THE ALLIED SCHOOLS

The Allied Schools is a small grouping of independent schools in England that share a common history and purpose. The group’s members are schools that were established by the Rev. Percy Warrington in the early 20^th Century as Church of England affiliated public schools with an evangelical ethos. Starting with the acquisition of Wrekin College in 1921, the Allied Schools group (under the stewardship of the Martyr’s Memorial Trust, would acquire and establish a number of other public and preparatory schools across England, one in Wales and another in Kenya. Many of these schools are no longer members of the Allied Schools group which has changed from a school management trust to a formal association and support group. However a number of well-known English public schools still maintain their relationship under the Allied Schools banner.

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ABOUT

Warrington had been the vicar at Monkton Combe where he was affiliated with the famous public school there and had ambitions to assume a senior role in the management of that school. However, over the course of his tenure, his relationship with the school deteriorated heavily and he, ultimately, determined to acquire his own school in which he could develop his evangelical Anglican mission and deliver an educational model in line with the same.

Having acquired Wrekin College in 1921, Warrington discovered the opportunity to establish a public school in the new to market Stowe House – a renowned country house that had been the seat of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos. At that time a number of potential investors were interested in opening a new public school at the splendid property and Warrington was eager to win the prize and assert himself as the patron of a series of great schools. In this endeavour he had often been referred to as the Evangelical Woodard (a reference to Nathaniel Woodard who had similarly established a group of public schools affiliated with the Church of England in the Anglo-Catholic tradition).

Under the Church of England Trust which would merge with the Martyr’s Memorial Trust, Warrington acquired Stowe and subsequently acquired Canford House in Dorset where he established a school of the same name, ostensibly to relocate pupils and faculty from the Clarence School which was seeking to relocate. As with his purchase of Wrekin College (previously known as Wellington College until Warrington changed the name on acquisition), these acquisitions were financed with loans from the London Life Association.

Over the next number of years, Warrington’s organisation would acquire and open a number of schools including Harrogate Ladies’ College, Lowther College, Felixstowe College, Westonbirt School, St Monica’s, Limuru Girls’ School and Jersey Ladies’ College.

However, the group’s rapid expansion was reliant on significant financing and ran into difficulty in the Great Depression era with the result that creditors were forced to seek external funds to support the ongoing administration of the school which came with strict stipulations about the ongoing role of the trust in the management of the group. On repayment of these loans in 1980, a new management structure was agreed and the Allied Schools Council was born.

Allied Schools maintains a two-tier membership structure, with full members assuming a seat on the Council. Full members include many of the schools initially founded by or acquired by Warrington. The second tier of membership is Associate membership which is open to any school that identifies with the ethos of the group and wishes to assume the benefits of participating in the association. Such benefits include a bespoke insurance scheme, administrative support, best practice and knowledge sharing and development of faith-based education models in keeping with the organisation’s founding purpose.

Some of the initial member schools have since closed down with St Monica’s premises having been taken over by Legal & General who provided the refinancing package in the 1930s. Many, however, remain as some of England’s finest public schools. Additionally, a number of other schools have associated with the organisation over the years, including Barnardiston Hall, Riddlesworth Hall and St John’s-on-the-Hill (now Dean Close St John’s). These schools were joined by a number of preparatory schools established by or affiliated with the great public schools established by Warrington such as Highfield (Harrogate Ladies’ College), The Old Hall School (Wrekin College) and Rose Hill (Westonbirt).

The Allied Schools organisation plays a less significant role in the administration of the schools today than in the past, acting more as a formal association rather than a management body and it’s current membership is limited to only a handful of schools, listed below.

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MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES

CHOOSE LIST VIEW FOR A SIMPLE LIST OF ALL LISTED SCHOOLS. ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN SELECT SCHOOLS USING THE MAP BELOW.

FORMER OR LAPSED MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES

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