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The University of Southampton
Special Collections

MS 319 Papers of Whittinghame College, Brighton

Whittingehame College

Whittingehame College was a Jewish boarding school for boys based in Brighton. The headmaster and founder was Jacob ‘Jake’ Halévy (1898-1978). The school was establish along the lines of the English public school system: the aim was that normal teaching, leading to University entrance qualification, would be supplemented by instruction in, and practice of, the Jewish tradition.

The school was founded in September 1931 at 62 The Drive, Hove. The name, Whittingehame, was derived from the birthplace and ancestral seat of Earl Balfour of Whittingehame in Whittingehame, East Lothian.

By 1934 the school had 72 pupils, 23 teachers and ancillary staff and had expanded to fill two neighbouring houses. In 1936, it moved to a new building on Surrenden Road, Brighton, designed by architect Leopold Pilichowski. During the 1940s there was an enforced move from Brighton to mid-Wales. In the late 1940s and 1950s the school continued to expand, taking an increasing number of pupils from the Middle East.

In 1958, due to the difficulty of expanding the Surrenden Road site, all classes of younger pupils were relocated to Handcross Park, a country house about eighteen miles north of Brighton. The School appointed a Board of Governors in 1965 and at the same time the Surrenden Road site was sold, leading to a wholesale move to Handcross. The school was closed at the end of the autumn term in 1967.

About the collection

The collection includes papers relating to general assemblies, 1960-80; Woodpecker scout troop log book, 1941-2; prefects' minute book,1955-8; record of meetings of the literary and debating society, 1966-7; school exercise books of Robert Cramer, 1934-5; copies of school publications, c.1942-62; the Ministry of Education Inspectors' report on Whittingehame College, Jun 1956; and black and white photographs of students and student activities, including lessons, sports and drama productions. 

The collection also includes some more contemporary material including a copy of ‘Jake’s legacy: a history of Whittingehame College’ by Eric Shanes and correspondence, papers and photographs relating to reunions.

Date range:

1930s-90s

Former references: 

A1082, A2010

Size:

4 boxes

 

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