Hill House International Junior School is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

preparatory day school primarily in the

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

district of London. It was founded in September 1949 by athlete and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician Lt-Col Stuart Townend with his wife, Beatrice, initially in Switzerland, but has since also established branches in South West London. It is the largest preparatory school in London and was originally a boys-exclusive school, turning fully coeducational in 1981. The school is known for its distinct uniform, which includes thick mustard cable-knit jumpers, rust corduroy knickerbockers, knitted hats, and bags in British racing green.

History

The school was founded in Switzerland in 1949 and in London in 1951 by Lieutenant-Colonel Townend and his wife, Beatrice. Townend chose his pupils solely on the basis of his approval of their mothers, and women teachers were preferentially chosen according to the height of their skirt's hemline.Obituary: Lieutenant-Colonel Townend
''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', 2002. His son, Richard Townend, is the school's current Headmaster. The school remains a family concern.

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

went to Hill House, following advice from

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

, Prime Minister at the time. It was his first school and was the first time that an heir to the British throne had been to a civilian school, as princes were educated either by tutors or at a military or naval academy such as

Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...

. As of 2018 there are 690 pupils at the school from the ages of 4 to 13.

Media coverage

The school was featured in the 1989 documentary episode "Knickerbockers in Knightsbridge", part of the ninth season of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

series ''

40 Minutes ''40 Minutes'' was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, ''Forty Minutes On''. See also * Sixty Minutes (British TV prog ...

'', in which school life under Headmaster Stuart "The Colonel" Townend is narrated. The school was outlined on page 74, chapter 3.1 ("Learning to be Sloane: Sloane Education"), of Peter York's and Ann Barr's 1982 guide book ''The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook'' as an appropriate calibre of school on the "third rung of the ladder" of a "Sloane boy's" education: describing it, amongst other things, as "Prince Charles's old school. Outdoorsy, musical, for energetic extroverts."

Notable alumni

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, singer-songwriter *

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

King of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

and 14 other

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, actor *

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Ian Macpherson, 3rd Baron Strathcarron Ian David Patrick Macpherson, 3rd Baron Strathcarron (born 31 March 1949), is a British hereditary peer and member of House of Lords. He is also the baronet Sir Ian David Patrick Macpherson of Drumalban. He inherited the titles on the death of h ...

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Peer *

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, Principal ballerina of

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, The Royal Opera House,

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, former

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, actress * Nick Watt, BBC Newsnight political editor *

Mark-Francis Vandelli Mark-Francis Vandelli (born 14 October 1989) is an English television personality. He is best known for his role on the E4 series ''Made in Chelsea''. Career In April 2011, Vandelli joined the cast of semi-reality television programme ''Made in ...

, television personality most known for his role in ''

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References

External links

School website
{{authority control 1951 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1951 Private co-educational schools in London Private schools in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Knightsbridge Preparatory schools in London