| Colfe's School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
Horn Park Lane , London ,SE12 8AW England | |
| Coordinates | 51°27′00″N0°01′16″E / 51.45°N 0.021°E /51.45; 0.021 |
| Information | |
| Type | Privateday school Public school |
| Motto | Ad astra per aspera (Through hardships to the stars) |
| Established | 1568; 457 years ago (1568) (reestablished 1652) |
| Founder | John Glyn in 1568 Reestablished withAbraham Colfe's name in 1652 |
| Local authority | Greenwich |
| Department for Education URN | 100202Tables |
| Governors | Leathersellers' Company |
| Headmaster | Dan Gabriele |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age range | 3–18 |
| Enrolment | 1,150 (approx.) |
| Houses | Beardwood, Bramley, Norton, Prendergast, Glyn |
| Colours | Blue and gold |
| Publication | The Colfeian |
| Affiliation | Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference |
| Alumni | Old Colfeians |
| Official Visitor | Prince Michael of Kent |
| Website | www |
Colfe's School, previouslyColfe's Grammar School, is aco-educationalprivate day school inHorn Park in theRoyal Borough of Greenwich, in southeast London, England, and one of the oldest schools in London. The school is a member of theHeadmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The officialVisitor to the school isPrince Michael of Kent.
Colfe's is one of the oldest schools in London.[1] The parish priest ofLewisham taught the local children from the time of Richard Walker'schantry, founded in 1494, until thedissolution of the monasteries byHenry VIII. Rev. John Glyn re-established the school in 1568 and it was granted a charter byElizabeth I in 1574.Abraham Colfe became a governor in 1613 and the school was re-founded bearing his name in 1652.
Colfe declared that the aim of the school was to provide an education for the boys from "theHundred of Blackheath". He invited theLeathersellers' Company, one of London'slivery companies, to be the trustee of his will. Links between the school and the Leathersellers remain strong.
The school was originally built around Colfe's house with an entrance in Lewisham Hill. The site was progressively developed and extended until 1890, when it was completely rebuilt on the same site with its entrance now in Granville Park. During the Second World War the school was first evacuated to Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and then to Frome in Somerset.[2] A period of inactivity on the Western front led about 100 boys to return to London, so the school was split for a few years. In 1944 a V2 (flying bomb) almost totally destroyed the school.
At the end of the War, with no school buildings and the pupil roll having halved, it was uncertain if the school would continue. In London the school was split between two sites – Beacon Road School in Hither Green and Ennersdale Road School, about a quarter of a mile away. Temporary buildings (rows of pre-fabricated concrete construction) were erected and the school came together again in 1947 under the headmastership of Herbert Beardwood MSc. The "temporary" buildings were still being used until the move to the new site in 1963.
Herbert Beardwood updated Leland Duncan'sHistory of Colfe's Grammar School in 1952, in celebration of the school's tercentenary under Colfe's name. The book was further updated by Beardwood in 1972, to reflect both the move to the present campus at the east end of the playing fields, and the impact on the school of the machinations of early 1970s UK politics.
The school moved to its current site in 1963 and since then there has been much change: improved facilities have been provided, such as an all-weather sports pitch, a performing arts centre, and new classroom facilities. The Leathersellers' sports ground has been renovated to make it the home of senior sport (rugby, football and cricket).
Having been avoluntary aided grammar school, Colfe's became independent again in 1977. Although founded as a school for boys, girls have been admitted to the Sixth Form since 1977.[3] In 1997, it was decided to allow girls throughout the school, and today the school is fully co-educational.
The school admits pupils at the age of 3 into the Nursery, from which they progress to the Junior School aged 4. From here pupils make the transition to the Senior school at the age of 11.
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The Senior School is at the top of the main school site. An all-weather playing field (funded in part by donations from parents and former pupils) was opened in 2006. The school has aperforming arts centre, a sports complex complete with a 25m swimming pool, two gyms and a sports hall,[4]IT and music facilities and over 30 acres (12 ha) of playing fields. Many of the facilities are shared with the junior school. There are 6 buildings in the Senior School: the Main Teaching Block and the Stewart Building create the central "ring", with the Modern Languages Building (Meridian Building), Beardwood Theatre (Art / Music block) and the Laurel Building (L Block).[5] The Russell Building, named after Colfe's previous headmaster, Richard Russell, is now open as of September 2025 and now houses Computer Science, Geography and Learning Support.
The Junior School is at the bottom of the school site, in two self-contained buildings.
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