History of LEH School

Expansion into Hackney

The Charity Commission used their powers under the Endowed Schools Act of 1869 to propose to the Trustees of Lady Holles’ Charity that, as well as running the elementary school in Redcross Street, they should also establish a school for middle class girls up to the age of 16. In 1878, the middle school opened in a new building built for 264 pupils between the ages of 8 and 16 at 182 Mare Street in Hackney. Girls were admitted by entrance examination and paid fees ranging from £4 to £6 per year, depending on age. The curriculum at the new school followed the lead of the North London Collegiate School, and included reading, writing, arithmetic, composition and literature, grammar, geography, history, French or Latin, natural science, elementary mathematics, domestic economy, needlework, drawing and singing.

Near collapse

The school was nearly full from 1880 to 1889 (school attendance from age 5 to 13 became compulsory from 1880), but numbers then declined rapidly, mainly due to local 'Higher Grade Elementary Schools',^{note 4} supported by rates and parliamentary grants, whose fees were so low that schools such as Lady Holles’ Middle School could not compete. The Governors sent notice of closure to parents in June 1895, but were forced to withdraw it, as they had not received authority to do this from the Charity Commission. The school re-opened in a slimmed-down form in September 1895 with 5 staff and 87 pupils.

Rejuvenation

The elementary school in Redcross Street was closed in 1899 as the buildings had become overcrowded and the school inspectors concluded that they were not fit for purpose. 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 from the sale 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. As Hackney was becoming increasingly industrial and the area was over-supplied with schools, 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.' The Mare Street building, now part of the University of the Arts London, still exists, with the badges used at Redcross Street and Hackney  and the foundation date of 1710 plainly seen on the façade.

In 1936 the school relocated with six staff and just six pupils to temporary premises at a small private school at Summerleigh in Teddington until the new school could be built. The current site in Hanworth Road, Hampton was chosen because of a lack of provision for girls' education in the area and the useful synergies with the two other schools on the same road.^{note 5} The buildings were designed in the shape of an E by Colonel FS Hammond, whose father had designed the Hackney school, and were opened on 7 December 1937 by  HRH the Duchess of Gloucester.

A new badge, motto, and uniform were designed to support what the school magazine described as a ‘transplant into new soil’. The ermine on the shield is part of the coat of arms of the Holles family, and below it is a representation of the old city gate of Cripplegate. The Hackney motto of Diligentia Praevelabit (‘Diligence will prevail’) was replaced with the more inspiring Holles family motto Spes Audacem Adjuvat (‘Hope favours the bold’). The new uniform incorporated the colours of the new crest, consisting of grey blazer and skirt, white blouse, and red, silver, and black striped tie, plus black hat with ‘Lord Mayor’s Red’ hatband.

Independence

The Butler Education Act 1944, with the promise of  free secondary education, 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. Full independence was achieved in 1946 when Mary Richards was Head Mistress. By then 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.)

Ruth Garwood Scott still arouses strong opinons amongst those who were at LEH in the 50s and 60s, from those who have a genuine affection for her to those who feared what could be an imperious style (but one which was common amongst Heads of the time). She certainly thought it was her responsibility to make it clear what she thought was best for each girl and was forthright in expressing her views if a pupil's choice was not hers. She had a vision for her pupils, expressed in prospectuses of the time that, not only should the school provide a good academic education but that its chief aim was to help pupils become 'women of grace and integrity, who will make the fullest use of their gifts and will serve the community with a high sense of responsibility'. This introduced the phrase 'grace and integrity' into the LEH lexicon. 

Ruth Garwood Scott played a very important role in the development of LEH. During her time the VI form more than tripled from 47 (of whom 9 went to university) to 150 (44 of whom went on to university, 11 to Oxbridge), and the Sixth Form centre in the Pavilion was one of the first in the country. Each girl in the Sixth Form spent one third of her working week on general studies, choosing from 15 options as diverse as philosophy, computer science, a hostess course, women in society, and music or art appreciation. At the same time the A level curriculum was enlarged to include options such as Russian, economics, music and pottery, and the careers department was set up with its own room. Athletics was also introduced for the first time, and LEH represented both the county and the country through the 1960s and 70s. Music flourished, and the school play was made part of the official timetable in the last weeks of the summer term.

The academic standing of the school developed significantly under Liz Candy's leadership. Although she despised league tables, by 1998 LEH was ranked 11th amongst all schools in the country. Whilst league tables existed, her view was it was always better to be high up than elsewhere. However she felt strongly that academic results were only part of what mattered and that the development of 'people who are confident, secure, aware of themselves and sensitive to others' was as important a role of the school as qualifications. 

Liz Candy argued that independent schools should not be seen as elitist and regretted the demise of the assisted Places Scheme in 1997. It is a fitting tribute to her memory that, in 2016, a scholarship was established in her name. 

At the Hampton site there has been a strong emphasis also on developing resilience, well-being and sound mental health of all pupils and staff. Heather's own story, from a council estate in Belfast to becoming Head Mistress of one of the leading independent schools for girls, has shown how life-changing education can be. Her passion, that a good education should be available to all who have the talent, is reflected in the vigour with which building up the Bursary Fund is being undertaken. Her concern that LEH should recognise and value the contribution of every pupil can be seen in the move away in 2018 from the traditional Prize Giving in late Autumn which only a minority of pupils attended to a Celebration of the Year at the end of the summer term to which all pupils come. These Celebrations recognise every aspect of school life over the year and prizes are awarded as just one part of recognising the contributions of all pupils. 

In Heather’s final year as Head Mistress of LEH School before retirement, she was announced as President of the Girls’ School Association, and the LEH spirit of fortitude, determination and poise was on display in abundance at the GSA annual conference in November 2022 with its Future Female theme. In her keynote speech, Heather gave a clarion call for the importance of girls’ only education and her comments generated headlines across the national press. Drawing her time at LEH to a close, Heather won ‘Head of the Year – Independent School’ at the Oscars of Education, the TES Awards, whilst LEH School was also nominated for Independent School of the Year. Quite a high to retire on and in her final assembly as Head Mistress, Heather surprised both staff and pupils with the premiere of her version of ‘My Way’ with pupils cheering her to the rafters as she took her final ovation.

Notes

1. The foundation stone laid at the site in Hampton gives 1711 as the year of foundation. However, the treasurer's account book records the paying of a girls' mistress from Lady Day (25 March) 1710 and girls took part in the procession of charity children in Whitsun week 1710. The schools in Redcross Street, Cripplegate and Mare Street, Hackney always celebrated 1710 as the date of the school's foundation. The error may be because a 900-year lease of the rooms in the boys' school was only completed in November 1711. 
2. This sum was meant to fund and equip the school, pay the school mistress and provide clothing for the girls, following guidelines provided by the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge. 
3. From 'Orders and Rules for the Government of Lady Eleanor Holles' Charity School', established by a degree in Chancery, 1710
4. The London School Board, set up under the auspices of the Elementary Educaton Act 1870, constructed over four hundred schools across London in 30 years, and by the end of the 1880s was providig places for more than 350,000 children. 
5. Only the senior elementary school had been built at this stage. Hampton Grammar School had not yet been built and was in a completely different part of  Hampton. The sale of the land to LEH by the Hampton Trust helped to provide the funds to pay for the boys' new building on the Hanworth Road. 
6. Rowing at LEH was a triumph. It was offered from 1982, and in  1988 LEH was the top girls' rowing school in the national championships, and in 1993 brought home the College Cup from Henley.