History of Donhead

Donhead opened its gates for the first time on September 25th 1933. Summer holidays were obviously even longer in those days! The school opened with 75 pupils and was for boys from 7 to 11 years of age. Donhead was founded by Fr Oscar Withnell, the Rector of Wimbledon College at the time, when the need arose to find suitable premises in Wimbledon where the junior classes of the bulging College could migrate to form a preparatory school with its own Headmaster, staff and grounds. Providentially, he was given the chance of buying the house immediately opposite the College gates, which was already called 'Donhead Lodge'. In Anglo-Saxon 'head' means top and 'don' means hill so we can only assume that is how the house got its name. The house was bought from Mr and Mrs Smail for the princely sum of £6,000.

The uniform of Donhead did not have a special cap, tie and blazer until the second and third terms. The opportunity was taken to get away from what one old boy of Donhead has described as "the rather drab College dark-blue". The colour has been described as 'Royal blue', but it was a distinctly lighter shade than what we are familiar with nowadays - one reason for this being that the original colour was impossible to get during World War II.

The grounds too have been improved over the years. During the summer of 2013 the lawn and playground were developed with the installation of a 3G artificial surface in both areas. Both areas had a 22mm rubber layer installed to ensure a soft surface. Overall, the play areas for the children have been transformed, both in terms of quality and safety. Two adventure playgrounds have also been added to enhance the facilities for the boys at Donhead, as well as an outdoor stage.

Since then the House has been enlarged and expanded quite considerably. 1993 saw the opening of the Diamond Jubilee Building by Fr Wetz SJ, Headmaster of Donhead from 1971-1985, and was named the 'Fr Wetz Building'. This building currently houses Reception M, PP1J, PP1T and LP1W. In 1997 the sports ground was purchased. In September 2004 the first stage of the building development was completed, giving us a new Entrance Area. In September 2006 the St Ignatius building development was completed giving us a new Changing Room, Multi-Purpose Hall, Art Room, Music Room and ICT Suite. This was officially opened by Fr Michael Holman SJ. In October 2010, the Berchman's Building was opened by The Most Reverend Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark. This building currently houses Reception and Pre-Prep. At the same time, a new dining room and kitchen was completed and a new Music Practice Centre established in the basement too.