Chigwell School dates back to 1619 when a schoolhouse was erected on the site. The first headmaster Peter Mease was appointed in 1623. It was formally founded in 1629 by Samuel Harsnett, Archbishop of York and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, and began with 16 “poor, clever” scholars.
In 1868, the school was split into two sections. The English section for local children studying arithmetic, reading and writing was housed in a building behind the King’s Head public house, which was mentioned in Charles Dickens’ novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty. The Latin section (for Latin scholars only) remained in the original building. Rather unusually for a boys’ school at that time, in 1873, it started a bursary programme for girls to attend other schools.
It is situated next to the historic Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, which the royal family used while hunting deer in the forest during the 1600s.
Chigwell School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school. It is a private school in Chigwell, in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It consists of a Pre Prep (ages 4–7), Prep School (ages 7–11), Senior School (ages 11–16) and Sixth Form. A pre-preparatory department for children aged 4–7 was constructed starting for the 2013–14 academic year.
The school is situated in 100 acres of land between Epping Forest and Hainault Forest, ten miles from London. It is a member of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) and the Junior School is a member of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS).
