Foundation: pre–1613 Dame Alice Owen's School was founded in 1613 by the English philanthropist
Alice Owen (
née Wilkes; 1547 – 26 November 1613). Owen decided to found a school to thank God for saving her when she was a child after she narrowly avoided being struck by an arrow, which passed through her hat, in the fields in
Islington; the exact nature of this event is disputed. The death of her third husband (the judge
Thomas Owen) in 1598 caused Alice Owen to be free to carry out her plans. On 6 June 1608, she acquired a licence to purchase of ground in Islington and
Clerkenwell, on which to build a hospital for 10 poor widows, and to confer power over that land (and some other land; in total, it was worth £40 a year) to the
Worshipful Company of Brewers (her first husband, Henry Robinson, had been a member of the company). The site had been called the "Hermitage" field. In 1609, Owen officially gave authority over the charity she had founded to the Brewers' Company; by
indentures dated in that year, she had given the company an annual payment of £25 to support her almshouses. After founding the
almshouses in 1608 on the site, which was on the east side of St John Street, in 1610 Owen obtained the right to build a school and chapel in the same location. It was built between 1610 and 1612 and probably opened in 1613. Three iron arrows were fixed into a gable in the building, to commemorate the time when she was almost hit by an arrow; Owen also erected a free chapel there. On 20 September 1613, she made rules for her school (and the almshouses); notably, the school was to take thirty boys – twenty-four from Islington and six from Clerkenwell – and be inspected by the Brewers' Company once a year. The rules also stated that the school's headmaster was to be paid five pounds every three months and be given a house to live in for free; he was to teach writing, mathematics and
bookkeeping. Her will (which was dated 10 June 1613), directed the yearly purchase of land worth £20 in order to pay the headmaster's salary. The first man to hold the position was William Leske, who held the position until 1614 before resigning. Samuel Lewis Jnr writes that according to
John Stow's Survey of London, building the school and almshouses, as well as purchasing the land, cost £1776. To provide her charity with an income, the
executor of Owen's will, Sir Thomas Rich, bought a farm in
Orsett in
Essex for £22.
Traditions The school has maintained many traditions from the time of its founding, such as the giving of a small amount of "beer money" to every pupil. This is a reminder of the school's long-standing close association with the brewing industry and the Worshipful Company of Brewers. Pupils in Year Seven receive a special five-pound coin in a ceremony at Brewers' Hall in London, while the older years are given money at school by the
Master of the Worshipful Company of Brewers on the last day of the academic year. (A memorial to the people who died in the bombing was unveiled in 2005 at
City and Islington College, at the former site of Dame Alice Owen's School's playground). The first official history of the school, by Reg Dare, was also published that year; there was also a Thanksgiving Service at St Paul's Cathedral on 30 April. A new building, part of the girls' school, was opened in October. Funds were raised to purchase a residential centre for both of the schools to use. Pupils stayed there for periods of several days and learned there; the centre, which was located outside London, was called Harrock House. It opened in May 1965, and closed in 1985 due to the cost of maintaining it. The two schools merged in 1973 and were run as a mixed school while pupils were transferred in stages to the school's current location in
Potters Bar in
Hertfordshire between 1973 and July 1976. The former boys' school building has now been demolished; the girls' school building is now part of
City and Islington College.
Mixed school in Potters Bar: 1976–present On 2 November 1990, the
Duke of Edinburgh visited the school and opened a new building for physics and information technology that also houses a library, called the Edinburgh Centre. Later that year, a new teaching block known as the "Brewers Education Centre" was completed, after over a year of construction. The building was formally opened in 2021 in a ceremony with the
Worshipful Company of Brewers. The building cost approximately £5 million, with funding coming from the UK government and the Brewers' Company. The Bernard Ryan Centre was due to undergo extensive renovation in 2023.
400th anniversary (2013) To commemorate the school's quatercentenary in 2013, the school established a 400th Anniversary Committee chaired by the musician
Gary Kemp (with Peter Martin, the chair of governors, as vice-chairman), which organised several events. Kemp is an Old Owenian (former student) who met most of the future members of his band (with the exception of his brother, Martin)
Spandau Ballet at the school. Construction was set to start in February 2013. The film director and producer
Sir Alan Parker (also an Old Owenian) featuring performances by various groups of students, as well as members of Spandau Ballet (including Kemp). A Thanksgiving Service was held at St Paul's Cathedral In conjunction with the celebrations, a 400th-Anniversary Appeal was set up to raise £1 million towards a new science building for the school. It was launched in February 2011 by
Lord Robert Winston. Kemp was the chairman of the appeal; he said that the school needs assistance "to support ... the scientists of tomorrow". The new block was unveiled by Lord Winston in 2014 (some of the funding came from the appeal). == Governance ==