The Eaton House Group of Schools

Updated on Oct 29, 2023

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Established 1897 Gender Boys Motto In Pursuit Of Excellence		Headmistress Annabel Abbott Ages 4–8 Founded 1993
Location KnightsbridgeKensington and ChelseaLondonSW1W 9BAEngland Houses Red Green Yellow Blue

The Eaton House Group of Schools is a group of private schools, all situated in London, in the United Kingdom. It is composed of the Eaton House the Manor Nursery, Eaton House the Manor Pre-Preparatory, Eaton House the Manor Preparatory, Eaton House the Manor Girls School, Eaton House The Vale, Eaton House Preparatory, and Eaton House Pre-Preparatory. The group is a limited liability company, and the majority shareholder has been Sovereign Capital since principal Hilary Harper retired and sold the company in 2016, and the school is currently managed by Luchie Cawood. The schools are non-selective at ages 3 and 4, however there is a system of assessment for places taken at age 8.

The schools have a non-denominational Christian ethos, and a carol service at the local church is a regular occurrence every year. Places are highly sought after and are allocated on a first-come first-served basis, often with very long waiting lists (in one reported case, 160 students applied for around 30 places at the Manor at age 4).

Eaton House Pre-Preparatory

Mr Thomas Sale Morton was born in 1867 and died on the 21st of January 1962, aged 95. Morton was a private tutor, and was encouraged to open Eaton Gate Preparatory School in 1897 by the mother of Harold Macmillan, who he was tutoring at the time. The school was originally opened at 35 Cliveden Place, but it was moved many times in the Belgravia area, and in 1937 the current premises at Eaton Gate were purchased, and the school was renamed Eaton House School. During World War II, the pupils were evacuated to Haines Hill in Berkshire, where they stayed until the end of the war. Morton was passionate about classics, and was a member of the Classical Association.

In 1959, Mr Leman retired as principal, and was replaced by Mr and Mrs Ingham, former owners of Westminster Kindergarten school. The Inghams retired in 1977, and were replaced by Don and Hilary Harper. The school was then renamed Eaton House Belgravia.

In October 2013, a minor media controversy was triggered over the banning of nut consumption at breakfast for pupils at home, in addition to bans on consumption of certain foods in the school, however no complaints appear to have been made to the school over the policy.

In July 2015, Annabel Abbott was given the role of Headmistress due to the retirement of Lucy Watts to work as a consultant placing children in schools.

In January 2017, the school was renamed Eaton House Pre-Preparatory, to coincide with the launch of Eaton House Preparatory.

Eaton House The Vale

In 1980, the Hon. Elizabeth Russell was retiring as head of the Vale School, and the school was bought by the Harpers. The school was then moved from its location in Sloane Square to Elvaston Place in 1986, which currently educates students from ages 4 to 8 (historically the school educated students from ages 4 to 11, however the senior ages were discontinued c. 2013). The Vale also contains a co-educational nursery from ages 3 to 4.

Eaton House Preparatory

A preparatory school is scheduled to open in September 2017 at the same premises as the Vale, to educate boys from 8+, however further details are unclear.

Eaton House Senior School

The group have alluded to the opening of a new senior school, taking pupils from at least 13+. Further details are unclear.

Eaton House The Manor Prep and Pre-Prep

The Harper family purchased the Grade II listed Byrom House at 58 Clapham Common Northside to convert it into a school consisting of a nursery, pre-preparatory school, and preparatory school. These opened in September 1993.

Byrom House (built c. 1792 by John Farrer) was formerly owned by London South Bank University, before that the Manor House School stood on the site. Before it became a school, the building was sold by Farrer in 1841, and became The Beeches.

The Manor House School was founded by Dr F.C. Maxwell in 1876. In 1898, Stanley Maxwell, his son and an old boy of the school, took over as Headmaster of the school, before deciding to close it permanently in 1938. Stanley Maxwell was an accomplished teacher, and served as Chairman of the Private Schools Association from 1909 to 1939, as well as on the Government Departmental Committee on Private Schools in 1930. Stanley Maxwell also became Secretary of the College of Preceptors, holding this position until his death on the 20th of September 1944. He was also a keen amateur astronomer, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society on the 11th of February 1910.

The buildings were dramatically refurbished in April 2005, constructing new, larger pre-prep buildings, and installing new electronic equipment and play facilities. Solar panels were installed soon afterwards, powering the lighting in the science laboratories.

In 2015, further work took place, creating a 'living wall' inside the compound decorated with an automatic LED lighting system, as well as a 'living roof' on top of some of the Pre-Prep buildings.

Most boys in the pre-prep go on to the prep school, with a small number leaving for other boarding or day schools.

Most boys leaving the Prep go on to top public schools, such as Eton, Harrow, Westminster etc.

In 2016, Sarah Segrave was given the role of Headmistress of the Prep (having previously served as Headmistress in the pre-prep) due to the retirement of Jeremy Edwards, who in turn succeeded Sebastian Hepher.

Mr Huw May has served as Headmaster of the Pre-Prep since September 2013.

Eaton House The Manor Girls' School

In 2008 more refurbishment took place at the Manor, and a girls' school was built on the site in a new building on the compound (replacing the old Headmaster's House), containing new classrooms and electronic equipment, as well as an underground gymnasium.

Eaton House The Manor Nursery

Roosha Sue has served as Headmistress of the Nursery since 2004, teaching in the Manor Pre-Prep before taking up this post.

The nursery buildings (which also contain a dining room and kitchen for the Prep and Pre-Prep), have recently been demolished, and are going to be replaced with brand new facilities by April 2017.

Notable alumni

Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963, also serving in various ministries before that and as a regular MP afterwards, and who attained the rank of Captain in the British Army during World War I, was educated at Eaton Gate Preparatory School, which later became Eaton House Belgravia.

Tony Benn, veteran hard-left Labour politician, serving as an MP and cabinet minister, Postmaster General, Chairman of the Labour Party, president of Stop the War Coalition, and RAF veteran during World War II, as well as challenging Neil Kinnock for the Labour leadership, was educated at Eaton Gate Preparatory School, which later became Eaton House Belgravia.

Richard Norton, a Conservative hereditary peer, councillor and candidate in 1983 (later switching his party allegiance and becoming the first UKIP peer in the House of Lords), was educated at Eaton House.

Ronald Knox, priest, theologian, and author of detective stories, was educated at Eaton Gate Preparatory School, which later became Eaton House Belgravia.

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, Field Marshall in the British Army, serving in World War I, the Second Boer War, and World War II, leading troops to victory in Operation Compass and then suffering defeat in the Western Desert Campaign, was educated at Eaton Gate Preparatory School, which later became Eaton House Belgravia.

Anthony Asquith, film director and son of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom H.H. Asquith, was educated at Eaton Gate Preparatory School, which later became Eaton House Belgravia. Asquith was also privately tutored by Morton at 10 Downing Street while his father was Prime Minister.

Laurence Olivier, award-winning actor and president of the National Theatre, was educated at Eaton Gate Preparatory School, which later became Eaton House Belgravia.

Bear Grylls, adventurer and TV presenter, attended Eaton House.

Eddie Redmayne, actor and Oscar winner, attended Eaton House.

An official alumni society used to exist from at least 2007 to 2009 for old boys and girls of all ages, however there is no mention of it on their current website or literature, and reasoning suggests that it may have been discontinued.

Notable staff

George Mills, author of children's books, taught at Eaton Gate Preparatory School, which later became Eaton House Belgravia, from 1926 to 1938.

Alastair Humphreys, adventurer and motivational speaker, worked as an SEN assistant at Eaton House The Manor Prep in the late 2000s.

References

The Eaton House Group of Schools Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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