Pierrepont House School was founded in 1947 as an independent school for boys by its first headmaster, Thomas Joyce Parry. The following year Parry established a school
Combined Cadet Force, with himself as its commanding officer, and became known in the school as 'Major Parry'. He had served in the British Army in both the 1st and 2nd World War. This distinguished him from his son Thomas Parry who joined the staff after returning to England in 1947 after serving in India as an officer in the 4th Battalion the
9th Gurkha Rifles. The CCF, or 'Corps', became the heart of the school's ethos. In 1970 the original
Army section was joined by a
Royal Air Force section and in 1983 by a
Royal Navy section. The school's main building was a 19th-century
country house designed by the architect
Richard Norman Shaw around an earlier house. In 1973 this was
listed as Grade II*. The school's aim for its boys – and for its girls from 1983 onwards – was to give them a good all-round education while developing character through sports and other outdoor activities, and its
syllabus included adventure training, leadership, and personal survival. The school's former premises were bought by Ellel Ministries International and became the home of the new Ellel Pierrepont Centre. ==Motto==