Wednesday 20th May saw Cranleigh School welcome The Rt Hon. the Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, as guest of honour at the formal opening of the spectacular new Emms Centre.

Designed by leading architects Pringle Richards and Sharratt, equipped with 21st-Century facilities and incorporating extensive energy-efficient features (including utilising energy from Cranleigh’s own two wind turbines), the Emms Centre has been individually designed to house the School’s Science, Maths and Modern Languages Faculties. It covers 3,500m² and includes laboratories, classrooms, computer rooms, a lecture theatre for 150+ people, offices and a soaring 20-metre high atrium – a natural hub for the School and, with its huge palm trees and colourful display of UVIth artwork around its walls, a striking setting for Wednesday, when 200 guests gathered for the inauguration ceremony.

After a short welcome by Guy Waller, Head of Cranleigh, and Anthony Townsend, Chairman of the Governing Body, Lord Patten took to the stage for his opening speech. He began with a warm tribute to the ‘truly impressive’ new Academic Centre, and by endorsing what the Chairman had previously said about the importance of the core subjects – Modern Languages, Sciences and Mathematics – in the national curriculum, and the importance of these subjects for those of us who live in a civilised society. And, he went on to say, we do live in a civilised society and it is something we must strive to uphold.

The official unveiling of the plaque was then followed by a short reception, during which guests were able to look around the Emms Centre.

The Emms Centre is named after David Emms, OBE, a much-loved former Headmaster of Cranleigh School (1960-1970), and a man dedicated to the provision of education – a passion he pursued throughout an illustrious career that included, alongside three Headships, the positions of: Chairman of the HMC, Deputy Chairman of the English-Speaking Union, Chairman of the Joint Educational Trust, President of ISCO and Deputy Pro-Chancellor of City University. He also enjoyed a notable Rugby Union career, representing Oxford twice in the Varsity Match, and going on to play for the Northampton Saints, the Eastern Counties and the Barbarians in 1953.

As Cranleigh’s Head, Guy Waller, says “The opening of the Emms Centre represents a major milestone in Cranleigh’s ongoing development, reinforcing our commitment to first-class education. Not only does it provide outstanding educational facilities for our pupils, but we very much hope that it will also serve to inspire an ongoing stream of students to specialise in three crucial, and nationally declining, subject areas. As such, it is most befitting that it is named after a man who has given so much towards the furthering of education in this country –fifty years almost to the day since he was appointed to Cranleigh.