The historic Battle Abbey School in East Sussex has secured a coveted Bronze Award from the nationally-recognised Continuous Advancement Programme (CAP) for its excellent Housekeeping services.

Having first embarked upon the CAP Awards continuous advancement programme in 2017, the school’s housekeeping team demonstrated substantial improvement over an 11-month period to claim the Bronze accolade. Significantly, the school chose to submit to an unannounced visit by the independent CAP Awards assessment team. This visit took place in October and comprised a day of stringent inspections without prior warning.

During the visit, the Chief CAP Inspector, Ian Jackson, commented on the special challenge presented by some of the school’s majestic buildings, many featuring old stone walls, very high wooden beamed ceilings and narrow corridors. “Substantial parts of the main school building date from the 13th Century with other buildings in the grounds that overlook the famous Battle of Hastings much older still. While this makes for a fabulous historic environment, we know that it would stretch the housekeeping provision,” says Jackson.

The Chief Assessor’s report noted the good level of support received by the housekeeping team from the school’s ‘family’ in maintaining an extensive range of old and new buildings for day pupils and boarders. It also commended the team for its ‘tremendous amount of hard work’ and specifically cited the efforts of Sarah, the Housekeeping Head.

“All credit to the housekeeping team and the fine support provided by the school,” says Jackson. “I was impressed at the pride shown in works completed and the progress made. There’s no doubt that members of the team really do embody the essence of the Continuous Advancement Programme in the way they embrace the challenge and demonstrate a desire to be the best.”

David Clarke, Headmaster at Battle Abbey School, is delighted with the outcome: “We are a caring and highly-regarded family school. The housekeeping team’s excellent contribution to that ‘family’ is fantastic. Every member deserves the credit that this fine achievement brings. Well done to all.”