Talk:Lady Eleanor Holles School/long draft

Initially, I am using this page to store the longer version of the history, and some other sections, as they were prior to the major deletions by Spintendo on 5th July 2018 (disputed by myself, DMacks and others) so that all the material not get lost, buried deep in the edit history. I hope that this can be used as the basis for agreeing a new version that can replace the thin remnants that currently remain in the main article. Rhanbury (talk) 03:26, 9 July 2018 (UTC) As a pre-emptive request, since this page is far from the public view, can I please ask anyone who works on it to explain what they would like improved, using tools like the cn tag, rather than deleting chunks of text. Opinions differ on the appropriate quality and quantity of references, especially for the history section of schools. Almost all school articles use some primary sources, such as the school web site or school magazine, as well as secondary sources.Rhanbury (talk) 16:36, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

History

Foundation in Cripplegate

The school was founded in 1710, under the will of Lady Eleanor Holles, sixth daughter of John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare, which instructed her cousin and Executrix, The Honourable Anne Watson, to dispose of the 'overplus' (after debts and specific bequests to relatives and servants) to "such charitable purposes as my said Executrix shall approve of". Anne persuaded the trustees of an existing charity boys' school to include accommodation for the teaching of girls in a new school that they were planning to build in Redcross Street in the parish of St Giles, in the Cripplegate Ward of the City of London. She then used the overplus (of almost £1,200) to buy land and houses in the Old Artillery Ground in Spitalfields, the income from which (£62.10 per annum) was to maintain the school, originally known as "the Lady Holles' Charity School". The school was set up to educate and clothe 50 poor girls between the ages of 8 and 12, who were taught in one large schoolroom by one unmarried schoolmistress. The main purpose (as for numerous charity schools at the time set up according to the principles of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge) was to educate poor girls in 'the knowledge and practice of the Christian religion, as profes'd and taught in the Church of England' and in practice to fit them with skills and character suitable for a life of domestic service. The original site is commemorated by a plaque on one of the Barbican walkways.

In 1832 the school was 'united' to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education, and moved to its own purpose-built premises nearby in Redcross Street. By then, the number of girls had doubled to 100, although there was still just one schoolroom, using the monitorial System. In 1853, the trustees became (and remain to this day) accountable to the Charity commission. The premises were extended several times to provide an Infant school in 1858, then an Industrial school in 1867.

The move to Hackney

In 1875, the school became a public elementary school for girls under the terms of the Endowed Schools Act 1869, which significantly changed its structure and purpose to something much more like its current form. The curriculum, in line with the Elementary Education Act 1870 and following the lead of the North London Collegiate School, now included reading, writing, arithmetic, composition and literature, grammar, geography, history, French or Latin, natural science, elementary mathematics, domestic economy, needlework, drawing and singing. Girls were encouraged to apply to Oxford and Cambridge universities. In 1878, the middle school moved to a new building built for 264 pupils between the ages of 8 and 16 at 182 Mare Street in East Hackney, which were later owned by the Cordwainers Company and now form part of the London College of Fashion. Girls were admitted by entrance examination and paid fees ranging from £4 to £6 per year, depending on age. The school was nearly full from 1880 to 1889, but numbers then declined rapidly due mainly to competition from local Higher Grade elementary Schools supported by rates and parliamentary grants and hence charging much lower fees. The Governors sent notice of closure to parents in June 1895, but were forced to withdraw this as they had not received authority from the Charity Commission.

The school re-opened in a slimmed-down form in October 1895 with 5 staff and 87 pupils. The infants' school in Redcross street closed in 1899, due to the buildings being overcrowded and not well fitted to their purpose, plus financial deficits caused by dilapidation of the rental properties in Spitalfields and falling pupil numbers in Mare Street. The site was sold to the London County Council for £31,000 and turned into a fire station. The Charity Commission pushed the governors to use the proceeds to improve Mare Street, rather than open another infant school, and a laboratory, gymnasium, art studio, domestic economy department and new classrooms were added. In 1904, under the terms of the Education Act 1902, the school became 'a Public Secondary school for girls as day scholars' which allowed girls to stay on to 17, occasionally 18, and was once again full. Most girls paid fees, but there were up to ten 'Cripplegate Scholarships' funded by the Cripplegate Schools Foundation. The annual report on the educational work of Lady Holles' School made in 1906 by the University of London described it as 'an exceptional school'. In 1908 the governors bought the large house and garden next door and demolished the buildings to provide tennis and fives courts, botany beds and greenhouse, a library and specialist geography and botany classrooms. In 1916 a sixth form was added and by 1917 there were 368 pupils, including 14 in sixth form, plus another 42 (including 16 boys) in kindergarten. The uniform was described by Elsie Mitchell as 'Navy blue gymslips (dreadful things made of serge or some other heavy material), with navy blue bloomers, pale blue blouses, thick black woollen gym stockings, straw hats like boaters only more oval in shape, with a hatband of striped navy and pale blue Petersham ribbon with the crest in front.'

The move to Hampton

By 1934, due to increasing specialisation in the upper forms, the Board of Education recommended a minimum school size of 450. Also, Hackney was becoming increasingly industrial and the area was over-supplied with schools so that pupil numbers were dropping again. The governors resolved that the school at 'Mare Street cannot be usefully and economically carried on' and to dispose of the premises and establish a new school 'to be known as Lady Eleanor Holles School... in the County of Middlesex.' Most of the senior pupils transferred to Dalston Secondary School, and the school relocated with six staff and six Hackney pupils temporarily to a small private school at Summerleigh in Teddington until the new school could be built. The current site was chosen because of a lack of provision for girls' education in the area and the useful synergies with the existing adjacent boys school. The buildings were designed by Colonel FS Hammond, whose father had designed the Hackney school, in the shape of an E, and were opened on 7 December 1937 by Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who also opened the west wing on 25 October 1961. A new uniform was designed, incorporating the colours of the crest, consisting of grey blazer and skirt, white blouse, and red, silver, and black striped tie. By the end of the first full year there were 223 girls in the school. 420 were expected in September 1939, but the Second World War broke out and by November there were only 333, due to parents evacuating away from areas where bombing was expected. The school was disrupted in various ways during the war especially as many staff went into war work, but operated throughout. School Certificate examinations were interrupted by air raids on several occasions.

The Butler Education Act 1944 forced the governors to decide between continuing as a direct grant grammar school and accepting half the pupils from the County Council on a non-selective basis, or to become an Independent Girls Public School with full autonomy. The parents voted overwhelmingly for the second course, despite the increase in fees resulting from the loss of the government grant, and full independence was achieved in 1946, by which time there were 531 pupils, including 27 boarders in Burlington House, a VI form of 50 and a junior department of 152. The boarding house was closed in 1965, and the space added to the junior school.

The school celebrated its 300th anniversary with a thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral, London on 18th November 2011, then a eucharist at Trinity College, Cambridge and a ball at the The Hurlingham Club in May 2012.

Characteristics of the School

The school has a Christian foundation, but has no faith-related entry criteria. Entry to both junior and senior departments is selective by examination. There are approximately 185 pupils in the junior department for ages 7 to 11, and 700 in the senior department for ages 11 to 18, of whom 180 are in the sixth form. Pupils come from a wide catchment area extending as far as Ealing, Woking, Wimbledon and Ascot, and there is an extensive coach service running over 23 routes operated jointly with Hampton School as the area is not well served with public transport. Around two-thirds come from white British backgrounds; the rest from a mix of ethnic backgrounds. It is not affiliated with any other school or foundation and operates as an independent registered charity and limited company overseen by a board of governors.

The Independent Schools Inspectorate Integrated report in 2013 said "It aims to develop well-rounded individuals while striving for academic excellence," and "The curricular and extra-curricular provision is wide-ranging, demanding, enriching and inspiring."

Facilities

The original building has been extended and modified several times, including the Great Hall wing, containing a hall seating 1,000 and the Chapel of St. Anne (named to remember Anne Watson), which was opened by HRH Princess Margaret in 1964. The school's facilities now include a sports hall, indoor swimming pool, Millennium Boat House on the Thames (jointly owned with the adjacent Hampton School), four lacrosse pitches, seven outdoor netball courts, six grass tennis courts and a croquet lawn, athletics facilities, science laboratories, modern languages laboratory, design and technology suite, computer rooms, sixth form library and a Learning Resources Centre. The arts centre with 330-seat theatre designed by Walters & Cohen and completed in 2013 won a RIBA London Award in 2014.

The 'Student Gateway', designed by Scott Brownrigg, was completed in 2018, linking the sports hall and swimming pool to the main building, and includes computing and product design suites, enlarged sports changing rooms, a viewing gallery for the swimming pool, an activity studio and an ergometer (rowing machine) room.

Curriculum and Academic Results

The curriculum is based on the National Curriculum. Girls typically study ten GCSE subjects, including English language and literature, Mathematics and the Sciences, with the other 6 being chosen from 16 options, subject to various constraints (e.g. at least one humanities subject must be chosen). They then go on to study 4 A-Level subjects chosen from 23 courses plus an Extended Project Qualification.

LEH scores much higher than the national average in GCSE and A-Level results, usually being in the top 20 of UK independent schools for exam results. In 2017 LEH had 78.9% of A-Level results at A or A*, which placed it 16th in the Education Advisers national league table, and 95.4% GCSEs at A or A*, placing it 13th nationally. The ISI report in 2013 said "The quality of the pupils’ achievements and learning is exceptional".

Extracurricular activities

Sport

The 2013 ISI report said "around 30 pupils represent their country in sport, with numerous successes at national level for rowing, lacrosse, netball and swimming." In 2017 the figure was 29 girls, covering Gymnastics, Swimming, Acrobatics, Rowing, Hockey and Lacrosse. The school won the National Schools Lacrosse Under 19A Championship in 2018, and has been county champion for 11 years in a row. It held the National Schools Regatta (rowing) course record for Championship Girls Eights from 1994 until 2017 (when it was broken by both Headington and Henley). There are also sports teams in tennis, trampolining, netball, gymnastics, athletics, rounders, swimming, and fencing. They are frequently rivals to St Paul's Girls School in sport.

Music and Drama

There are 5 choirs and over 20 musical ensembles and bands in the senior school. Lessons are available in 24 instruments, and there is a dedicated recording studio. The 2013 ISI report said "over the last three years, 20 pupils have been selected for national music groups." In 2010 the Holles Singers, a choir at the school, won the BBC Youth Choir of the Year. Every year there is a joint musical production with Hampton School as well as a range of other productions.

Special Interest and Volunteering

There are a range of other activities, including CCF, Young Enterprise, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Model United Nations, Service Volunteers. Several of these are run jointly with Hampton School.

International expansion

In 2017, LEH announced plans to open a school in Foshan, China. Unlike many overseas branches of English schools, it will not be aimed at the expatriate community, but instead offer a British curriculum and style of education to students from Guangdong province. The project is a joint venture with the Hong Kong-based Trumptech Education Group, who already offer GCSEs and A-Levels in government owned schools in Foshan.