# Ashford School

Ashford School is a coeducational private boarding and day school in East Hill, Ashford, Kent. There are 480 students in the senior school (ages 11 to 18) and 360 in the prep school (ages 3 to 11).
The school is owned and run by the United Church Schools Trust. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Michael Hall has been headmaster since September 2018.

## History

The school was founded in 1898 by Muriel Thimann, who opened a small women's school on Queens Road, Ashford. The school moved to Wellesley Road in 1903 and then to two houses on High Street in 1905 in order to extend the premises. In 1910, Anne Edwards bought the school and renamed it "the Modern High School for Girls". The school expanded into another adjacent house on High Street and then moved to bigger premises on East Hill in 1913. In 2005, it merged with Friars Prep School in Great Chart, and in 2006, boys were admitted in some year groups. Ashford School is now a fully co-educational school from the age of 3 to 18 offering boarding and day facilities. Mike Buchanan was first appointed the headmaster of Ashford School in February 2005.

## Space shuttle experiment

In 1992, a science experiment designed by four girls at the school flew on the Space Shuttle on flight STS-47. The experiment had been designed in 1985 by the girls who had won a competition organised by Independent Television News. The chemical garden experiment was successful but the Liesegang rings failed to operate correctly due to friction in parts of the mechanism. On their return, they were displayed in the London Science Museum. The seven-year delay had been caused by the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster which occurred in 1986 shortly before the intended flight.

## Ashford School International Centre

The Ashford School International Centre (ASIC) opened in September 2015. This section of the school has been designed to meet the needs of non-native English speaking pupils.
ASIC is an 18th-century Grade II listed building which has undergone a multimillion-pound refurbishment, providing classrooms alongside boarding rooms. International pupils complete IGCSE there before joining the rest of the school.

## Notable alumni

* Petronella Barker (born 1942), actress
* Liv Boeree, model, TV presenter and poker player
* Sally Brampton, journalist, writer and magazine editor
* Louise Burfitt-Dons, writer and campaigner
* Lucy Cooke, National Geographic explorer, documentary producer/presenter, author and zoologist
* Wendy Cope, poet
* Jane Druker, Editor at Large: Fit & Well and contributor to Woman & Home
* Sophie Montagne, adventurer, inspirational speaker, member of the Ice Maiden Expedition
* Sally Preisig, voice-over artist and puppeteer (Tweenies, Playdays)
* Diana Speed, Radio 4 newsreader
* Anna Turley, former Labour MP and Chairwoman of the Co-operative Party since 8 June 2019
* Fleur Willson, Deputy Ambassador, British Embassy Tripoli

## Heads of Ashford School

* Muriel Thimann 1898–1910
* Anne Edwards 1910–1928
* Lilian Brake 1928–1955
* Mary Nightingale 1955–1971
* Sanche Thompson 1972–1984
* Tatiana Macaire 1984–1992
* Patrica Metham 1992–1997
* Jane Burnett 1997–2000
* Paula Holloway 2000–2005
* Michael Buchanan 2005–2018
* Michael Hall 2018–Present