Royal Russell School
Royal Russell School (before 1962, the Royal Warehousemen Clerks and Drapers' Schools; before 1953, the Warehousemen Clerks and Drapers' Schools; before 1895, the Warehousemen and Clerks' Schools for Orphan and Necessitous Children) is an independent school in the Shirley area of Croydon, South London. It is a co-educational day and boarding school. The motto of the school is Non sibi sed omnibus meaning "Not for one's self but for all". The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The patron of the school was Queen Elizabeth II. There are 900 pupils at the Royal Russell School, aged between three and 18. The school occupies a site of over 100 acres (0.40 km2) in gardens in a wooded estate two miles south-east of Croydon. The School moved the boys' part of the school from Russell Hill in Purley to the Ballards site in 1924, then moving the girls' section of the school completely to the Ballards site in 1961, and selling the original school site on Russell Hill in Purley in 1961. The Junior and Lower Junior schools are in separate buildings from the Senior School, but are on the same site. History In 1924 the school moved to its present site two miles (3 km) south-east of Croydon within the ancient (and ecclesiastical) parish of Addington, taking over a lightly wooded estate. Its buildings include a fine chapel and modern facilities. The school is affiliated to the Church of England, and the approach to daily life is founded on Christian principles, but pupils of all faiths are admitted. Since the 1970s new and better facilities have been built, numbers of girls have increased and the academic record has been good. The school has enjoyed royal patronage from its early days and Queen Elizabeth II visited the school on four occasions. Her first visit was in 1950 as Princess Elizabeth; in 1963 she opened Cambridge House and the Practical Block: she joined the celebrations of 125 years in 1979 and the sesquicentenary in 2003. The school is now independent of the Warehousemen, Clerks and Drapers livery companies and operates as a charity under the direction of its own board of governors. Extensive changes have taken place in recent years and today there is an IAPS Junior School and HMC Senior School on the one hundred acre estate. In 2003 the school held celebrations to mark its sesquicentennial year, being commemorated by Queen Elizabeth II visiting the school to open the library and Sixth Form Centre. In 2010 Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (now the Duke of Edinburgh) visited the school, officially opening the Performing Arts Centre. Academic The most recent ISI report, carried out in 2016, assessed the school in ten specific areas on a three-point scale: unsatisfactory, satisfactory and good. In certain circumstances if the lead inspector decides that the standard exceeds those set nationally then an 'excellent' grading can be given. The inspection lasted from March 15 to March 18 (three days), and in all 10