Educational Establishments
Laurence Gale MSc visits Packwood Haugh School in deepest Shropshire to meet Head Groundsman, Phil Mold, and discovers a small team producing playing surfaces to be proud of
Packwood Haugh School
Shropshire’s finest ...
P
ackwood Haugh School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding preparatory school for 4-13 year olds set in sixty-five acres of beautiful, undulating
Shropshire countryside, nestling between Shrewsbury and the Welsh border. It was founded by J. G. Bradshaw towards the end of the nineteenth century, opening in the autumn term of 1892 at Packwood in Warwickshire with just five boys and one assistant master. For the next forty-eight years, the school gradually grew until, in 1940, when the original school building was requisitioned by the RAF, it moved to its current location at Ruyton XI Towns in Shropshire. In its new location, Packwood soon established itself as one of the country’s leading prep schools.
84 I PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015
Academic achievement has always been of major importance; from the very early days, scholarships were achieved to many of the major public schools and, over the years, regular awards for sport, music, art and drama have been added to the list. Girls joined the school in 1968 with the house and grounds expanding over the years. The major acquisition was that of Park Farm in 1977, which gave the school a total of sixty-five acres. Developments since then have included squash courts, the girls’ boarding house, an all-weather sports area, a purpose-built theatre, a state-of-the-art sports hall, art room, DT room and IT suite, and even an equestrian cross-country course. Driving through the high gates of the school and into the visitors car park, my eyes were immediately drawn to an impressive
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It was a moving and humbling moment to witness these young people respond so thoughtfully and to see that they understood that this was the right and proper behaviour
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