Repton UK History
The boarding students are supported by an expert team of housemasters, housemistresses and matrons, who engender a family atmosphere in each house.
Situated at the heart of England, Repton is a small, historic town, once reputedly the capital of the ancient Mercian kingdom and, for several centuries, home to a mediaeval priory. Many of the priory buildings remain to this day and form the centre of Repton School, our partner school.
The most distinctive feature surviving from mediaeval times is the Arch at the main entrance to the school which is reproduced at the front of the school in Dubai. Founded in 1557, Repton celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2007, the year Repton Dubai first opened its doors.
The turning point for Repton came in the middle of the nineteenth century when, under the inspired headship of Dr Pears, the school grew in size and fame, establishing the reputation that has continued to the present day.
With over six hundred students, Repton is large enough to achieve excellence in and out of the classroom, but small enough for individuals to flourish and grow.
The school is fully co-educational and all students are encouraged to pursue their goals with self-belief and ambition, while seeking out those areas in which they can excel, supported by the highly committed staff and with outstanding facilities at their disposal. Academic development at Repton is closely monitored by subject teachers and tutors, and the school’s results are very good, enabling sixth form students to compete very successfully for places at the leading British universities. In 2008 the students achieved 85.1 % A and B grades at A level, over 60% A* and A grades at GCSE, and a number of applicants gained entry to Oxford and Cambridge universities.
A sense of community pervades every aspect of life at Repton and the traditional house structure means that every student has a secure base in the school. Repton established a preparatory school in 1940, initially located in the town, before moving to Foremarke Hall seven years later.
Built in 1760, Foremarke Hall is an imposing Georgian mansion, built in the Paladian style, surrounded by the very best of English countryside. The school has flourished and, after Repton purchased the freehold in 1967, the site was changed out of all recognition as the facilities were developed to the highest standards.
Foremarke is today a boarding and day school for 450 boys and girls aged three to thirteen. The school enjoys an enviable reputation for its balance of excellent classroom teaching with national standard sporting facilities and achievements.
Repton has a long history of distinguished alumni in public life, ranging from politicians and clergymen to media celebrities and sports figures. They include Roald Dahl, the famous author, Harold Abrahams, Olympic 100 metres gold medallist and the novelist Christopher Isherwood. There are many proposals, some of them already being implemented, for bringing genuine meaning and substance to the links between Repton and Repton Dubai.
Two members of the governing body of Repton are permanent members of the Repton Dubai board, ensuring the greatest possible coherence between the two schools at all levels. There are numerous plans for developing the relationship, notably staff and students exchanges, common in-service training initiatives and inter-active classes for students of both schools. Not least there will be striking similarities between the two schools, in uniforms, house names and traditions, institutional language and in fact everything that goes to producing a common ethos and two caring, friendly and purposeful school environments some three thousand miles apart.
