Ibstock Place School

At that time, the principles of Froebel Education were considered to be quite radical. The educational benefactor Julia Salis Schwabe (1819–1896) proposed the establishment of a teacher training college with a demonstration school in England. She was a strong proponent of the Froebel system of education, where the first learning experiences of the very young are seen as of crucial importance to a child’s development and, therefore, to the health of society as a whole. Having established a successful Froebel "kindergarten" in Naples, Salis Schwabe felt Froebel’s educational philosophy was the key to social progress. Her friend Claude Montefiore (1858–1938) was appointed Secretary of the inaugural Froebel Society, and as joint benefactors they met any financial deficits. The college and school finally opened in Kensington on 20 September 1894 and the Grand Opening by the Empress Frederick took place on 5 March 1895. The school flourished and many liberal intellectual families sent their children until age 13 years. One Head Girl was Iris Murdoch, renowned English author.

At the outbreak of World War II the school was evacuated from London to Dennison House in the village of Little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire. Many lessons took place on the lawn outside to make as much use as possible of natural daylight. The children were taken for picnics and long rambles after their sports field was ploughed up to grow hay. Priestman returned to London after the war with a full complement of children and staff.

The Froebel Education College had moved to Grove House, Roehampton in 1922 and been renamed the Incorporated Froebel Educational Institute (IFEI). The Institute purchased nearby Ibstock Place House in Clarence Lane for the Froebel Demonstration School, renaming it Ibstock Place, the Froebel School. The house, formerly a magnificent family home, had been requisitioned during the war. When the school first moved in 1946 the grounds were dotted with army huts which were soon put to use as a dining room, library or art room. At that time the school also took boarders. On the establishment of the University of London Institute of Education, IFEI became one of the constituent colleges. Eglantyne Mary Jebb retired as the College Principal in 1955 and was succeeded by Molly Brearley who oversaw some major changes, not least the requirement in 1960 that all teachers take a three-year training course. Molly Brearley took an active role in developing trainee Froebel teachers at Ibstock Place.

In September 1978 the age range was extended to sixteen years and in July 1980 pupils sat the first ‘O-level’ examinations. The school still took a number of boarders but there were no longer dormitories in the Main House; boarders lived in nearby Templeton House (Headquarters of The Froebel Council) in Priory Lane, Roehampton. Pupil numbers grew steadily and by 1989 there was a school roll of 370 pupils. At this time, Ibstock Place School was in the strong position of being the only independent co-educational Senior School in south-west London. By 1993 the school roll numbered 450 pupils. The school Centenary was commemorated in 1994 at a special prize-giving ceremony in July at Templeton. The guest speaker, Professor David Bellamy, memorably asked the prize-winning pupils to get down on their hands and knees to examine pond-life in the ornamental pool in the grounds of Templeton. In 1996 the Golden Jubilee was celebrated to mark 50 years in Roehampton, with pupils planting 2000 golden daffodils in the grounds. In 2005, a sixth form was established and the age range extended to 18 years. By 2011 the school roll numbered 880 pupils aged from 3 to 18 years.

Ibstock Place School is now independent of the Froebel Council and is a charity in its own right.

For a year after the death in 1898 of Esther Lawrence, there were joint Headmistresses – Miss Boys-Smith and Miss Hope-Wallace – and then Grace Lucknow took over until 1900. From 1900 the Headmistress was Annie Yelland. On her untimely death in 1916, teacher Miss Wigg took over as Head during the interregnum until the appointment of Ethel Bain in 1918. Bain served until her retirement in 1933 when Barbara Priestman was appointed. She was the longest-serving Headmistress, remaining in post for 25 years until 1958. Sheila Macleod was Headmistress from 1958 to 1974. T.C. Green was Head from 1974 to 1980, Aidan Warlow from 1980 to 1984, and Franciska Bayliss from 1984 to 2000. Anna Sylvester-Johnson led the School from 2000 to 2020 and she has now been succeeded by her deputy, Christopher Wolsey (2020- ).

Main House circa 1930

New School, opened 2011, adjacent to Main House

The main school house was built in 1913 by the architect Frank Chesterton and had 16 bedrooms and four reception rooms. Originally named St. Serf's, the house was lived in by the Duchess of Sutherland until 1920. In 1925, Major John Paget[2] purchased the house, renaming it Ibstock Place after the Leicestershire village which was his ancestral home. The house was luxuriously furnished with antiques including a Louis XVI suite of Aubusson tapestries and two grand pianos. Major Paget was interested in "modern gadgets" and installed a telephone exchange and one of the first private swimming pools in Britain. In 1942 the house was requisitioned by the Ministry of Supply for a military research group (AORG), composed of scientists who carried out top secret work in the field of radar development. In August 1945 the Pagets sold the house to the Froebel Educational Institute to rehouse their demonstration school which had been evacuated to Hertfordshire from Kensington during the war.

Extensive building work has taken place on the site since. Recent buildings include a new sports hall on the Lawrence House site in 2008. In 2011, the £9m "new school" building was opened, containing science laboratories, classrooms, a library and other pupil facilities.

Houses

• Paget (blue) - named after Major John Paget; represented by a shark
• Findlay (green) - represented by a dragon
• Montefiore (yellow) - represented by a lion
• Brealey (red) - represented by a bear