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WOTTON HOUSE WOTTON GARDENS HORTON ROAD KINGSHOLM & WOTTON GLOUCESTER CHELTENHAM GLOUCESTERSHIRE SEVERN VALLEY Our Locations Wotton House School can normally be found in an elegant Georgian town-house in the historic and mysterious district of Kingsholm and Wotton - once home to a great Royal palace. But our students can also often be found at The Wilderness, or skiing or swimming in Gloucester, or helping with lambing on the school farm. These pages describe our locations, the pros and cons of the twin cities of Gloucester and Cheltenham, unfriendly rivals for the last two hundred years, and the glorious county of Gloucestershire. Positioned precisely between Bristol to the south and Birmingham to the north, no other county can be so neatly divided into three completely different terrains: rolling hills, river plain and ancient forest. W otton House: 100 Years of Education ​ The history of Wotton House divides neatly into three chapters. The first (1700-1815) as a private house handed down through descent. The second (1815-1925) still as a private house but changing hands on the open market several times. The third (1925-now) as an educational establishment - now approaching its 100th anniversary. ​ 1. Wotton House, which is dated 1707, was built for Thomas Horton. "It is of two storeys with attics and originally had outbuildings flanking a small forecourt on the east and a large walled garden on the west. Many original fittings, including two staircases with twisted balusters, remain." Source here . What do we know of Thomas Horton? There were actually three in a row, but it is a sad history: ​ (i) Thomas Horton (d. 1693), left money and land to his son: ​ (ii) Thomas Horton (d. 1727), married Mary Blanch, declared lunatic 1722, left Wotton to his son: (iii) Thomas Horton (d. 1755), declared lunatic in 1746, moved to Abergavenny . Mary Blanch was the daughter of John Blanch ​ who was MP for Gloucester (1710-13) and lived at Wotton Court (there is reference here to Wotton Court, also known as Spencers, garden illustrated by Kip but now destroyed; also here ). ​ Matters became complicated because Thomas (iii) left Wotton both to the Brereton family in one will and to his two sisters in another! Eventually the estate was partitioned three ways (one can imagine the legal fees) and ended up in the hands of: ​ (iv) Rev Richard Brereton (d. 1801) who enlarged the estate and left it to his son: ​ (v) Thomas Brereton (d. 1814) who took his wife's surname by deed poll on his marriage to Mary Westfaling. A wealthy and well-connected couple Lord Nelson and Lady Emma stayed with them after the Battle of Trafalgar , but sadly not at Wotton House. ​ This ends the first chapter of Wotton House, passing by descent through two wealthy local families. ​ Thomas's very handsome bust is in the Louvre and a copy can be seen in St Mary's Church, Ross-on Wye . He was rather touchingly described as having a " delicate frame of body but unusual vigour and energy of mind." ​ 2. The house was extended and some rooms were redecorated in the early 19th century by which time the formal garden had been destroyed, although part of the outer walls remains. ​ (vi) Wotton House then transferred, presumably by sale for the first time, to another Reverend, Edward Colston Greville (d. 1830), but he only held it long enough to sell for the benefit of his seven children. ​ (vii) The next transfer is unclear but by 1838 the owner of Wotton House was a Kitty Niblett (which is a great name). The extensions may be her work. She passed it on via her will dated 1840 to her son Daniel Niblett. Kitty Niblett wa s an interesting character. She was one of the Whitcombe sisters , Fanny, Judith and Kitty, daughters of the Rev John Morton's sister Elizabeth (of Redmarley in north Gloucestershire). Judith had an 'unfortunate and unhappy' marriage and died before her sisters who inherited land in Worcestershire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Norfolk! Kitty married John Niblett of Haresfield House and owner of another 1,000 acres himself. ​ (viii) Daniel John Niblett (d. 1862) but the house was sold by Trustees under his will in 1873 to: ​ (ix) Charles Betteridge Walker (1842-1893). Wealthy timber merchant, in 1867 Walker had Hillfield House on Denmark Road, rebuilt. This beautiful house went on the market in February 2020 for £1.85 million (having been sold by the county council in 2017). A compulsive house buyer he also bought Norton Court in 1871 - he must have had a very large mortgage! ​ Norton Court itself was demolished after a large fire in 1959. On his death his estate passed to his son, George. (x) George Norton Walker (1871-1956). Timber merchant, Captain in the army, landowner, churchwarden. It must have been George who sold Wotton House but frustratingly we are unable to find any further details as yet. ​ This ends the second, rather uneventful chapter of Wotton House and brings its time as a private residence to a close. ​ 3. In 1925 Wotton House was acquired by Gloucestershire County Council and began its third chapter, as an educational institution: (xi) Gloucestershire County Council converted Wotton House into a hostel for its College of Domestic Science (sometimes Training College, sometimes School); a large extension was made on the north in 1931. Gloucestershire College of Education was formed in 1967, originating from the College of Cookery and Domestic Science, and merged with 3 other colleges to become GlosCAT in 1980. This then split in around 1990 into Further and Higher Education pathways and the latter eventually became the University of Gloucestershire in 2001. ​ (xii) Gloucestershire Area Health Authority bought the house in the late 1970s. One source says that the School of Domestic Science moved to new buildings in Oxtalls in 1958, so it is not clear what use was made of Wotton House between then and the late 70s - presumably it was rented as a nursing college but I have not found any records. ​ (xiii) Redcliffe College bought Wotton House in 1995. Originally founded in London in 1892, Redcliffe has now (2020) merged with the missionary All Nations Christian College, based in Ware. ​ (xiv) International Village Education Ltd (our company) bought Wotton House in 2016 as it puts on its fourth educational avatar, as an Independent International School. Rather oddly the sales brochure from Knight Frank can still be found online . BACK TO TOP Kipp's Drawing of Wotton House shortly after building, c 1712 Kipp's Drawing of Gloucester, c 1712. Wotton House is on the right of the drawing about half way down. Bust of Thomas Westfaling, Ross on Wye church Charles Betteridge Walker and daughter Evelyn. Source . George and Meta Baird Norton Walker. Source . Book written by Gloucestershire College of Domestic Science: now rare. Source . Anchor 1 Wotton Gardens ​ The information in this section comes from Nigel Hepper's unpublished "A Guide to the Gardens and Grounds of Redcliffe College " (2022). The bird's eye view drawn by Kipp shows the original layout of the gardens in around 1712. "A broad central path leads away from the house towards the cathedral. There is also a formal garden having four trees each in a circular bed and beyond a large, neat vegetable plot; to the east lies a knot garden with twelve square beds; beyond that is a large rectangular orchard." ​ The boundary walls appear to enclose the same area as today's grounds but of course all the formal gardens are long gone. ​ "An undated and unsigned painting, probably of the late Victorian period, shows the rear of the old house with part of the lawn and four circular flower beds." This painting and a copy of the engraving still hang on the walls at Wotton House. ​ "Today the frontage of the college retains the elegance of a past age. Judging from the size and species of the trees (Atlas Cedar, Holm Oak, London Plane) still present they appear to have been planted during the second half of the nineteenth century." ​ When Redcliffe College purchased the property the gardens were very run down. "Numerous plants donated by Beacons's Nurseries of Eckington, near Pershore, and by Colin Mann were mass planted by Reg Chuter and Nigel Hepper." These included the Chusan Palm in Palm Court which very sadly fell this winter. We will try to replace with another of the same species. ​ During the 1990s Gloucester City Council surveyed the site and issued Tree Preservation Orders on many of the trees. The numbers can be seen on the plan below. Horton Road: Hospital History BACK TO TOP The Crescent, Horton Road Hopsital Philip Halling / The Crescent, Horton Road, Gloucester via Wikipedia The Crescent: close up. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital Horton Road Yard - in need of TLC Horton Road has a number of interesting properties in addition to Wotton House; this section looks at some. 1. (i) The former Horton Road Hospital was the County's first mental hospital. It was originally known as Wotton Asylum and later the First County Lunatic Asylum ; building began in 1815, but because of financial problems work was delayed and it finally opened in 1823. The central grand 'crescent' was designed by William Stark to house 24 wealthy patients and their servants, and there were wings for 60 paupers and 26 charity patients . New extensions were built in the mid 1800s after an increase in the number of paupers, and in 1856, when the County and City took over management, the hospital was converted to paupers only and became known as the County Asylum. ​ (ii) In 1885 a Second County Asylum was opened and when the National Health Service was set up in 1948, the two sites became known as the Horton Road Hospital and the Coney Hill Hospital . Horton Road Hospital finally closed in 1988, and was left derelict until the main building was converted into apartments in 2005. ​ (iii) Barnwood House Hospital was the largest private mental hospital in the county. It was founded by the Gloucester Asylum Trust in 1860 as an asylum for wealthy and charity patients as by this time, general and pauper patients were being treated at the Horton Road Hospital. Barnwood House became popular with the military and clergy – at one time, it boasted an Archbishop amongst its patients. During the late 1800s it was praised as a model of good practice. After the First World War former soldiers, including war poet and composer Ivor Gurney, were treated with a regime of what we would call psychotherapy, and recreations such as cricket. It closed in 1968 although its park is maintained by the County Council as a Barnwood Arboretum. Two interesting snippets: Ross Ashby was director of Research between 1947 and 1959, before going to the USA as a pioneer of Cybernetics. Secondly The Wilderness was owned by Barnwood House Hospital between 1884 and 1919 as a sanatorium for up to fifteen ladies. ​ 2. Horton Road Chapel . A chapel was erected in 1849 in front of the original County Lunatic Aslyum. But in 1873 this was replaced by the existing building built on the site of the asylum's burial ground, and which remained in use until it was converted to offices in the early 1980s and then into Chapel House Care Centre as a care home. Before Covid our students did voluntary work there. ​ 3. The Raikes Centre at 3 Horton Road is an alternative provision school, part of GFAPS . Its name is a tribute to the populariser of Sunday schools, Robert Raikes (1736-1811), who opened several establishments in the city and publicised them, and himself, vigorously. Today these schools are seen as the forerunners of the English state school system. Raikes' overarching belief in the importance of education was pithily expressed: ​ “Ignorance is the root of the degradation everywhere around us, Idleness is a consequence of ignorance, Idleness begets vice, and vice leads to the gallows,” ​ 4. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is a huge (683 bed) - and very ugly - general hospital which covers much of the land to the west of Wotton House, almost up to the railway station. Unfortunately it appears to be understaffed and overcapacity most of the time. One part of it is called Wotton Lawn ​ Hospital: this is an 88-bed mental health hospital, carrying on the tradition of mental health care and support on Horton Road. ​ 5. Horton Road Yard has been derelict since the 1990s but was once part of the great Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (1860-1980s) which built tanks during the war, carriages for London Underground and the very first London electric taxis. A proposal to turn it into a museum has so far come to nothing. ​ ​ Anchor 2 Kingsholm and Wotton: Ancient Royal Do main - and Lost Palace? BACK TO TOP Wotton House is on Horton Road which forms the eastern boundary of Kingsholm and Wotton district ward (population 12,000). The city of Gloucester is divided into 18 district wards; they all tend to angle themselves slightly off true to the right. To simplify they can be divided into 3 rough areas (wards listed south to north): ​ West: Quedgeley Field Court, Quedgeley Severn Vale, Westgate, Kingsholm & Wotton, Longlevens (5) Central: Kingsway, Grange, Podsmead, Moreland, Barton, Elmbridge (6) East: Tuffley, Matson, Abbeydale, Coney Hill, Abbeymead, Barnwood, Hucclecote (7) Kingsholm and Wotton is shaped a little like a handbag or a squashed cardboard box. Its southern edge is defined by the railway line and the inner ring road (Metz, Bruton, Black Dog and Gouda Ways). To the south sits the Cathedral and its school (King's). The western edge is St Oswalds Road, the eastern is Horton Road, and curving across them at the top, forming the northern edge is Estcourt Way, separating off the University of Gloucestershire (Oxstalls Campus). From the southern rim, two main roads cut through the district, one heading due north (Kingsholm Road, which becomes Tewkesbury Road, the A38), one heading west (London Road, which becomes Barnwood Road). This is the old Ermin Way which connected Roman Gloucester (Glevum) to Roman Cirencester (Corinium), where it met the major Fosse Way connecting Exeter in the south-west to Lincoln in the north-east. Within the district there are 46 listed buildings, clustered along London Road, several churches, the huge hospitals (Gloucestershire Royal and Wotton Lawn), Gloucester's rugby stadium (Kingsholm), a grammar school (Denmark Road), and an independent cinema (Sherborne). ​ "The exact location [of the Royal Palace] is not known with certainty although it is believed to be on or around Kingsholm Square" All that is great but fairly commonplace; this next discovery is remarkable and it is quite astonishing that more is not made of it. Traces have been found of both a Roman fort and an Anglo-Saxon / Norman manor or palace, Kingsholm Palace , from where Aethelflaed (Lady of Mercia, daughter of Alfred) would have defended the city from Vikings and William the Conqueror, perhaps, commissioned the Domesday Book. ​ Map of Kingsholm & Wotton, 2016. Source . Gloucester City: Wards Tim Ellis 2013, CC BY-NC 2.0 via Flickr Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia Gloucester: Roman Military City-State BACK TO TOP Glevum The Roman origins of Gloucester are well known and only need brief summary. Known as Glevum it was originally a frontline fort (AD 48) but was officially designated by Emperor Nerva as a colonia, or city in AD 97, mainly for wealthy retired legionaries. As one of only four colonia, Glevum was the regional capital, with its own mint, and many fine villas were developed in the surrounding countryside (Woodchester and Chedworth, for examples). Sadly the forum, baths, basilica, walls and the four huge gates have almost entirely disappeared. A modern statue of Nerva was commissioned by the city but he is a poor role model, well-intentioned but rather inept as a ruler, the ultimate ' committee man '. ​ Rufus Sita Much more interesting would be a memorial to Rufus Sita, a Roman soldier of the first century whose tombstone was found near Wotton House on London Road in 1824. His tombstone says: "Rufus Sita, horseman of the Sixth Cohort of Thracians, lived forty years and served twenty-two." Thrace used to be a region roughly covering northern Greece and southern Bulgaria - occupied by noted horsemen even as long as ago as Homer's Iliad. The Museum of Gloucester ran a competition to make a film about some of Gloucester's historical figures, including Rufus Sita, but we don't know if they ever got made. ​ Upstart Neighbour Gloucester has 2,000 years of interesting history: with plenty of ups and downs. It has seen it all in its time and as a result has a well-earned and refreshing cynicism in its nature. Cheltenham, on the other hand, is really only 250 years old and owes its existence to one man's clever promotion of its only natural advantage, its mineral springs. Gloucester is Glasgow to Cheltenham's Edinburgh, or Daedalus to Cheltenham's Icarus. The following neat summary is taken from an expired webpage of the Gloucestershire Methodist Circuit : "Although on the map they may look almost a single conurbation, on the ground they are very - almost fiercely - distinct, both in popular patriotism and in style, character and feel. Both have an attractive and ancient centre: Cheltenham is classically Georgian, Gloucester is mediaeval on a Roman street plan. Both are major shopping centres. Both have excellent transport links to the rest of the country - indeed, they share a link in the form of the M5 which passes between them. Cheltenham has an external reputation which rests almost entirely on its Georgian past, Cheltenham Ladies' College, and GCHQ. This is unfair on a bustling and surprisingly varied town with a wide range of attractive housing - Victorian or modern as well as Georgian. Gloucester's most obvious distinction from Cheltenham is its reason for existence: the River Severn. Gloucester docks may not be a commercial port any more, but their influence on the life and structure of the town is still very strong, and their redevelopment as a commercial and retail area alongside a marina is an acknowledgement of that." ​ Gloucester suffered badly from ugly ('unsympathetic') concrete developments in the 60s and 70s but now is seeing the opportunity to upgrade many of these. Completed projects include: Blackfriars Priory, Greyfriars, St Oswalds Park, Gloucester Docks, Gloucester Quays, Railway Triangle, Bus Station, Project Pilgrim (cathedral environs) Projects planned or initiated: King's Quarter, Bakers Quay, Blackfriars (including the old prison), Fleece Hotel. ​ But what about those comparisons? Who wins on festivals? Cheltenham: Jazz, Science, Music, Literature, Racing Gloucester: Tall Ships, Three Choirs, History, Food. ​ What about listed buildings (of Grade II* and Grade I status)? Cheltenham: 923, including 5 Grade I. Gloucester: 449, including 37 Grade I. ​ How about restaurants in the Good Food Guide (2019)? Cheltenham: 4 Gloucester: 0 ​ There is no doubt that Cheltenham would win on shops as well, at least for most people. The other area where it seems to me that Cheltenham is a clear winner is on civic pride. It just looks better looked-after - as if people really care about its appearance. Of course one should not judge a book by its cover nor a city by its street cleaning but the amount of litter in Gloucester is depressing. Our students have done many litter picks but there is not yet a sense of collective pride in our surroundings. I look at the stunning images on the Gloucester 500 website and wonder why they seem so unfamiliar - I think it is because there is no litter to be seen! ​ That this lack of social pride can contribute to antisocial behaviour is obvious. One of the saddest stories I have read recently was about one of my heroes, Leopold Kohr , who died, unrecognised and lonely, in Gloucester. Kohr's writing was all about the dangers of 'the cult of bigness'; one of his students was E.F. Schumacher, the economist who wrote Small is Beautiful. Even more important than the idea of Human Scale is the idea of proportionality - the way things and people fit together and keep each other in balance (in Illich's words). This is the story in full from Kit Ward's excellent blog : ​ In the last ten years of his life Kohr took a house in Gloucester. An old and sickly man living alone, with his Teutonic accent probably not helping, he was targeted by a gang of local thugs. His house was burgled regularly over that decade, including fourteen times in his last year. The place was regularly ransacked and the manuscript for his final book was stolen, never to be recovered. The local police did nothing. Kohr, who was born in the village of Oberndorf from whence originated the carol ‘Stille Nacht’, (‘Silent Night’), wrote a bitter couplet: ‘The only one sleeping in heavenly peace, Is the Superintendent of the Gloucester police.’ Kohr knew at least some of the names of his persecutors. He wrote them down and displayed them in the windows of his house, hoping to shame either the yobs into ceasing or the local community into self-regulation. It had no effect. Kohr saw this as evidence for his wider thesis about modern societies: ‘There is no community here. We need translucent communities where everyone knows each other, where everyone knows the police, where thieves can be confronted. These crimes were committed in the darkness of mass society.’ Kohr gave up writing in November 1993. ‘These criminals left everything in such a mess that I do not think I can begin writing again. It is a kind of murder’. He died the following February. ​ Sadly I have not been able to find any more about Kohr's time in Gloucester. I think he deserves an apology and a blue plaque! ​ What about the bigger picture? Increasingly people are thinking about the merits of merging Gloucester and Cheltenham as a massive metropolitan area. For example, consultant David Marlow of Third Life Economics reported to the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Joint Committee that the creation of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Metropolitan area would be a top-30 city in Britain based on population (over 270,000). " The metro has major transport hubs and corridors, an airport, indigenous university and many of the attributes of a premier UK city – just arguably they have not been presented as such." Council leaders have been cautious and the public don't appear to be keen but it looks inevitable to me. I find it hard to believe that Cheltenham and Gloucester are more different than King's Cross and Knightsbridge, for example. ​ The next section describes the top nine locations in the city of Gloucester which we use as a school. Honourable mentions must also go to the world's best community cafe, Roots , the exciting Warehouse Climbing Centre , the fascinating Gloucestershire Archives and the completely wonderful Scrapstore . ​ Anchor 4 Gloucester Cathedral : one of the greatest medieval religious buildings in Europe, noted for its grand Gothic architecture: the 225 foot high central tower, the particularly elaborate fan vaulting of the cloisters (the first use of this style in the country), the Great East Window (some of the best stained glass in Europe) and the resting place of Edward II, who was murdered in nearby Berkeley Castle. Famous to fans of Harry Potter and Dr Who! The University of Gloucestershire has two campuses in Cheltenham and currently one in Gloucester at Oxtalls. In an inspired act of boldness it has bought the former Debenhams building in the centre of Gloucester and is developing that as a second campus (to open in 2023). It is probably best known for its School of Sports and we use some of its superb sports courts. The School of Business shares space at Oxtalls with The Growth Hub who have been a good source of advice. The Kings Theatre is a "little gem of a theatre run entirely by volunteers as a venue for amateur theatre, dance and music. It is a unique and valuable asset to the city's cultural life." Seating 144, it is home to several local groups, staging a full season of entertainment from September to June. Tucked just off Eastgate Street, close to the heart of Gloucester City Centre. We put on a superb Alice in Wonderland two years ago and have booked it again for a week this summer (2022). The Museum of Gloucester tells the story of the city’s origins as a Roman settlement and its subsequent development through the Dark Ages and Medieval period. It holds an internationally important collection of treasures of over 750,000 objects including the world-famous Birdlip Mirror and the oldest complete backgammon set in the world. The Gloucester Ski & Snowboard Centre on Robinswood Hill. This is one of the longest outdoor artificial ski slopes in the UK and has some of the most highly qualified instructors in the UK. Great fun! St James City Farm in the heart of the Barton and Tredworth area, has 1.5 acres of paddocks for a pair of Dexter cows, Golden Guernsey and Pygmy goats, a Saddleback sow, and a small flock of Cotswold lion sheep. There are 50 poultry of various types running around a retired Welsh Pony, as well as many rabbits and guinea pigs. It is very ‘hands on’, so children can get up close, handle and feed the animals. Wonderful green parks and open spaces. Closest to the school are Armscroft Park (with play areas and sports pitches), Hillfield Gardens (containing a 12th century leper chapel) and the beautiful Barnwood Arboretum (once the grounds of Barnwood House). GL1 Leisure Centre , owned and run by a local charity, Aspire Sports and Cultural Trust, is an excellent facility with four swimming pools, spa, gym, tennis courts and cafe, all under one huge roof. Sherborne Cinema provides quality affordable and independent film entertainment in a beautiful art-deco setting which reflects the golden age of traditional cinema. We have used it as a venue to showcase our students' own films and also as an end-of-term treat! Gloucestershire: Cotswold Hills, River Severn and Forest of Dean BACK TO TOP Gloucestershire sits astride the longest river in Britain, the Severn, with the Cotswolds (and middle England) on one side, the Forest of Dean (and Wales) on the other and the Vale in between (ie Hill, Vale and Forest). It is mostly rural, with only Gloucester - Cheltenham as a large urban area, unless it is considered as the hinterland for Bristol which is much the largest city of the South West. In very general terms Gloucestershire was the changeable northern boundary between Wessex (south-west) and Mercia (midlands). ​ ​ Gloucestershire has a population of just under one million (858,0002). Gloucestershire is divided into 7 districts: Cotswold, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Stroud and South Gloucestershire (which is a unitary authority). Several members of the Royal Family live in Gloucestershire, including Prince Charles at Highgrove House near Tetbury, The Princess Royal at Gatcombe Park (5 miles south of Stroud), and Zara Phillips in Cheltenham. ​ 1. Forest of Dean This “enchanted place” was Britain's first National Forest Park and is England's largest oak forest. Tucked away between the rivers Wye and Severn, the Forest is home to wild boar since 2006; the exact number is currently unknown but exceeds a hundred. The Royal Forest of Dean is one of England's few remaining ancient forests, covering 27,000 acres of woodland. Designated as a National Forest Park in 1938, this ‘Queen of Forests' has natural beauty combined with an aura of magic and mystery that has inspired many great artists and writers including Tolkien and JK Rowling. 2. Cotswolds The Cotswolds are a beautiful but touristy 800 square mile, sheep farming Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, sometimes known as the Heart of England. They are a range of low limestone hills forming a rough triangle bordered by the M4 (London-Bristol), M40 (London-Oxford-Stratford-Birmingham) and M5 (Birmingham-Worcester-Gloucester-Bristol). A famous path, the Cotswold Way, runs for 100 miles along the north-western escarpment or edge from Bath to Chipping Campden. ​ 3. Berkeley Vale The Vale of Berkeley (sometimes "Severn Vale" ) is the southern part of a rich alluvial plain between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west. It stretches from Tewkesbury in the north down past Gloucester and Berkeley to the Severn Bridges. Terminology is confusing: "Berkeley Vale" is usually the part between Gloucester and Bristol. To the north it is known as the "Vale of Gloucester" . This ends where the River Avon meets the Severn at Tewkesbury. The “Severn Valley ” is normally considered to be the stretch of the Severn between Bridgnorth, Shropshire and Bewdley, Worcestershire. “Severnside ” is a controversial term used to loosely describe the economic area centred around Bristol, aka “Avon” or “Greater Bristol”. ​​ Map of Gloucestershire. Source: Cotswold Info View from Symonds Yat. The original uploader was Lemoncurd at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Cotswolds Footpath MaxPixel's contributors | Credit. Copyright: Copyright by MaxPixel Anchor 5 BACK TO TOP Facts and Fantasy Much of the following information is taken from this document : FS15 Redcliffe College, Horton Road. Site Historic Environment Assessments for Strategic Assessment of Land Availability (SALA) August 2016 by Shona Robson-Glyde. ​ 1. The site encompasses an area of 1.293 hectares, centred on NGR SO 8441 1882 and on a gentle slope running north west to south east. It lies at a height of between 24.38m and 26.96m AOD. The site includes the grade II listed Wotton House (NHLE1271681). ​ 2. Underlying bedrock is ‘Blue Lias Formation And Charmouth Mudstone Formation (Undifferentiated)’ (BGS 2016) overlain by ‘Cheltenham Sand and Gravel’. ​ 3. Exact location : OSGB36: SO 8447 1881 [10m precision] WGS84: 51:52.0589N 2:13.6172W ​ 4. The catchment area for Gloucester is huge: over 8 million people live within 90 minute's drive. This is because Gloucester-Cheltenham is roughly half way between Birmingham and Bristol on the west coast of England which reminded me of another more famous West coast ...... ​ The comparison works best if we mentally swap Bristol and Birmingham geographically from the southern tip to the northern tip. Then it can be seen that Bristol = San Francisco, Birmingham = Los Angeles, Bath = Santa Barbara, Cardiff = San Diego, the Sierra Nevada = the Cotswolds. This leaves a match to be found for Gloucester-Cheltenham ... and it has to be San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley. The ambitions of Cyber Central just outside Cheltenham to be the key development in the 'Golden Valley ' promotion of a National Cyber Innovation Centre begins to look more achievable, although it must always be remembered that many of the key innovations were literally developed in garages not glossy innovation hubs. Once we start looking for geographical analogies they come very easily - both the USA and the UK have their financial HQs and biggest city on their East coasts (New York and London) and both of these have very famous and Puritanical university cities to their north, both called Cambridge. Anchor 6

Legals: Wotton House School Information Sheet Company Company Number Company Type Date Incorporated Company Directors School Name DfE Registration Number Details of Registration Change of Registration Change of Registration ISC School Number ISA Membership Date IB World School Number IB School Registration Date URN (Ofsted) UK Provider Reference Number JCQ Exam Centre ICO Reference Website Facebook Email Telephone Address Privacy Policy Copyright Principal Registrar Vice-Principal Head of Prep DSL Head of Annexe Chair of Advisory Board Accountants Insurance Brokers H&S Competent Person Bank Solicitors UTR (HMRC) PAYE Reference PAYE Accounts Office ​ ​ International Village Education Ltd 9853169 Private Limited by Shares (PDF ) 3 November 2015 (PDF ) Daniel Sturdy and Sophie Sturdy Wotton House International School (WHIS) 916/6006 Registered 05/09/16 for 250 boys & girls aged 11-16 (PDF ) Registered 08/06/20 for ages 10-16 (PDF ), temporarily 10-17 (PDF ) Registered 16/06/21 for 200 boys & girls aged 7-16 (PDF ) 10185 29 Feb 2020 (EMAIL ) 060134 30 May 2019 (Approval PDF ) (Authorisation PDF ) 143018 10073517 57142 ZA278312 (PDF ) www.wottonhouseschool.co.uk www.facebook.com/wottonhouseinternationalschool info@iveuk.com 01452 764248 Wotton House, Horton Road, Gloucester, GL1 3PR Can be read here WHIS 2020, 2021, 2022 Daniel Sturdy Sophie Sturdy Nathan Hutchings Emma Edwards Becky Gwynne Emma Zentner Linde Melhuish GCSD Accountants Ltd Cass Stephens Glenn Trafford HSBC Stone King 2637813991 120/LB34499 120PW01142173 ​ ​ Listings: Wotton House International School These are all the websites where Wotton House is, or should be, listed. Please let us know of any errors and omissions. ​ International Baccalaureate schools listing website SoGlos independent schools listing Independent Schools Council listing of schools Wikipedia: nothing yet UK ISD: nothing yet Independent Schools Directory: nothing yet (applied) UK Private Schools: nothing yet (applied) IndependentSchools.co.uk: nothing yet (applied) Good Schools Guide: basic entry isbi.com: basic entry ​ Legals: The Wilderness Information Sheet Company Company Number Company Type Date Incorporated Registered Office Land Registry Title Number VAT Registration Number Date of Certificate Effective Date of Registration ​ Nature Schools Ltd 9533564 Private Limited by Shares (PDF ) 9 April 2015 (PDF ) The Wilderness, Wilderness Drive, Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire GL17 0HA GR353322 238 0739 96 11 Jan 2017 1 June 2015

St John's College, Oxford University. BSc. Honours 1st class degree in Experimental Psychology Stirling University Ph.D ​ Medical Research Council, Applied Psychology Unit Post-doctoral research ​ Anglia Ruskin University Part-time lecturer in Psychology Department ​ ​ CB1 Cybercafe 32 Mill Road, Cambridge ​ ​ CB2 Internet Bistro 5-7 Norfolk Street, Cambridge ​ ​ Sancton Wood School 1-2 St Pauls Road, Cambridge ​ ​ Holme Court School for Dyslexics Biggleswade Bedfordshire ​ Cambridge International School Cambridge ​ Abington Woods Little Abington, Cambridge ​ ​ The Wilderness, Mitcheldean, Forest of Dean ​ Black Book Cafe Silver Rooms, Stroud ​ Malthouse Bar and Kitchen, Stroud

LEARNER PROFILE ELECTIVES COMMUNITY SERVICE PSHE & RSE Enrichment Enrichment essentially refers to all the extra-curricular activities (ECA) which our school offers. Some schools refer to them as co-curricular activities (CCA) and there is some rather pointless debate about nomenclature. Abingdon School, more ambitiously, calls these activities the Other Half . ​ This is completely accurate in our case, as this table shows, in that 8 of the 16 timetabled elements are mainstream curricular and 8 are co-curricular. This page looks at our enrichment programmes in four main sections: ​ 1. The IB Learner Profile: this is the IB Mission Statement in action; it outlines the character attributes we are aiming to develop. 2. Electives: opportunities for our student to follow their own interests - strengths-led learning. 3. Community Service: our commitment to giving something back. 4. PSHE and RSE: outlines what, how and why we provide these aspects of learning. ​ You can also find out about our Duke of Edinburgh scheme here . ​ We need first to be clear about the purpose of enrichment programmes. Traditionally, schooling was understood to play two important roles: rigorous academic education and wider personal development - stretching and shaping, in other words. (The shape, if it was ever considered literally, would have been somewhat circular, as in 'well-rounded'. The only way to be simultaneously both stretched and rounded is to be a tube or perhaps a column ... ) This shaping is known as 'character development' or 'character education'. ​ The Department of Education outlined in their Character Education: Framework Guidance (2019) four goals of character education: 1. The ability to remain motivated by long-term goals 2. An appreciation of the importance of long-term commitments (such as to spouse or vocation) 3. The learning of positive moral attributes, or 'virtues'. 4. The acquisition of social confidence and skills. There is a long history of debate about 'virtues', going right back to Aristotle, revived recently by the Jubilee Centre in the School of Education at Birmingham University. A quick overview of Ancient, Medieval and Modern ideas shows how difficult it is to define universally agreed virtues and also reveals the complexity of Aristotle's thinking compared to other schemes. ​ Aristotle distinguishes moral virtues from intellectual virtues, emotional from mental; each moral virtue is understood to be a Golden Mean between two extremes, one of excess, one of deficiency. ​ There are two separate traditions of virtue within Christianity: the Heavenly virtues and the Capital virtues. The Heavenly virtues themselves are a combination of the four classic Cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues. The Capital virtues are better known as they are used as contrasts to the, even better known, seven deadly sins. ​ Benjamin Franklin very famously devised a self-improvement programme based on his own list of 13 virtues; he worked on each one for a week, so that in a year each virtue was practiced for 4 weeks. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ What all these models have in common is the idea that these virtues can, and should, be worked for. They are not innate and they improve with practice. The Roman orator and politician Cicero used the word humanitas to describe the formation of an ideal citizen who he believed should be educated to possess a collection of virtues of character suitable both for an active life of public service and a decent and fulfilling private life. Humanitas is variously defined but most easily understood as "living like a human being" or simply "what is human". It is one of the central concepts of European culture, and inspired both the Renaissance (through Petrarch) and the Enlightenment (through Voltaire). In modern discourse it has been almost completely replaced by "fulfilling one's potential" which you read in almost every school prospectus. Not only is that 'potential' left unspecified and undefined, it also puts the focus squarely on the individual. The original intent of the term was exactly the opposite - to show the commonality between all humans at all times. As the Roman-African comic writer Terence said: “I am human, and I think that nothing of that which is human is alien to me” (“Homo sum, humani nihil me alienum puto") ​ This idea is picked up in the IB Mission statement when it says that its goal is for students to "understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right". More generally the idea of Humanitas as a teachable collection of virtues is exactly expressed in the IB Learner Profile. To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life. - RL Stevenson (1882) THE IB LEARNER PROFILE As stated in the IB’s mission statement, the aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally- minded people who help to create a better and more peaceful world. Within the Middle Years Programme (MYP), this is done through the IB Learner Profile . As IB learners we all strive to be: ​ THINKERS Students exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems and make reasoned, ethical decisions. REFLECTIVE Students give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development. INQUIRERS Students develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives. COMMUNICATORS Students understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others. KNOWLEDGEABLE Students explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines. PRINCIPLED Students act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them. RISK-TAKERS Students approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs. OPEN-MINDED Students understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view and are willing to grow from the experience. BALANCED Students understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others. CARING / EMPATHETIC Students show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment. BACK TO TOP Katariina, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons It is pretty much impossible to remember this list, so we break it into two acronyms: TRICK - essentially qualities of the Head (the first half of the list) PROBE - essentially qualities of the Heart (the second half) Schools are free to adapt or modify the list of desirable attributes in any way they choose. The obvious deficiencies we find are the essential qualities of the Hand: ​we add CREATIVE and PRACTICAL to our list. This gives us three groups of four: HEAD HEART HANDS Thinkers Principled Creative Reflective Risk-takers Practical Inquirers Open-minded Communicators Knowledgeable Empathetic Balanced Anchor 1 This work has been developed independently by ED-ucation.ca and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Electives BACK TO TOP Our current Electives are as follows: ​ Monday: Astronomy Spanish, French Culture, Personal Fitness Training, Exploring Science, Art Tuesday: Philosophy, Financial Trading, Team Sports, Crafts Wednesday: Exploring Music, Cooking Singing Fencing Thursday: Creative Writing, Music - Recorders, Space Club Friday: Team Sports, Art Mindfulness Guitar Lessons Drama ​ In the past we have also run Clubs in: ​ International Cookery Visual Art Eco club Dance Technology Club Indoor Games Sculpture Fashion & make-up Fashion design Stage combat Fresco Art Stop frame animation Craft and textiles Choir Kempo ju-jitsu Electronics Club ​ Source: ClipArts Zone Community Service The Purpose of Community Service With appropriate guidance and support, MYP students should, through their engagement with service as action: ​ become more aware of their own strengths and areas for growth undertake challenges that develop new skills discuss, evaluate, and plan student-initiated activities persevere in action work collaboratively with others develop international-mindedness through global engagement, multilingualism, and intercultural understanding consider the ethical implications of their actions All of these learning outcomes are closely associated with IB learner profile attributes and Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills. ​ Guidelines for Community Service Students can start completing their service hours in August for the upcoming school year. All community service should be completed by mid-June of that school year. A minimum of 15 hours should be completed each year that a student is in the programme. ​ What Counts? Volunteering for non-profit service organizations Service Projects through Girls Scouts, Boy Scouts. Other suggestions: ushering, teaching a children’s class, reading to the blind or elderly at a nursing home, campus clean-up, serving and/or cleaning up at soup kitchens, sorting food at community food banks, make greeting cards for nursing home residents, organise and run an event for preschool children. ​ ​ What Doesn't Count? Money or material donations, family duties, museum /theatre /exhibition visits (meaningful service within the IB MYP framework involves students giving their time to serve others in their community, either locally, nationally, or globally.) BACK TO TOP Three great quotes from Booker T Washington Creative Commons - CC0 Source: Pixabay "The happiest people are those who do the most for others. The most miserable are those who do the least ." – Booker T. Washington "The world cares very little what you or I know, but it does care a great deal about what you or I do ." – Booker T. Washington "If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else ." – Booker T. Washington Anchor 2 Anchor 3 PSHE and RSE BACK TO TOP Why do we teach PHSE? There are a number of reasons, from the legal to the moral. This section looks at the legal requirements. ​ Firstly, we teach PHSE because the government tells us to. The statutory requirement is in The Education (Independent Schools Standards) Regulations (2014). It starts very simply in Standard 2 with a list of six things which the written curriculum must both provide for and implement effectively. Third on that list is: ​ "personal, social, health and economic education which reflects the school’s aim and ethos" ​ And also, further down in sixth place on the list of things to be provided for: ​ "effective preparation of pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society" [This is Standard 2(2)(i)] ​ Running through the Standards are two related themes: (a) Fundamental British Values (FBV) and (b) Protected Characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 (PCE). ​ (a) FBV. There is a duty in Standard 2 for the written curriculum not to undermine FBV [2(1)(b)(ii)], for teaching not to undermine FBV [3(h)(i)] and for the proprietor to actively promote FBV [5(a)]. ​ (b) PCE. There is a second part to the requirement to teach PSHE which is that it must encourage "respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act" [This is Standard 2(2)(d)(ii)]; this is reiterated in the next standard, that teaching must not discriminate against pupils contrary to Part 6 of the 2010 Act [Standard 3(j)]; and also for the proprietor to actively promote principles which "encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act" [Standard 5(b)(vi)]. ​ We outline what we do to promote FBV here ; the PCE which we do most work on is Disability and we outline our approach to neurodiversity here . There are 9 PCEs in total, listed below: ​ Sex Sexual Orientation Age Race Religious Belief Marriage Disability Gender Reassignment Pregnancy ​ The rightmost column of three are characteristics which are unlikely to apply to pupils but do, of course, apply to staff. The middle column of three are clearly the most controversial and hotly, even bitterly, contested. The leftmost column are historically the first characteristics to have legal protection and therefore the most widely understood and accepted (Race in 1965, Sex in 1975 and Disability in 1995). ​ The whole of standard 5 is concerned with Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development of Pupils. Essentially it says that we must ensure that principles are actively promoted which do 7 things: ​ 1. enable self-knowledge 2. enable moral judgments 3. encourage responsible behaviour 4. enable respect for the State 5. enable respect for Culture 6. encourage respect for PCE 7. encourage respect for FBV ​ Clearly many of these principles fall into the realm of the Personal and the Social, though not Health or Economic (neither of which are mentioned again in the Standards, except in the context of Health and Safety legislation. ​ One unusual aspect of the legislation is that independent schools are required to teach PHSE but state schools are not ( although in practice they do). New laws making SRE and Health Education compulsory in all schools, state and independent, took force in 2020. Having looked at the legal requirement to teach PSHE we can now look at the other justifications, while asking whether there is any evidence that it works. ​ According to Ofsted the goal of PSHE "is to equip young people with the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live healthily, safely, productively and responsibly." That four-fold distinction between Knowledge, Understanding, Skills and Attitudes (KUSA) is a foundation of the MYP and is described in detail in this page . ​ Ofsted reported in 2013 that PSHE education was "Not Yet Good Enough". Their headline figure was that in 40% of schools it Required Improvement or was Inadequate. ​ Nevertheless the revelations in 2020 and 2021 by Everyone's Invited of widespread, ingrained sexual misconduct, came as a shock to most commentators. By June 2021 it had received testimonies from 2,500 secondary schools. There are 4,000 state secondary schools in the UK so this would suggest problems at closer to 60% of schools than 40%. ​ In June 2021 Ofsted responded by releasing a report on sexual abuse in 32 schools. Among their findings: ​ sexual harassment has become "normalised" among school-age children, with 90% of girls having experienced sexist name-calling or had been sent explicit photos or videos more than two-thirds of girls said they endured unwanted touching "a lot" or "sometimes" 80% of girls said they had been put under pressure to share sexual images of themselves students often do not see the point of reporting abuse and many teachers underestimate the scale of these problems. The same review found that students are "seldom positive" about sex education in schools and that teachers' subject knowledge is "poor". ​ There is clearly a lot of work needed to make PSHE and RSE authentic and effective. Anchor 4 Inspecting Personal Development ​ The table below shows our own analysis of how the ISI and Ofsted criteria for judging Personal Development line up with each other: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ By reducing the criteria to these six, it can easily be seen that the first two are the province of Personal, Social, Health & Economic (PSHE) while the last four are Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC). The next step is to see if they map to any overarching theme or model, or if they remain a random ragbag. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ This, then, is the brief summary of well-being as defined in these rubrics: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying one's interests contributing positively, achieving economically (all the while respecting other's rights). It is not a bad prescription but I would be surprised if it fills anyone with a glow of enthusiasm. ​ Further Information Our PSHE Policy document Our RSE Policy document Our SMSC Policy document Secondary School PSHE Curriculum Map Prep School PSHE and RSE document DfE RSE Teaching Statutory Guidance We are members of the PSHE Association Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning (GHLL) People in the Know (PinK) Planning Tool

CB1 Cybercafe Anchor 1 Armed with issue zero of .net magazine, and some business training from the Prince's Youth Business Trust , I developed a business plan, found some promising premises and applied to the banks for a £3,000 start-up loan. To spare their blushes I won't name the bank which wrote back “We think the Internet will not gain traction and will remain a hobby business”. ​ Fortunately NatWest were more forward thinking and agreed to the loan but then it took four months of slow negotiation with landlords Gonville and Caius College to agree a five year lease on a shop they owned underneath some student lodgings. During those four months, Cyberia opened in London, the first cybercafe in the UK. ​ We opened in January 1995, the second internet cafe in the UK and one of the first ten in the world, as far as we could tell. Those early days were great fun – lots of news coverage, local TV and press, mentions in The Guardian and The Independent, and in effect for a brief period we had a monopoly on public internet access in Cambridge. The 'killer app' was not the World Wide Web, as we had thought, but simple e-mail. Grandparents came in to communicate with grandchildren in New Zealand and visitors from Chile e-mailed their news to family back home. A community of web-developers and online-games players developed, along with chess players and the 2nd best Go player in the world, or so he said. No-one could get near to beating him so it was probably true. I have always loved this logo, which was designed by Damien Newman. The elegant simplicity of the icons was well ahead of its time. The first ever web page (1991) which CERN restored (2013) and is still live here Then suddenly in 1998 Google arrived and the internet opened up. It seems incredible to remember a world before Google, when Yahoo was the best search engine and Amazon was just a book shop. When we opened in 1995 one analysis is that there were about 10,000 websites in the whole world; a year later there were 100,000. Another estimate is that in December 1996 there were about 16 million internet users in the world; five years later the number was 360 million, and after 10 years, in 2006, it was over 1 billion. Not bad growth for a hobby business! ​ Unlike books, old webpages leave essentially no trace once their host computer stops hosting them. There is one heroic attempt to archive it all, the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, or at least to archive all the bits worth keeping. But that's the first problem with the web in a nutshell – who is to decide what is worth keeping, and what criteria could possibly be used? The second problem is that of the vast number of websites which currently exist (somewhere between 1 and 2 billion) only a very small percentage are active (perhaps 200 million) – although that itself is also a huge number. Our own first webpages were not pretty. The final one is still live but hasn't been updated for many years. Sadly the original CB1 cybercafe closed in 2016. The old Twitter feed can be found here and some nice reviews here and here . Cambridge Evening News January 1995 pre-opening. Why on earth am I pouring a cup of tea? My involvement with CB1 ended around 2003 but while the cafe kept the same name, the same books on the walls and the same historic old computers on the, by now very dusty, top shelves, it developed new identities, most memorably as an Art Cafe with an excellent website which can still be visited here and seen below and even seen on a Youtube video. UPDATES ​ Cambridge Evening News (2017). Cambridgeshire-based author Francis Spufford has won the 2016 Costa First Novel Award for Golden Hill. Set in 18th-century New York it was written over three years in a Cambridge café. “I wrote in the old cyber café CB1 on Mill Road. It’s Tom’s Cakes now which I’m sure is lovely, but I’m loyal to what it was. I used to sit in there three days a week drinking Americanos.” Top Home Feedback

Comments Please leave your comments below on any aspect of the website. All feedback is potentially useful - especially requests for additional specific content. All comments are subject to moderation. ​ “Even if you stick mainly to mainstream sites, you've probably seen glimpses of the internet's underbelly in the comment section at the bottom of news articles. The article could be about a local man saving a box of kittens from a burning building, but no matter: the comments will accuse him of hating dogs, setting the building on fire in the first place, and secretly being Barack Obama's Kenyan uncle.” ― Zoe Quinn

THE WILDERNESS Nunc Meis, Mox Hujus, Et Postea Nescio Cujus "Today 'tis mine, Tomorrow, thine, but whose next day I cannot say". ​ 1. The Wilderness: Private House 2. The Wilderness: Residential Institution 3. The Wilderness: Closure, Squatting, Tendering and Renovating 4. The Wilderness: Relaunch under Nature Schools 5. The Wilderness: Facts and Figures ​ Current website and Facebook page ​ 1. The Wilderness: Private House The origins of both the name "Wilderness" and the motto are unclear. The motto, for example, appears in different family histories, such as the Gledhills of Yorkshire, and above various buildings, such as the Coach and Horses public house in Church Lane, Oldham. ​ The first uses of The Wilderness are lost in time. It sits at the top of Plump Hill, 275 metres above sea level, on carboniferous limestone. An outcrop of iron ore runs through it from north to south in a narrow band. About 2000 years ago Plump Hill was an important Iron ore mine for the Silures tribe based out of the nearby Welshbury Hill Fort. Evidence of the iron ore workings can still be found on site: the open cast workings known as Scowles, can be seen in farmer Rugmans’ field which borders our wood. ​ In 1018 King Canute (King of England, Denmark and Norway) designated the Royal Forest of Dean as his hunting forest. It was during this time that the royal surveyors deemed the top of Plump Hill to be outside this forest due to its old iron ore workings and lack of trees, and named it “Le Wylderne” or Wilderness. ​ For much of its distant history The Wilderness was part of the manor of Mitcheldean, mostly in the hands of the Baynham family, until rising debts forced them to sell in 1619 to Nicholas Roberts of Stanton Court, near Oxford. His sister, Alice, married into the Colchester family and her son, Richard, became the first of a long line of Colchesters to own the Wilderness (and Westbury Manor) when he bought it from his uncle in 1641. Source here . It appears to be his son, Duncombe, who built the first house at The Wilderness. Wilderness rental entries in 1650. 1. Sir Duncombe Colchester (1630-94 or 96). It is known that he had a building, called Hill House, at The Wilderness before 1672. The house probably had an L-shaped plan and parts of its walls survive in the south-eastern corner of the existing house. Duncombe was Mayor of Gloucester, knighted in 1674, and MP for Gloucester in 1689. He married Elizabeth Maynard, daughter of Sir John Maynard, well-known anti-Catholic and 'devoted to good works'. Sources here and here. Apparently his son Maynard, and a long illness, persuaded him to repent after a lifetime of debauchery: ​ "I do, with the deepest sorrow, lament my rioting and drunkenness, my chambering and wantonness." ​ 2. Colonel Maynard Colchester (I) (1665-1715). Trained as a lawyer, MP for Gloucestershire 1701-08, Verderer of the Forest of Dean and a noted philanthropist, he was involved in the foundation of the SPCK which is the oldest Anglican mission organisation in the world and also the third oldest publishing company in the UK (after the Cambridge and Oxford University Presses). Some sources suggest that it was this Maynard who built the first Wilderness in 1710 but this does not seem to be correct. His last years were blighted by illnesses which he bore with stoicism, relieved by working to improve his estates, possibly advised by John Evelyn, and, above all, his charitable endeavours. 3. Colonel Maynard Colchester (II) (1703-56). Maynard (I) had two sons who both predeceased him. The estate passed to his brother, Henry, and then his brother's son, another Maynard (II), a Free Miner and Verderer, in 1715. His monument in Westbury church describes him as 'vigilant, active and prudent'. ​ 4. Maynard Colchester (III) (1731-87). Son of Maynard (II), another Free Miner and Verderer, but never married. 5. John Colchester (1741-1801). Fourth son of Maynard (II). 6. Maynard Colchester (IV) (1785-1860). John then left it to his son Maynard (IV) in 1801 but it was administered by his widow Elizabeth (nee Elizabeth Dighton) until she died in 1827. It was Elizabeth who rebuilt The Wilderness in 1823-24 after the demolition of their Westbury Court building in 1805. The rebuilding was "on a scale which was described as 'more useful for a permanent residence' with two stories rather than three. She added the service wing on the north west and a room to the north of the new main staircase. Shortly afterwards a billiard room was built to the north of that room, but adding a billiard room was probably something that her son Maynard would have done." (Giles Colchester, personal communication, 2016). To the south-west an 18th century range of two storeys had become a coach house and stables by 1840. The wrought-iron gates through which the original Wilderness was approached were given to the churchyard of Holy Trinity in Mitcheldean. Source here . Maynard (IV), known as an admirable, and liberal, Magistrate and Verderer, 'peculiarly indifferent to notoriety and applause' died in 1860. 7. From Maynard it passed to his widowed sister Mrs Henrietta Davies . Henrietta died in 1877. Source here . 8. Then the estate passed to Maynard's great-nephew Maynard Willoughby Wemyss who became Wemyss-Colchester and then Colchester-Wemyss. This final Maynard was also Head Verderer, Justice of the Peace, awarded the CBE and for many years Chairman of Gloucestershire County Council (1908–1918). 9. However in 1887 Maynard Colchester-Wemyss sold the land with 41 acres to Helen Lucas . In 1896 the trustees of Barnwood House Hospital bought the house and grounds from a F.L. Lucas, bringing to an end this first, documented, period of The Wilderness. ​ ​ Sir John Maynard possibly after John Riley, oil on canvas, feigned oval, NPG 476. CC -BC-NY-ND (3.0). Mrs John Colchester Photo credit: Gloucestershire County Council. Anchor 1 2. The Wilderness: Residential Institution 1. From 1884 the Wilderness was used as a sanatorium for women from Barnwood House Hospital , the trustees of which bought the house and its grounds from F. L. Lucas in 1896. ​ 2. After the sanatorium was closed in 1919 the East Dean and District Joint Hospital Board purchased the house for use as an isolation hospital. At some point there was a fire in the roof and half of it was destroyed and replaced, rather oddly, with a flat roof. ​ 3. Later, until 1965, it was a geriatric hospital. 4. In 1968 the county education committee bought it for use as a residential centre for field studies which it remained until 2011. Source here . wildernesssisterlewis.jpg Nurse Cannock, Sister Kelly and Sister Lewis. Wilderness Hospital 1933.JPG Sister Lewis Wilderness Hospital Oct 1934.JPG Old Wilderness Photograph nurse.jpg Garden at the Wilderness 1932.JPG Charles Reed, ambulance driver and gardener Jun1933.JPG Charles Reed ambulance driver and gardener. Wilderness Hospital 1931.JPG Old Wilderness Photographs0001.jpg Anchor 2 3. The Wilderness: Closure, Squatting, Tendering and Renovating Philafrenzy, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Keith Moseley, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons The story of the closure in August 2011, the occupation by environmental activists (or "dangerous squatters"), the campaign to raise funds by pressure groups - all are best told through the news headlines as it was very well covered at the time. ​ 2011/05/11 CABINET MEMBER DECISION REPORT: Future use of GCC’s Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres ("The Wilderness, in particular, needs substantial capital investment to ensure it can meet health and safety requirements in the future."). Gloucestershire County Council 2011/05/12 Gloucestershire's outdoor education provision to change (Decision that facilities too costly to subsidise). BBC News . 2011/05/19 Gloucestershire council sells outdoor education centre (Council decides to sell Wilderness and lease South Cerney to help save £45 million). BBC News . 2011/05/19 Decision Notice: Future use of GCC’s Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres (Decision to sell confirmed by Chief Executive). Gloucestershire County Council 2011/08/31 Children in the Wilderness (letter to editor - 'loss of such wonderful amenities'). The Forester 2011/11/03 Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre plans 'are legal' (Judicial review of sale plans failed). BBC News 2012/01/10 Campaigners move in to Wilderness Centre in Mitcheldean (Thom Forrester's Protect the Wilderness has moved on to the site). BBC News 2012/02/01 Call from the Wilderness Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre (Appeal from Protect the Wilderness: "We believe that education is the greatest source of wealth in our communities") Indymedia 2012/02/16 Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre appeal launched (Friends of the Wilderness want to raise £1 million in pledges by March; site currently occupied by Protect the Wilderness). BBC News 2012/02/16 The good ancestors: squatters go back to land to save wilderness centre . The Guardian . 2012/03/09 Campaigners 'breach court order' at Forest of Dean centre (Reclaim the Fields gathering in breach of injunction). BBC News 2012/03/30 Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre bid ready (Two local businessmen have pledged 6 figure sums to Friends of the Wilderness). BBC News 2012/04/19 Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre campaigners evicted (Campaigners removed by police after eviction order). BBC News 2012/11/17 New owners take over South Cerney lake site (part of plans to save £45 million plan by selling off property). BBC News 2013/01/10 Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre site to be sold (actually just the Plump Hill site and approved by the Friends of The Wilderness). BBC News 2013/04/03 Forest of Dean wilderness site security costing thousands (£3,000 per week on security to prevent squatters). BBC News 2013/05/28 Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre in handover bid (Wilderness Project asks the council to transfer the asset for free).BBC News and Project Flyer 2014/04/24 Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre group 'makes final bid' (Wilderness Project only raised £17,000 in pledges). Prospectus, Final Bid Document and BBC News 2014/07/25 Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre bought by unnamed buyer (will be used as an educational hub). BBC News 2014/07/28 Plans for The Wilderness Centre move forward (Contracts about to be exchanged with unnamed buyer). Stroud News and Journal ​ The most impressive aspect of the Wilderness Project Bid was the support it gained from well-known figures such as Kate Humble, Adam Henson, Baroness Jan Royall and Jonathon Porritt. Indeed Kate Humble was quoted on the Wilderness Project website (no longer active) saying: ​ "Every child in this country should have access to out of classroom education. The Wilderness Project is ideally situated in The Forest of Dean to provide outdoor education opportunities to school children, the wider community and groups from further afield. It is the heart of an area of pristine natural habitats, unique and fascinating geology and a proud industrial heritage. Yet it faces closure. Without centres like this we are putting the future of our planet in the hands of a generation who have had no experience of the outdoors, have never been given the chance to witness the wonders of nature or see first hand how habitats suffer or thrive depending on how they are managed. The Wilderness Project is an enormously valuable resource educationally, economically and environmentally. Everything that can be done, should be done to save it." ​ ​ Anchor 3 4. The Wilderness: Relaunch under Nature Schools This is what we wrote in in 2016 ...... Set in around 30 acres of beautiful woodland, meadow and pasture land right on the edge of the Royal Forest of Dean, the Wilderness centre is a recently refurbished award winning outdoor activity and residential centre offering a range of outdoor activities and indoor facilities for school and community groups, family groups and corporate clients coming from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Worcestershire and beyond. We are also just over an hour from Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol and with flexible packages such as day or residential stays, camping and full catering facilities, self catering venue hire we are well placed to meet the needs of many groups. With its stunning location and cosy indoor accommodation for up to 54 guests the site is also ideal for weddings, celebrations and events. Schools The Wilderness Centre offers a perfect opportunity to take outdoor learning to another level with our high quality, residential experiences and inspiring day courses for schools, from Reception age upwards. The Wilderness Centre has a long history of providing school residentials having been run by the County Council for many years. Purchased by private owners in 2014, who are passionate about the educational benefits of outdoor learning, it has now undergone major refurbishment and can accommodate 54 guests in 2-8 bedded rooms. ​ Serving schools from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds and within easy drive of Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff, our most popular courses are 3 day/2 night stays where we combine outdoor and adventurous activities with excellent indoor facilities, including a climbing wall, comfortable bedrooms and high quality catering. Other options and durations of trip are available, including day visits, week long stays and weekends. In addition, if you bring more than 25 pupils you benefit from exclusive use of the site and amenities. All of our school programmes are bespoke and designed in consultation with your group leaders to ensure specific outcomes and objectives are met, such as our popular Saxon days developed to support the primary curriculum. We are fully approved by A.A.L.S. and the Institute for Outdoor learning and our staff team have more than 20 years of experience of working with schools to deliver exciting and relevant outdoor experiences. We have also recently achieved the prestigious Gold standard award from the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres (AHOEC), which goes beyond just the safety of centres and measures all aspects of the centre from administration and communication, facilities, food and the quality of the learning and adventure and its educational validity. ​ Community Groups Fun activity days, residential stays with a range of activities or accommodation only packages are some of the options available for youth and community groups. We work with a wide range of charitable and community based groups and with 54 beds in the house as well as a campsite and the option of catered or self catered packages we offer real value for money in helping provide a bespoke program that meets your group’s needs and budget. As well as a program of outdoor activities we also have a number of meeting rooms and 29 acres of meadow and woodland at your disposal and we currently welcome not only local groups from the Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire, but also from Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds and are within easy drive of Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff, so whether you need a meeting venue for your Scouting Group AGM, a welcome break for a group of young carers or a Girl Guide Camp for 40 guides the Wilderness Centre offers something for everyone. ​ Corporate The Wilderness centre has a stunning venue for your next team meeting or corporate training event, right on the edge of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. In addition to all the usual components for a corporate event, such as our 3 meeting rooms for up to 60 delegates, catering packages to suit all budgets and team building and problem solving activities, we also offer adventure activities and residential facilities so are able to offer a unique and bespoke Corporate package for your team to remember. Our most popular Corporate package starts with a day of adventure activities and team challenges, taking teams out of their comfort zones and into the Wilderness! After completing a series of challenges and activities in which they learn to challenge themselves and work together to support each other, we head back to the house for an excellent dinner and social evening. We then provide overnight accommodation and next morning after a hearty breakfast, will set up a meeting room for you or can run indoor based training sessions such as leadership or management training, customer service training or deliver personality assessment sessions. Our experienced facilitators and activity instructors can design a course around your business objectives and have worked with large multi-national companies as well as charities and local businesses, so make your next Corporate event a Wilderness Adventure to remember. ​ Private Hire The Wilderness centre has been designed as a multi-purpose centre capable of hosting weddings, birthday parties, school trips, business meetings and anything in between and our location on the edge of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire allows a myriad of other options to be incorporated into your visit. However, this is not just a group accommodation venue for hire, nor just an activity centre as it has at its heart an incredibly imaginative, experienced and committed team who will always go the extra mile to provide a product tailored to your specific requirements. Whether you need us to throw a surprise 50th Wedding anniversary party for your grandparents, want a self catering weekend venue for a school reunion, are local and want an unforgettable Bushcraft birthday party for your 7 year old or need 2 weeks of accommodation for a school exchange programme, we are open to most types of private hire* and can help create a bespoke package to meet your needs. Weddings The Wilderness centre offers a stunning location at the edge of the Royal Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and a truly bespoke wedding service to meet your exact needs. We do not have an off the peg wedding service, as every couple should be able to create their own day as they choose. Instead we will work with each individual couple and can offer a fully arranged, catered wedding package or simply a wedding party venue for after the ceremony. ​ With a wedding licence planned for next year and a premises licence in place, as well as all the local contacts for flowers, suit hire, photographers and bands we can provide you with as much or as little help as you need. With such a versatile venue we can also offer a really relaxed Wilderness feel to the wedding taking your guests out in the woods and celebrating round the campfire, or for the more formal approach the facilities in the main house allow for an intimate and sophisticated wedding event. Anchor 4 5. The Wilderness: Facts and Figures The Wilderness, Wilderness Drive, Plump Hill, Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire GL17 0HA Tel 01594 542567. ​ Bruton Knowles Brochure A substantial early Victorian former manor house together with office and staff block plus further outbuildings including chapel and barns set in a 32 acre site. 1. Manor House: 992 sqm 2. Offices/ flat: 220 sqm 3. Workshops: 84 sqm 4. Saxon barn: 38 sqm 5. Barn/ eco house: 94 sqm 6. Chapel: 27 sqm Total floor area is 1,455 sqm or 15,664 sqft. The good quality space may be counted as the Manor House and the Offices: around 1,212 sqm or 12,000 square feet. Location: 13 miles west of Gloucester, 12 miles east of Monmouth, 8 miles south east of Ross on Wye, 12 miles north of Lydney (23 mins). It is also 23 miles from Cambridge, Gloucs (38 mins via A38 and A40). ​ Saxon House An authentic step back in time, the replica Anglo-Saxon House is modelled on a traditional house of the period 410 to 1066, built sympathetically in line with traditional building design and material. The House is ideally suited to activity visits, historically accurate and in a supreme setting. Our Saxon days can include instructor, clothing and weapons, subject to your requirements. Living the life of a Saxon will assist children in retaining the information that they learn while enjoying themselves in the process! It is an ideal means of supporting classroom learning. However, the House is not just suited to the young… it is a perfect location for film and media, together with re-enactment groups such as Live Action Role Play. The Stones Carved some 10 years ago, these stones were formed under a heritage project undertaken by a group of young adults then based at the Wilderness Centre. The project subsequently won the Heritage Lottery Fund South West Region Young People ‘Heritage Heroes’ award in 2005. They worked with Gloucestershire County Council’s Archaeology and Youth Services departments with the aim of studying the Anglo Saxons and creating Anglo-Saxon designs, but with a contemporary feel. They undertook extensive research, visiting many sites, studying sculptures and learning to live life as an Anglo-Saxon. There are seven stones in total, six modelled from Portland stone as it was easy to sculpt. The seventh was carved from Forest stone obtained from the Wilderness Quarry, standing apart from the others. The stones are laid out in the shape of a constellation known as the Sculptor’s Studio. ​ Eco-house – An eco-friendly cottage renovation, to serve as a public education project and staff accomodation. Organic garden – used for food growing workshops and training and to provide produce for the kitchens. Meadows – three estate meadows of preserved / 'unimproved' pasture used for ecology and nature study. Home to over 80 species of wild plants and designated a Key Wildlife Site. Semi-wild wood – a 5 acre wood containing indicator plants from the ancient Forest of Dean. Used for woodland study and woodland craft courses. Designated a Key Wildlife Site. ​ Anchor 5

Key People Index The Wilderness Dave Squire Deborah Blackmore Phil Atkins Becca Atkins Lawrence Mezo Chris Porter Debbie James ​ Malthouse Bar and Kitchen Sarah Capewell Ian Summers Matt de Gottal ​ Black Book Cafe Carrie Mason Kelly Pitt Dominic Alderman Tash David Wickens Molly Wright ​ Abington Woods Debbie James Chris Porter Edmund Sturdy ​ CIS (Brookside, CHH, The Temple) Al Gadney Charles Robinson Mark Kerr Jake Sturdy Angela Spaxman Mary Greer Daniel Hannan Adrian ​ Holme Court Julia Avis Liz Alison Treasure Gill Ingram Roy Greer Angela Barry Eamon Strain Diane Goodman Sue Little (admin) Debbie James Linda Mills Mike Cowell (minibus & handyman) Carine Henry (Paediatric Dietitian) Debbie Ball (school cook) Carole Slade (teacher) Leo Chapman James Stokes Danny Going Brett Murphy Annick Topping ​ ​ Sancton Wood Julia Hewerdine Richard Settle Jack McDonald Russell Lord Angela Spaxman Mary Greer John Mainwood (accounts) Nick Golding Aatif Hassan ​ Bun Shop Keith Gehlert Becky Clarke Luca Senatore ​ CB2 David Papworth Rob Dan Bonnie Kit Sturdy Gemma Keith Gehlert Adrian Wrigley Sam Reynolds Tim O'Malley Carl Turner Rupert Pearce-Gould Jake Sturdy Matt Roberts ​ CB1 Giuliano Gavazzi Damien Newman Jake Sturdy Gillian Tony Jewell Angela Bernard Jauregui Tom Millington Genevieve Luke Leighton Patrick Mark Cheverton Debbie Hal Alasdair Pip Bartlett Hans Stolum Paul Carter Russell Lord Simon Lane Debra Bekerian ​ Applied Psychology Unit James McNaughten Jaap Murre Alan Baddeley James Tony Marcel Robin Green Eamon Strain Lizzie Nezer Dan Ruderman Dan Burnstone Debra Bekerian ​ Stirling University Bill Phillips Roger Watt Peter Hancock Roland Baddeley Steve Dakin Peter Richardson Steve Emmett Conor Jameson Martin Todd Barbara Jemec ​ Oxford University Alan Allport Ben Rood Paul Harris Jeanette McLoughlin ​ ​

Cambridge Primary Curriculum Curriculum Outlines for each subject in the Cambridge Primary