The school began life in 1888 in Bolnore Road, Haywards Heath, as Belvedere School. A census from 1891 shows that Stephen Yates founded the school and Charles Gregory secured a post under him. Yates (aged 62) was named as the Headmaster and there were two assistant teachers, Charles Gregory (19) and Frank Bailey (18). Another much later census of 1901 shows Charles Gregory had become the Headmaster. In amongst other staff members appears the name of his sister Aimee. His brother also assisted in the running of the school. The picture (right), taken in 1939, is of Charles, on the right, and Edward 'Ted' Gregory on the left.
'Belvedere' and 'Gregory' are names which still survive today as two of the four houses in the current school. When the two Gregory brothers had to go off to war, the school was continued, being run by their wives.
In 1939 the school moved to Summerhill Lane to its present position. The school was owned by Mr Ewins, with Summerhill Court School holding the lease. It was very much a boys' boarding school at the time with 60 pupils boarding. Six senior boys slept in the Lodge and their teachers slept in what are now the music practice rooms. Others resided in the Lodge and the house. Despite being cramped, the school was a very happy place to be and it worked well, the 24 hour day giving the school a special atmosphere; and there was no shortage of day boys to fill boarding vacancies.
Summerhill Court (Haywards Heath) Ltd was formed in June 1949 by Mr Ewins to operate the school. One of the original directors was Mr G V Seanor, who was a prominent chemist in the area.
At this point in the school's history the figure of Jack Bucknall played an important role. He was educated in Switzerland. He went on to the LSE, graduated with a BSc and went to work for a pharmaceutical company in London. He was a successful risk-taker, a compulsive games player and he taught a little junior maths but he spent most of his time playing golf and squash, passing away on the squash court aged 70 in 1987. And when it was dark he played chess and whist and finished the Telegraph crossword every day. He was quite a character.
His father, 'Buckie' had started a school in Devon which he then moved on to what had been an old people's home in Heathfield which he named Tavistock Hall. An early prospectus described it as 'set amidst racing pines 600 feet above sea level and with an abundance of wholesome food, much of which is grown in our own kitchen gardens'. Buckie then bought Skippers Hill near Mayfield and brought a reluctant Jack back to Heathfield. By then he had married and had six children, so having his own school made a lot of sense! At heart a business man, he found the offer of a large six figure sum for Tavistock Hall too tempting, so he sought and found Summerhill Court, on which he spent £10,000 to secure the lease, goodwill and day pupils from Mr & Mrs Harold Ewins.
So in 1973, Jack Bucknall sold off Tavistock Hall for housing in Heathfield and took over Summerhill Court School, renaming it Tavistock and Summerhill, with Jack Bucknall and Terry Locke as joint Headmasters. Terry was the 'front man' with Jack taking on the role of Bursar and staying more in the background, though he did some teaching. Mr Derek Barton became Treasurer of the Friends and when the Chairmanship became vacant in around 1984, he became Chair of the Friends.
At this time, Mr Terry Locke had been working at Rokeby, a local day school in Kingston, London, and Jack asked him to join the school. After at first refusing the position of Headmaster, Jack proved persuasive, guaranteeing Mr Locke a free hand in running the school. Terry Locke recruited boys and staff, reorganised the routine and saw to all the educational arrangements of the school.
Jack, having bought the lease from Mr Ewins, formed Summerhill Court Haywards Heath Ltd as the trading company. The school then officially acquired the name 'Tavistock and Summerhill'. The boys got on very well from the beginning and there was no rivalry, despite the dual uniforms for the first year. And the 36 year-old Terry Locke joined the school as Headmaster to unify the two schools. The school was so short of space that Mr Locke lived in what is now the school office, sleeping on a sofa bed! There was also a resident matron, a daily lunch cook and a resident cook, Bridget Finnegan (Finnie to all), who came from Heathfield and who did big cooked breakfasts and teas. The secretary for many years at this time was Mrs Carolyn Brownhill.
At this time the school was boys only. It became a charitable trust in 1984 with all the governors being ex-parents plus Bill Blackshaw (Headmaster of Brighton College). Girls arrived in numbers at the school in 1986 with the closure of nearby Hatchlands School and Dumbrells at Ditchling. At around the same time as girls were being added to the school's community, so boarding gradually disappeared with flexi-boarding being phased out in 1987. The first girl at the school is believed to have been Georgina Andrup (aged 4) in 1982. Elizabeth Barton joined the school in 1984, by which time there were quite a few girls attending the school.
Around this time, 1986, it transpired that there had been two leases granted to Jack Bucknall, both of which were about to expire. One was for the building and immediate grounds, the other was for the playing fields (now Summerhill Grange). The landlords had offered to renew the lease on the building part for 25 years provided that Jack and the parents would actively support the planning application for the playing fields area. Derek Barton was instrumental in working to secure this support to ensure the continuation of the school as an educational establishment. A group of interested bodies, including Bill Dixon, Alan Barber and current Chair of Governors Mike Day, gathered to see what could be done to save the playing fields. Unfortunately the landlords had become reluctant to discuss this due to Jack's cavalier attitude over the years. For example, what is now the top quad used to be fine lawns until Jack decided to create a playgroup and gym, without the landlord's permission. So this created some bad feeling and the new lease was fraught with problems but the solicitor was impressed by the group's enthusiasm to keep the school going on a professional footing.
After acknowledging that the playing fields were a lost cause the landlord suggested a financial deal whereby he would make a donation to a charity, to be set up by the Friends, which would enable the purchasing of the school from Mr Bucknall.
After negotiations between Mr Derek Barton and Mr Ian White, a parent at the time, and with the support of Brighton College's recently retired Head, Bill Blackshaw and solicitor Derek Sparrow (also involved with Brighton College), a new charity was set up. Ian White later joined the Governing Board as Chairman some 11 years later, in 1999. Mr Derek Barton became Chairman of the new committee in 1987 and the new company of Tavistock and Summerhill School was established. With Derek Sparrow's help, charitable status was established.
During that time a new lease was negotiated with the landlord and a very positive relationship with the landlord's team was established. The new company purchased the shares in Summerhill Court School (HH) Ltd from Jack in 1988. Once Jack retired, Terry was very much on his own. Ian Niblett was appointed bursar initially to support him and latterly John Barnett has been bursar with now Mrs White (Ian White's sister-in-law) in the position.
Bill Blackshaw and Derek Sparrow remained on the Board for some years and their advice was invaluable. Over the years, the School had various governors on the board and, after twelve years as Chairman, Derek Barton stood down. Alan Barber, a former pupils of Summerhill Court School in the 1950s, retired from the Board shortly afterwards. Subsequently Tavistock and Summerhill has had two further Headmasters on the current site, Mr Michael Barber and Mr John Newman, before the arrival of the current incumbent.
The school is now home to around 120 Pre-Prep and Prep School pupils with an additional 70 Nursery pupils also on the roll. It is situated on a beautiful site only a few minutes from the centre of Haywards Heath. It remains a co-educational day, non-denominational school and is run by a charitable trust.
Please contact the school hm@tavistockandsummerhill.co.uk if you have information regarding the history of the school.
