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Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent school in Woodford Green, London, with about 900 pupils aged between 7 and 19. It was founded in 1737, following the death of its founder, Francis Bancroft, who left a sizeable sum of money to the Drapers' Company, which continues to act as trustee for the school. Bancroft's began as a small charitable day school for boys in the Mile End Road, with an attached almshouse for 24 elderly gentlemen, and over the next 250 years it evolved steadily to its present form; it is now one of the country's leading coeducational schools.
The foundation was originally known as Bancroft's Hospital, and also acted as home for the almsmen until the late 19th century. Then the school moved to a new site in Woodford Green, and the original buildings were demolished; the site is now occupied by Queen Mary College, one of the colleges of London University.
The new school in Woodford Green occupies four and a half acres, and the main buildings were designed by Arthur Blomfield, who was also responsible for Selwyn College in Cambridge. Originally there were just one hundred pupils, including sixty boarders, but the numbers grew steadily during the twentieth century, until there were nearly one thousand on the roll. The buildings were also extended, with the Science Block (1910), a new Assembly Hall (1937), the Adams Building (1964), and a new Gymnasium Block (1975).
Following the loss of Direct Grant status in the 1970s, the Governors decided on three courses of action. These were to discontinue boarding, to admit girls for the first time, and to build a new Preparatory Department. These were all completed by 1990. In 1997 the Government abolished the Assisted Places Scheme, which helped children from poor families to attend the school; the Governors replaced these by Francis Bancroft Scholarships, which were supported by the Drapers' Company, and by the residue of Francis Bancroft's original will.
In 2004 a new building programme began. The courtyard Building, consisting of new kitchens, further teaching rooms, and a new Sixth Form Centre, was opened by Chris Woodhead in February 2006, and a new Sports Hall should be completed by August 2006.
Year names
The preparatory school has four years which are known as:
- Alphas
- Betas
- Prep Ones
- Prep Twos
The senior school has its own naming system, in ascending age order:
- Thirds
- Removes
- Lower Fourths
- Upper Fourths
- Fifth Form
- Lower Sixth
- Upper Sixth
Notable Old Bancroftians
- Connop Thirlwall (1797–1875), Bishop of Saint David's, 1840–1874, and historian
- Sir Allan Powell (1876–1948), Chairman of Governors of the BBC, 1939–1946
- Henry Mess (1884–1944), social worker and sociologist
- Sir Reader Bullard (1885–1976), Ambassador to Iran, 1943–1945
- Sir Leslie Peppiatt (1891–1968), solicitor
- Sir Wilfrid Sheldon (1901–1983), paediatrician
- Sir Frederick Warner (born 1910), chemical engineer
- Denis Quilley (1927–2003), actor
- John Bromley (1934–2002), sports broadcasting executive
- Sir Neil Macfarlane (born 1936), politician
- David Pannick, barrister
- Michael Richard Lynch (born 1965), the first British-based Internet billionaire entrepreneur
- Alan Davies (born 1966), comedian and actor
- Hari Kunzru (born 1969), novelist
- Russell Lissack (born 1981), guitarist with Bloc Party
- Sam Porter (born 1987), medic
- Michael Baum (born 1987), officer in the household cavalry