Our History

Now in our 30th year, the Egerton Rothesay School you see today developed from the bringing together of two Berkhamsted prep schools by our founders, John and Heather Adkins.

Rothesay School, founded in 1922 and situated in Charles Street, was their first school and was bought in 1981. Three years later, Egerton School, founded in 1951 and located a few hundred yards along the same road, was purchased. The two were amalgamated and gave us our current name. Children, split by age, continued to be taught on both sites.

The Founders’ aim was to run a school where, in addition to receiving a first class education, children learned about Christian values and developed a genuine understanding of the Bible and its teaching. This, within the context of small classes, concern for every individual and a strong family ethos, allowed the school to thrive from its earliest stages.

Over the next four years the school grew steadily and accommodation became cramped. During the same period there developed a shared desire amongst parents and staff to provide education for children throughout their secondary school years, and these two factors led to further premises being sought. 

In 1988 a purpose-built middle school was purchased from Hertfordshire County Council and the former Rothesay School buildings were sold for development to fund the purchase. At this point the Charles Street premises continued to provide accommodation for younger children, while children of 7 years and older transferred to the new site in Durrants Lane which offered continuous education through to age 16.

In 2009 the remaining Charles Street premises were sold to become houses again, and a new purpose-built facility at Durrants Lane meant that the whole school could be together on one site. This also provided an opportunity for us to refocus our aims and objectives. As a result, we were able to develop additional specialist space for Speech & Language and to focus on providing specialist support for children who needed something extra from their school.