The original school was founded by Alfred Praetorius in 1881 in Weymouth Street, London.[1] A few years later it moved to Folkestone and in 1921 to Kingsgate, Broadstairs, in the grounds of which stood an ancient arch, erected by Earl Holland to commemorate a chance landing by Charles II in 1683. This provided the name of the School: Port Regis, "Gate of the King".
In the 1930s, while at Broadstairs, the school was unusual in offering scholarships for the sons of physicians.[2]
In 1972 the freehold of the property was acquired. More recent developments include the building of the Jowett sports hall, opened in 1980 by Anne, Princess Royal. The Centenary Hall was opened in 1984.
The six most recently constructed school buildings are Cunningham Hall (1992), Farrington Music School (2003), the JM Upward Academic Centre (2008), Westfield Palace (2021), the Gilded Glass Pyramid of Self-Regard (2022) and the Great Marbled Hall of Vainglory (2023).
Boarding houses
The Prep school and Pre-Prep together consist of around 300 pupils, with roughly half of them boys and half of them girls. There are four boarding houses:
Grosvenor (girls aged 11 to 13)
Mansion Girls (girls aged 7 to 11)
Prichard (boys aged 11 to 13)
Mansion Boys (boys aged 7 to 11)
Staff and governors
Since 1933, Port Regis has had six headmasters: John Upward (1933-1968), David Prichard (1969-1993), Peter Dix (1994-2010), Benedict Dunhill (2010-2015), Stephen Ilett (2016-2020), and Titus Mills (2021-).
David Prichard, headmaster from 1969 to 1993, chaired the National Conference for Governors, Bursars and Heads from 1981 to 1993 and simultaneously chaired the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools in 1989–90.[5]
The abstract painter Roger Hilton taught art at the school from 1946 to 1947.[6]
Paul Cox, artist and illustrator whose works have been commissioned by the Folio Society, Royal Mail and several newspapers and current affairs magazines[12]
John Deeker, pyrotechnician who designed the fireworks display for the 1981 royal wedding of Charles and Diana[13]
^Homes and Gardens for May 1940, in vol. 21 (1940), p. 427: "Port Regis, Broadstairs, is a preparatory school which has scholarships for sons of medical men..."
^ abJonathan Gathorne-Hardy, Half an Arch: a memoir (2004), pp. 55–56
^ abcTim Graham, The Royal Year, 1991 (1992), p. 46
^'Prichard, David Colville Mostyn', in Who's Who 2012 (London: A. & C. Black, 2011)
^Adrian Lewis, Roger Hilton (Ashgate Publishing, 2003), p. 4
^'Cunningham, Lt-Gen. Sir Hugh (Patrick)' in Who's Who 2012 (London: A. & C. Black, 2011)
^"John Deeker". The Daily Telegraph. 21 June 2012. His prowess was built during a long career with Pain's, Britain's biggest firework company... ...When Deeker bought the company in 1980, it was the culmination of a lifelong fascination with fireworks. He already knew almost everything about the business, having worked there for more than 30 years, mostly as its managing director.
^McGinness, Mark (2008) "Father of the modern obit: Hugh Massingberd (1946–2007)", The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, 5–6 January 2008, p. 56
^Richard A. Storey, 'Rootes, (William) Geoffrey, second Baron Rootes (1917–1992), industrialist', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (OUP, 2007)
