Cranbrook School (formerly Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School) is a co-educational state boarding and day grammar school in the market town of Cranbrook, Kent, England. Selection is made of pupils at age 11 and 13.
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History
The school was founded in 1518 after the death of John Blubery, a yeoman of the King's Armoury. In his will he decreed that if the child of his daughter be a girl, then his mansion house be turned into a free school for the poor children of Cranbrook. Elizabeth I granted the school a royal charter in 1574, which is now housed in the library.
Recent history
In 2003 alumnus Piers Sellers, a NASA astronaut, took a copy of the school charter into space with him. A photo is exhibited in the school cafeteria. In 2005, Sellers opened the school's observatory, which is named after him. This observatory houses the 22.5-inch Alan Young telescope operated by the Cranbrook and District Science and Astronomy Society (CADSAS). In May 2010, Sellers took into outer space aboard the Space Shuttle an original watercolour portrait of Cranbrook School painted by Brenda Barratt. The painting was later returned to the school with official NASA verification that it has travelled into space. In 2018, a new day house specifically for the 120 students in Years 7 and 8 was named after Sellers, although now students from any grade can be in Sellers.
Campus
Queen's Hall Theatre
The Queen's Hall Theatre was first opened in 1976; the original vision for the building was to provide a local community theatre which was funded by Cranbrook school, by the Education Authority and by Public subscription.
The subsequent refurbishment twenty years later in 1996 was financed by a generous grant from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, the Lottery Agency and by the Governors of the School, to capitalise upon the venue’s ability to attract visiting Arts Companies of a high calibre to the local area.
Today the Queen's Hall Theatre provides a diverse range of professional shows to appeal to all ages and tastes within the Cranbrook community, such as live music events and The Cranbrook Comedy Club. As well as professional productions, The Cranbrook Operatic and Dramatic Society puts on 3 shows a year, whilst the school puts on a musical and a play each year, both are done to a very high standard.
Seating a maximum of just over 350 people, The performance space is very flexible with adaptable seating allowing performances in the round, as well as on stage within the traditional proscenium arch.
The building is well equipped with state-of-the-art technical equipment and includes a large retractable cinema screen, a comprehensive lighting rig including intelligent moving fixtures, and a high-quality sound system.
There are two good-sized dressing rooms backstage as well as a classroom and green room which can double as extra-large dressing/band rooms when required.
Performing Arts Centre
The Performing Arts Centre (PAC) was opened in 2004. It contains the Wilkinson Studio, Music Practice Rooms, Vickers Auditorium, and Recording Studio. The PAC is used for drama and music lessons and is open to students for practice during break.
Notable Old Cranbrookians
Military personnel
General Sir John Akehurst, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (1987–1990)
Wing Commander Sir Norman Hulbert, Conservative MP for Stockport (1935–1950) and Stockport North (1950–1964)
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Barraclough, station commander of RAF Biggin Hill (1954–1956)
Wing Commander Hugh Kennard, aviator
Colonel Mike Osborn, commander of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (1954–1955)
Air Vice-Marshal Sir John Weston, station commander of RAF Halton (1952–1953)
Brigadier-General Wallace Duffield Wright, recipient of the Victoria Cross
Academics
Sir Tony Atkinson, professor of economics at the University of Oxford
Henry Ford, professor of Arabic and principal of Magdalen Hall, Oxford
Henri Gillet, professor of mathematics at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Arthur Surridge Hunt, professor of papyrology at the University of Oxford
Richard L. Hunter, Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge
Sir Nicholas Shackleton, professor of quaternary palaeoclimatology at the University of Cambridge
Annabel Gallop, head of the Southeast Asia Section at the British Library
Artists
Emma Biggs, mosaic artist
Henri Tebbitt, painter
Es Devlin, artist and stage designer
Musicians
Hugo Burnham, drummer for Gang of Four and associate professor at the New England Institute of Art
Jon Cleary, Grammy award-winning musician
Katie Kittermaster, singer-songwriter
Writers and journalists
Louise Dean, novelist
Hammond Innes, novelist
Richard Barham Middleton, poet and short-story writer
Karin Giannone, journalist and news presenter at BBC News
Sir Charles Wheeler, journalist for the BBC
Henry Shields, playwright
Georgina Henry, journalist
Jacqueline Winspear, novelist
Actors
Stuart Organ, actor
Caspar Phillipson, actor
Clergymen
Canon John Collins, political campaigner
The Venerable Alfred Daldy, Archdeacon of Winchester
Athletes
Phil Edmonds, cricketer
Ruaridh McConnochie, Olympic silver medal-winning member of the Great Britain national rugby sevens team
John Bluett, cricketer
Diplomats
Sir David Muirhead, Ambassador to Peru (1967–1970), Portugal (1970–1974) and Belgium (1974–1978)
Vijay Rangarajan, Ambassador to Brazil (2017–2020)
Other
Michael Croucher, TV film producer
Barry Davies, sports commentator
Harry Hill, comedian
Sir Victor Horsley, neurosurgeon
Kevin Lygo, television executive and Channel 4 Director of Television and Content
Brian Moore, football commentator
Tony Nicklinson, right-to-die campaigner
Richard Pilbrow, theatre producer
William Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes, co-founder of the Rootes Group
Piers Sellers, astronaut
Edwin Shirley, rock and roll tour organiser
Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project
Peter West, television presenter
Sarah Keith-Lucas, meteorologist