{{Use British English|date=February 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox school | name = Port Regis School | image = Port Regis school, Motcombe - geograph.org.uk - 402560.jpg | caption = Main building | image_size = | coordinates = {{coord|51.019867|-2.215725|type:edu_region:GB_dim:100|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | motto = ''Altiora peto''<br />(I seek higher things) | established = 1881 | closed = | type = [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|Private]] [[preparatory school (UK)|preparatory school]] | religious_affiliation = | president = | head_label = Headmaster | head = Titus Mills | r_head_label = | r_head = | chair_label = | chair = | founder = | specialist = | address = Motcombe Park | city = [[Shaftesbury]] | county = [[Dorset]] | country = England | postal_code = SP7 9QA | local_authority = | ofsted = | urn = 113915 | staff = | enrolment = ''c.'' 360 | gender = Mixed | lower_age = 2 | upper_age = 13 | houses = 4 | colours = Navy, White & Maroon {{color box|Navy}}{{color box|White}}{{color box|Maroon}} | publication = | free_label1 = | free_text1 = | free_label2 = | free_text2 = | free_label3 = | free_text3 = | website = http://www.portregis.com/ }} '''Port Regis School''' is a [[co-educational]] [[preparatory school (UK)|preparatory school]] located in 140 acres of parkland on the [[Dorset]]-[[Wiltshire]] border in southern England, situated between the towns of [[Shaftesbury]] and [[Gillingham, Dorset|Gillingham]].
==History== The original school was founded by Alfred Praetorius in 1881 in [[Weymouth Street]], London.<ref name="portregis.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.portregis.com/362/welcome/history-of-port-regis|title = StackPath}}</ref> A few years later it moved to [[Folkestone]] and in 1921 to Kingsgate, [[Broadstairs]], in the grounds of which stood an ancient arch, erected by [[Earl Holland]] to commemorate a chance landing by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1683. This provided the name of the School: Port Regis, "Gate of the King".
In the 1930s, while at Broadstairs, the school was unusual in offering scholarships for the sons of physicians.<ref>''Homes and Gardens'' for May 1940, in vol. 21 (1940), p. 427: "Port Regis, Broadstairs, is a preparatory school which has scholarships for sons of medical men..."</ref>
In September 1943 Port Regis was evacuated to a wing of [[Bryanston School]] in [[Blandford]].<ref name=hardy>Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy, ''Half an Arch: a memoir'' (2004), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Bx7W-uJ10uoC&pg=PA55 pp. 55–56]</ref> After a brief stay at the [[Earl of Verulam]]'s home at [[Gorhambury]], the School moved in 1947 to [[Motcombe]] Park, one mile (1.6 km) from [[Shaftesbury]] in Dorset, where it has been ever since.
In 1972 the freehold of the property was acquired. More recent developments include the building of the Jowett sports hall, opened in 1980 by [[Anne, Princess Royal]]. The Centenary Hall was opened in 1984.
On 22 February 1991, the Queen's Hall, which houses a heated swimming pool and competition-standard gymnasium with sunken trampoline, was opened by [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], while their grandchildren [[Peter Mark Andrew Phillips|Peter]] and [[Zara Phillips]] were at the school.<ref name=graham>Tim Graham, ''The Royal Year, 1991'' (1992), p. 46</ref>
The three most recently constructed school buildings are Cunningham Hall (1992), Farrington Music School (2003) and the Upward Academic Centre (2008).
==Boarding houses== The Prep school and Pre-Prep together consist of around 300 [[Student|pupils]], with roughly half of them boys and half of them girls. There are four boarding houses:
* '''Grosvenor''' (girls aged 11 to 13) * '''Mansion Girls''' (girls aged 7 to 11) * '''Prichard''' (boys aged 11 to 13) * '''Mansion Boys''' (boys aged 7 to 11)
==Staff and governors== Since 1933, Port Regis has had six headmasters: John Upward (1933-1968), David Prichard (1969-1993), Peter Dix (1994-2010), Benedict Dunhill (2010-2015), Stephen Ilett (2016-2020), and Titus Mills (2021-).
David Prichard, headmaster from 1969 to 1993, chaired the National Conference for Governors, Bursars and Heads from 1981 to 1993 and simultaneously chaired the [[Independent Association of Preparatory Schools]] in 1989–90.<ref>'Prichard, David Colville Mostyn', in ''[[Who's Who (UK)|Who's Who 2012]]'' (London: A. & C. Black, 2011)</ref>
The abstract painter [[Roger Hilton]] taught art at the school from 1946 to 1947.<ref>Adrian Lewis, ''Roger Hilton'' (Ashgate Publishing, 2003), [https://books.google.com/books?id=1VB-UOcIT7cC&pg=PA4 p. 4]</ref>
[[Hugh Cunningham (British Army officer)|Lt. General Sir Hugh Cunningham]] was chairman of the school's governing body from 1982 to 1994.<ref>'Cunningham, Lt-Gen. Sir Hugh (Patrick)' in ''Who's Who 2012'' (London: A. & C. Black, 2011)</ref>
[[James Iain Stevenson]], Brigadier of the [[British Army]] was from 17 June 2016 until 1 March 2019 a director of the school.<ref>[https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/ZFsjU25Zoc-D8_KHs4Wwmln28oc/appointments James Iain STEVENSON] in ''Companies House''</ref>
==Notable former pupils (Old Portregians)== {{see also|Category:People educated at Port Regis School}}
* [[Kwame Anthony Appiah]], British philosopher, cultural theorist, novelist and professor at [[New York University]] * [[Louis Blom-Cooper|Sir Louis Blom-Cooper]], barrister, author, and chairman of the [[Press Council (UK)|Press Council]]<ref>'BLOM-COOPER, Sir Louis (Jacques)', in ''Who's Who 2012''</ref> * [[Myles Burnyeat]], Emeritus Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the [[University of Cambridge]] * [[Max Clark (rugby union)|Max Clark]], professional rugby player at [[Bath Rugby]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bathrugby.com/team/academy/academy-squad/max-clark |title=Bath Rugby Official Website {{!}} Academy squad {{!}} Max Clark |website=www.bathrugby.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028224726/http://www.bathrugby.com/team/academy/academy-squad/max-clark |archive-date=2014-10-28}}</ref> * [[Jasper Conran]], designer<ref>[http://www.jasperconran.com/collections/books/countrypress-html/western-daily-press,48,BLO.html Western Daily Press 20 March 2010] at jasperconran.com, Retrieved 8 February 2012</ref> * [[Sebastian Conran]], designer and member of the [[Design Council|UK Design Council]] * John Deeker, pyrotechnician who designed the fireworks display for the 1981 [[Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer|royal wedding]] of Charles and Diana<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9347811/John-Deeker.html|title=John Deeker|quote=His prowess was built during a long career with Pain's, Britain's biggest firework company... ...When Deeker bought the company in 1980, it was the culmination of a lifelong fascination with fireworks. He already knew almost everything about the business, having worked there for more than 30 years, mostly as its managing director. | work=The Daily Telegraph|date=21 June 2012}}</ref> * [[Hilary Dresser]], rower for the [[Great Britain at the Olympics|Great Britain]] team at the [[1992 Summer Olympics]] in Barcelona. * [[Adetomiwa Edun]], actor who starred in the British TV series [[Merlin (2008 TV series)|Merlin]] * [[Luke Evans (politician)]], Member of Parliament for [[Bosworth (UK Parliament constituency)]] from 2019. * [[Rashid bin El Hassan|Prince Rashid bin El Hassan]], member of the [[Jordanian Royal Family]] * [[Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy]], biographer, historian and novelist<ref name=hardy/> * [[Nick Greenstock]], English international rugby player * [[Adrian Heath (painter)|Adrian Heath]], artist<ref>Julian Freeman, 'Heath, Adrian Lewis Ross (1920–1992), artist and art teacher' in ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'' (OUP, 2007)</ref> * George Hurst, Chief Conductor of the [[BBC Philharmonic Orchestra]] * [[Daisy Lewis]], actress who starred in ''[[Downton Abbey]]'' and ''[[Doctor Who]]'' * [[Hugh Massingberd]], journalist and genealogist, known as the father of the modern obituary<ref name="MM">McGinness, Mark (2008) "Father of the modern obit: Hugh Massingberd (1946–2007)", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', Weekend Edition, 5–6 January 2008, p. 56</ref> * [[Amelia Maughan]], bronze medal-winning swimmer at the [[2014 Commonwealth Games]] * [[Tim Payne (rugby union)|Tim Payne]], English international rugby player * [[Peter Mark Andrew Phillips|Peter Phillips]], son of [[Anne, Princess Royal]]<ref name=graham/> * [[Henry Pyrgos]], Scottish international rugby player * [[Geoffrey Rootes, 2nd Baron Rootes]], industrialist and Chairman of [[Chrysler|Chrysler UK]]<ref>Richard A. Storey, 'Rootes, (William) Geoffrey, second Baron Rootes (1917–1992), industrialist', in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (OUP, 2007)</ref> * Bruce Sharman, film producer and production manager/supervisor of ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977) and ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' (1980)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788935/|title=Bruce Sharman|website=IMDb}}</ref> * [[Zara Tindall]], daughter of [[Anne, Princess Royal]]<ref name=graham/> * Lloyd Wallace, gold medal-winning [[Freestyle skiing#Aerial skiing|aerial skier]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/31925014|title = Wallace wins GB's first aerials gold|work = BBC Sport}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.portregis.com}}
{{Schools in Dorset}} {{authority control}}
[[Category:Preparatory schools in Dorset]] [[Category:Boarding schools in Dorset]] [[Category:Educational institutions established in 1881]] [[Category:1881 establishments in England]]