Sibford School

Sibford School was founded in 1842 as a co-educational boarding school for the children of 'disowned' Quakers - those who had married outside the Society of Friends - as their children were barred from entering Ackworth School.[1] It later accepted children from practicing Quaker families. The school was originally based in Walford Manor in the centre of Sibford Ferris, which had been remodeled in the 17th century. The Sibfords had a long association with the Quaker movement, although locally Quakers were still a dissenting minority in an area dominated by Church of England landowners.[2] It opened with 26 boys and 22 girls and the first recorded pupil was nine-year-old Lucy Endall, who entered the school on 16 January 1842.[3] Richard Routh was the first headmaster and remained in post until 1880. Sibford School initially occupied 18 acres of land and had a strong agricultural bias. The boys worked part-time on the farm while the girls did household duties. In this way it was possible to reduce fees to parents, which were adjusted according to means.[4]

The school expanded to a site to the south of the village with the opening of The Hill building by Dame Elizabeth Cadbury in 1930.[5] It was on this site that all future building projects took place, including several boarding houses, the science block, the dining hall, sports hall and an art and music building. The Junior School, originally called Orchard Close, for primary school aged pupils, opened in 1989.

Old scholars form the Sibford Old Scholars Association (SOSA).

• Charley Boorman
• Sir John Burgh KCMG
• Paul Eddington CBE
• Elizabeth Jolley AO
• Joseph Coles Kirby
• Ollie Locke CBE
• Guy Ritchie
• Beth Tanenhaus Winsten

• Richard Routh (1842–1880)
• Robert Oddie (1880–1906)
• James Harrod (1906–1930)
• Arthur Johnstone (1930–1956)
• Hugh Maw (1956–1962)
• Jonas Fielding (1962–1972)
• Kenneth Greaves (1972–1980)
• Jim Graham (1980–1989)
• John Dunston (1990–1996)
• Sue Freestone (1997–2004)
• Michael Goodwin (2004–2016)
• Toby Spence (2016–present)

• Jones, H.W. & Harrod, M. Sibford School, 1842–1942. (Pub. 1942).
• Fowler, R.W.F. Quaker education with special reference to Sibford School (MA thesis, King's College London). (Pub. 1987).
• Alphabetical list of scholars 1842–1867 (Sibford), prepared by Malcolm Thomas.
• OSA Annual reports, 1 (Pub. 1903/4).
• The Archway [school magazine] 1 (Pub. 1947).
• Oxfordshire Record Office, Oxford; (later records at the school).
• A View from the Hill ... a history of Sibford School 1842-2010 ~ an 'experiment' in Quaker education (Pub . 2010).

• List of Friends Schools

• Sibford School website