When Theodore and Ruth Wilcox opened Alleyn Court in September 1904, only four boys attended at the start of that first Autumn term. The numbers swiftly rose, such that by 1920 there were 80 pupils. Theodore, himself a pupil at King’s Canterbury and then a student at Selwyn College Cambridge, was inspired to found a preparatory school during his time teaching at Dulwich College Prep School; hence the name Alleyn Court. Thanks to the help of his cousin, Charles Dodgson, better known to the world as Lewis Carroll, who had financially supported him throughout his own education, he was finally in a position to set up his own school.
Since its foundation Alleyn Court has expanded dramatically, becoming co-educational when it added the Pre-prep department and extending its capacity in 1988 when it occupied its current, beautiful and spacious premises in Thorpe Bay.
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| Author John Fowles |
With over 320 boys and girls aged 2 ½ to 11 and on its new site Alleyn Court would scarcely be recognisable to its founder. However, he would know the uniform still in its original colours of navy blue with pink edging, he would appreciate the outstanding successes of the school academically, in sport and in the arts during its 100 year existence, he would recognise the continued ethos of courtesy and respect for others, hard work and enjoyment, and he would be delighted at the fulfilment of his school motto “non progredi est regredi:” not to go forwards is to go backwards.
