Welcome to the Ashford School and Friars Prep School digital archive, made possible by generous grants from Ashford School and the Ashford School Association.
Ashford School was founded as a small educational establishment for "ladies" in 1898 by Mrs Thimann. Bought in 1910 by Mrs Edwards it was only then that the School began to make any real headway. When Mrs Edwards went into partnership with her younger colleague, Miss Brake, in 1913, the school expanded even more rapidly, moving to the current Senior School premises on East Hill.
Friars Prep School was established at Great Chart by Mr and Mrs Lendrum in 1949 and rapidly became a popular and successful boys’ school, educating many of the brothers of Ashford girls and preparing them for a combination of local state, grammar and independent schools.
Following the merger of the two schools in 2005 much has changed at Great Chart and East Hill and we wish to ensure that as much of the past history of both schools is preserved. Whether you are an Ashfordian looking back on school days, a researcher whose family had a connection with Ashford or Friars or a social historian investigating the heritage of our local schools, we hope you will enjoy browsing this rich and fascinating resource and will find what you are looking for.
Over the years, a great deal of archive material has gone astray. However, Ashford School is committed to cataloguing and preserving our existing material and rebuilding the archive with new material offered by former pupils and friends.
If you have materials relating to Ashford School or Friars Prep School which you think should be preserved and which would be of interest to former pupils and current students, please contact us at
alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk or
archives@ashfordschool.co.uk