Alice Woods or Alice Augusta Woods (6 August 1849 – 7 January 1941) was a British educationist and college head. She was an advocate for co-education.

Life

Woods was born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

on 6 August 1849 and she was brought up as a Quaker. Her parents were Emma (born King) and Samuel Woods. Her cousin Mary Woods was a headmistress. Woods went to

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

before joining teaching herself in Scotland for two years at

St Leonards School St Leonards School is an independent boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leonards name upon moving to its current premises, the s ...

in St Andrews. Her first headship was at a school in Bedford Park, Chiswick. She head hunted Kindergarte expert Esther Lawrence in 1884 to lead the preparatory department of Chiswick High School. Alice became her lifelong friend - even after she left in 1893 to work with

Emilie Michaelis Emilie Louise Michaelis (1834–1904) was German-born pioneer of the kindergarten system in England, and a translator, editor, and promoter of Froebel's writings. In 1875, she started one of the first English kindergartens in Croydon, London, and ...

. In 1892, the

Maria Grey Training College The listed building near Twickenham and Isleworth where the college was from 1946 Maria Grey Training College was a training college in London, England, for teachers from 1878 to 1976. When it opened, it was the first teacher training college fo ...

attracted Woods as its new head. This was the first college to train women teachers and it had just had new buildings. The college was in the same grounds as a high school. The college and high school were erected in 1892, designed by architect J. Osborne Smith, at a cost of £11,500 (£ as of ). She was not a great administrator but she focused on raising the quality of the student's work. The students hoping to teach in

Kindergartens Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

learnt about the teaching methods developed by

Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( , ; August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori e ...

and Froebel and every other student was taught by teachers who all had their own degrees. Woods was recognised as an expert on teaching and she was invited to speak abroad. She also served on leading committees to improve education. Woods died in

Radlett Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East and ...

in 1941.

Works

* Advance in Co-Education (1919), * Educational Experiments in England (1920), * George Meredith as Champion of Women and of Progressive Education (1937) * On How to Grow Old(1940)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Alice 1849 births 1941 deaths People from Walthamstow Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge English Quakers Heads of schools in London