Ipswich High School – The London Nautical School, Woolverstone

The very first school on the Woolverstone estate opened in September 1947 and was part of the London Nautical School, based in Rotherhithe. The school provided boys (often the London poor and orphaned children) with a residential nautical education on board the TS Exmouth which was moored at Grays until the breakout of World War Two, when the ship’s company was evacuated and pupils sent first to Lydney, then Burnham, Bray and once the government evacuation scheme ended, Woolverstone.
90 boys arrived with their naval uniforms and slept in the Nissen huts

which remained from when the site had been used as a combined forces base in WW2. Students were arranged into four houses and followed a strict daily routine. A bugle call would summon them to a freezing shower in the stable block, before they went back to their dorms to put on their navy square rig uniforms in time for breakfast. After eating, the bugles would sound and the boys would assemble for ‘divisions’ outside Woolverstone Hall. Inspections would take place, announcements made and then a flag would be raised to the sound of bugles once more. With this daily ceremony complete, lessons would begin.

Boys learnt seamanship and navigation from what is now the Geography room at the top of Woolverstone Hall, as well as the usual school subjects including sports and music, at which they excelled. Several teachers who had started teaching on the TS Exmouth remained with the boys at Woolverstone and ensured strict discipline under the supervision of Commander
W. Smethwick, Captain Superintendent of the school. Many boys eventually left for careers in the merchant or Royal Navy.

The TS Exmouth had been towed to Scapa Flow in 1942, renamed the HMS Worcester and used to accommodate minesweeping crews, but the bell from the ship was removed to Woolverstone and took pride of place on the quarterdeck outside the Hall. It was mounted onto a stand of dolphins carved from sycamore trees grown on the school estate and was unveiled by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Spence Lyne with the words “I hope that as this bell strikes the hours it will help you think of what our Navy stands for – loyalty, duty and service at all times.”

The London Nautical School at Woolverstone was relatively short-lived, with the decision made to open Woolverstone Hall Boys’ School in 1951.During this early period, pupils of both schools co-existed at Woolverstone, the younger ones in civvies and the older boys in their naval attire. A smooth transition was ensured with shared teaching staff and the remaining focus on seamanship preparation.

Ipswich High School is proud to have retained links with the London Nautical School, with its Head, Mike Schofield and business manager, Rob Melia, visiting Mr Browning last year.
Unfortunately, the fate of the Exmouth bell is unknown, with neither school able to find records of when or to where it was removed. Should any nautical enthusiasts reading this be able to shed any light on its whereabouts, we would be grateful to know!