend and expand. This century has seen the extension of
the Prep building to include specialist art and music rooms while
the purpose-built Andrews Centre was built to accommodate a
modern Early Years complex. In 2012, the Berkhampstead Day
Nursery was opened after a neighbouring red-brick Victorian
house was converted for our very youngest children.
MOST IMPORTANTLY,
MRS ANDREWS FOUNDED
THE SCHOOL SO THAT
CHILDREN COULD ENJOY A
‘WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION
WHATEVER THEIR TALENTS’
AND THESE VALUES REMAIN
CENTRAL TO THE SCHOOL
WELL INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.