AN ENGLISH PRIVATE SCHOOL: WHITGIFT

My grandchild Matt was in a camp in April.   The firm "Super Camps" rents the institutions of a private  school,  during the school break.  So I could  look at an English  private school, but only from outside.

The school is in the centre of South Croydon. It takes 20 minutes by train from the centre of London. 

The school  originally operated  on a part of South  Croydon, it's called North End,   then it was moved to its present location in Hailing Park in 1931. This area and the  buildings were owned by Lord Howard of Effingham (1536-1624) an English admiral who was the commander for the English maritime  fleet against the Spanish Armada.

The buildings of the school are in a 45 hectars area. 

There are old and new houses, great gardens, 

parks, 

sport centre,

 music school and concert hall, IT centre, laboratories and a little zoo with peacocks, geese, flamingos, kangaroos and an albino wallaby. 

There were two albino wallabies but one of them drowned in a little pond. There was very big fog and he didn't see the water.

The school's name is Whitgift. John Whitgift 

was the last archbishop of Canterbury  in the time of Elisabeth I.  The school was founded in 1590 and the teaching started in 1600.

In the school boys study only, between 10 and 18 years old.  

The school fee is fairly  high, 17000 pounds a year. The kids have  very  serious  entrance exams and they have  to be especially talented at  sport, art, natural sciences, etc.   There is a possibility  of a full grant as well.

In the past more than 400 years, the current director is the 26th.