Former Ockbrook School pupils and staff are being invited to share their school memories as part of a special heritage project being led by Over The Wall Camp.
The ‘Saving Ockbrook’s Heritage’ Project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, aims to capture and celebrate the school’s rich history. At over 220 years old, Ockbrook School was one of the oldest private schools in the UK until its closure in 2021.
Share your school memories
In 2024, Over The Wall Camp secured a 40-year lease for the school. The charity is busy transforming the site to be ‘camp ready’ to welcome children and young people with long-term health conditions in summer 2026.
Gordon Collins, Over The Wall Camp’s Heritage Officer, said,
“We’d love to hear from anyone who attended Ockbrook School as boarders, day pupils or members of staff, who’d like to tell us about their time here. The stories can be shared in person, written down, or captured on video.
Keeping the history alive
Alumni stories will form part of a Heritage Room, which is being created on site and will be open to the public.
A team of Heritage Volunteers are currently helping to catalogue and preserve school records and artefacts.
A long history of education
Ockbrook School has a long history of education dating back to 1799.
“The Moravian Church created the original site,” explained Gordon. “In the mid-1700s, a local farmer invited a travelling preacher to visit Ockbrook. A small religious community formed, and as the settlement grew, the Moravians became a key part of village life.
“The site is considered rare and of high historical value, as one of only four such settlements nationally.”
The ‘Saving Ockbrook’s Heritage’ project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.
