Hill House A GSG School

Other features

Choir school - substantial scholarships and bursaries usually available for choristers.

Sports

Fencing

What The Good Schools Guide says

Headmaster

Since September 2022, Edmund Townend, who took over the family reins on his father’s retirement. School was founded by his grandfather, Colonel Townend, in 1951 and he grew up on top floor. Read physiology and pharmacology at UCL, thinking he might become a doctor but ‘I hated exams’ and so headed off to the English National Opera and then to Wigmore Hall before ‘embracing my destiny’. His brother, William, is bursar, and his parents are listed proprietors. Over the years, has taught ‘everything – you fill the gaps’. Now teaches maths to year 5. Originally employed by his grandfather, his wife also teaches here. Younger of two sons now in his last year. An all-embracing family affair.

Head’s office is a vast Victorian engine cum drawing room on the third floor, in the same place (and same decorative state) as it was in his grandfather’s time. ‘If candidates were out of breath when they got up here, they didn’t get the job!’ He greeted us dressed in suit and tie, with bright braces, and instantly made us coffee. Calm and welcoming – but not a warm and cuddly type - he speaks with common sense and candour. ‘We try not to turn children away. Companies and embassies move people around, they don’t wait for the start of the academic year. If we can accommodate them, we will.’ The available space means they generally can. Particularly close to his heart is an inscription devised by his grandfather, which talks of the school ‘educating for a world community’. ‘This encapsulates the school for me,’ he comments tenderly. Proud not to be part of a larger group, ‘with a senior school that needs feeding’, he prizes fact that ‘we can offer a selection of schools and tell parents to go and have a look’.

Respected by children, who stood up when he entered a room, but spoke freely in front of him, one unhesitatingly stating that there were ‘too many stairs’ in the school. Staff spoke warmly of the ‘happy, truly family’ atmosphere and one parent told us that ‘there are so many Townends, you just feel safe.’

Most of the family holidays are spent in Switzerland, where the school was also founded, and where older children spend time on trips and courses. Something of a busman’s holiday but ‘I just love it, it’s unbeatable’.

Entrance

‘We’re not aggressively selective, really what we’re about is the all-round,’ says head. No nursery, with most joining at reception. After a tour and registration (daily tours on offer), parents are invited to a social evening a year before entry, then they come back with their child for a getting-to-know-you-session in groups of about a dozen. No formal assessment, more ‘observation’. Toddlers who have a tantrum are offered a second bite of the cherry. Imaginatively, a bedtime story is read over Zoom to those 75-80 small people to whom offers are made. Transition also includes a morning at school and a summer breakfast with bear hunt. If there is space, they can start at any time, sometimes even mid-week. Sibling policy in place.

Exit

To a diverse assortment of day and boarding schools. Almost all girls leave at 11+, regularly heading to Francis Holland (SW1), Godolphin and Latymer, Queensgate, JAGS and GDST schools. A few to state schools including Grey Coat Hospital and Lady Margaret’s. Around 30 per cent of boys leave at 11+, mainly to London prep schools such as St Paul’s Juniors, the rest at 13+ to the likes of Dulwich College, St Paul’s, City of London, Wetherby Senior and Westminster, with some to Marylebone Boys’ and Fulham Boys’. Principle boarding schools are Winchester, Harrow and Eton for boys and Saint Mary’s Ascot, Benenden and Downe House for girls. ‘We all, as parents, have a view of what our child’s like, which can be realistic, or not,’ says head, admitting that the choice of senior school can therefore be ‘a bit of challenge at times’. Perhaps parents appreciate the school’s honesty more than he realises as they had nothing but high praise for the process. In 2023, 35 scholarships.

Our view

School spreads across four sites in Knightsbridge and Chelsea where pupils, clad in the famous rusty-coloured knickerbockers, are constantly seen crocodiling their way around. Only reception - housed in a church hall off the King’s Road – has a playground, but school has as-good-as exclusive use of the Duke of York’s former parade ground and makes excellent use of nearby parks. ‘We go out at least twice a day,’ said one boy.

Reception, which accommodates five classes of 12 children, has its own secret garden (‘We had our first frogs last year’), while inside there is the huge hall (where a play was being rehearsed) and a lower ground floor with health room, phonics room, communication and language room, dining room (soup especially good), plus a you-name-it multi-space room. Rarely in London have we seen such spacious accommodation for the smallest children in the school.

Years 1-4 are based in three interconnected houses behind Sloane Square, where pupils quickly learn to burrow through their rabbit warren. Innately elegant rooms have been functionally adapted and children come and go through different doors as if they are in a French farce. One year 3 realised he had forgotten his coat as his class was lining up, so off he went, only to reappear moments later through another door, triumphantly brandishing it.

In year 5, pupils move into the HQ, off Sloane Street, where panelled walls, honours boards, history-of-the-school boards, portraits of previous heads and innumerable (some slightly faded) photos charting the school’s rise give a real sense of tradition. Classrooms range from a tiny amphitheatre to a vast history and geography room, housing the teacher’s bicycle: ‘I can get from one site to another much more quickly.’

Specialist teaching in French, art, music and sport from reception and in everything from year 3. IT from year 2 which alternates with DT from year 5. Latin in top two years. No setting, although ‘we‘re more ability-focused in English and maths’, said a head of year. We loved listening to year 4 perfecting their French vowels, singing La Vie en Rose, and observed an inspired English lesson where children discussed whether reading could make minds travel. ‘I really felt I was skiing when I read that chapter,’ said a boy. Regular lessons held in the libraries underline school’s determination to nurture a love of reading for pleasure. Exemplifying this, we saw a group sprawled on the floor, noses in books and noted a staff book swap.

Music prominent, with music room boasting an organ and broad shelves laden with musical instruments. Everywhere we wandered, tuneful snatches emanated from one practice room or another, many of which enjoy spectacular views over iconic local buildings. Around 80 per cent learn an instrument, school priding itself on live music accompanying every show and most assemblies. ‘They’re playing at Peter Jones later,’ mentioned a teacher. Currently nine choirs, several orchestras, chamber music groups, string quartets, guitar ensembles, woodwind ensembles and a brass consort - impressive.

Drama based in beautiful hall down the King’s Road. Formerly a Welsh methodist chapel (with daffodiled stained glass windows), it hosts short performances by small groups from reception, annual nativity plays and Christmas musical supplemented by frequent drama showcases inspired by the likes of Kipling, Dickens and Dahl. Summer drama course in Switzerland, and the school holds an annual John Betjeman Poetry Competition (who lived on the same street as the hall).

Under the hall is a magnificent surprise: a huge gymnasium where reception and years 1 and 2 do their weekly gym and where the older children fence. Sport matters here, with a carousel selection of core sports (football, rugby, athletics, cricket) augmented by tennis, fencing and squash from year 3. Ethos is to equip children with ground rules in as wide a variety as possible. Extensive use made of numerous venues such as the Oval, Queen’s Club, Queen Mother’s etc. Fleet of buses always shuttling about, although older children walk where possible. ‘It makes them aware of the world, they learn to cross roads and look out for other pavement users.’ All swim once a week, older ones walking to Chelsea Sports Centre. ‘It’s horrible when you have wet hair,’ muttered one, though teachers see it as an opportunity: ‘If they have wet hair after swimming, they’ll learn to dry it next time.’ Recent fencing and swimming success at national level.

Art everywhere, with corridors and walls densely decorated with children’s colourful watercolours and framed pictures in a striking variety of media. In the brightly coloured studio for younger pupils, we saw year 4s were busily making origami decorations, while year 3 produced golden boxes out of pasta shapes: useful for those little trinkets. Regular entries to Young Art and RCA competitions, among others. An eye-catching selection was being curated for a forthcoming exhibition at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Older pupils have use of a vast, well-resourced space – the envy of many an artist. Its handy location next to drama means children help create theatre props here and were busy designing a vast television set during our visit.

With over 60 nationalities, school remains faithful to its founding ethos. Most children bilingual or trilingual but few require EAL support: six were receiving intensive support when we reviewed the school, and 19 attended booster groups. Just under 10 per cent on SEN register, one ECHP when we visited. Learning enhancement made up of three full-time staff who cater for ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, visual and aural impairment assisted by outside speech and language and OT therapists. No extra cost for in-house provision. Regular neurodiversity celebration days. ‘My daughter loves her special teacher,’ said a mother, confirming no stigmatisation. ‘We’re all just their teachers,’ said a member of the team. Infrastructure not ideal for physical impairment: ‘You’ve got to be realistic in these buildings,’ and ‘it’s probably not the place for those needing more than two one-to-one sessions a week’.

School day longer than most, finishing at 4.45pm. No after-school clubs but Friday afternoons give way to everything from singing to Lego and board games, with an emphasis on swimming, squash, and fencing. Annual ski, geography, music, art or drama trips to Switzerland from year 5 with numerous more local outings.

Pastoral approach based on learning from mistakes and improving. ‘Your friends and the teachers really help you.’ We sensed a tolerant, relaxed, purposeful atmosphere. Children spoke of a ‘happy place, where there’s always something going on’. Broadly Christian foundation with happy co-existence of myriad faiths. Whole school comes together weekly at Saint Columba’s and annually at spectacular Field Day in which all partake and even the youngest wave flags, representing the pupils’ nationalities.

Parents are involved, organising food banks and raising money for the Saint Nicholas Fund but no PA. ‘It’s quite a relief, to be honest,’ said one. Many international families with a fair sprinkling of nannies at the school gates.

Money matters

Fees lower than similar schools. No bursaries.

The last word

This school is like no other. Comfortable in its own skin, it fulfills its mission to provide an English education to an international set of children (including our King, who came here). Produces tolerant children, curious about the world around them. ‘My children all adore it – and I’ve got four here.’

Special Education Needs

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