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 for women in Great Britain. It was named for Maria Georgina Grey, a promoter of women's education and a founder of the organisation that became the Girls' Day School Trust.

History

The college was opened as the Teachers' Training & Registration Society College on 1 May 1878 in the Clergy House, Skinner Street,

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

(now Pindar Street). In some literature it is recorded as the first teacher training college for women, however Whitelands College (now part of the University of Roehampton) opened in 1841 as a women's teacher training college and was the first such college in England for women. The Teachers' Training & Registration Society was created by the Women's Education Union to promote women's right to education and the professional recognition of female teachers. The Society was promoted by Maria Georgina Grey, who had also been fundamental in the founding of the Union. In 1885, it moved to Fitzroy Square, and in March 1886 it was renamed Maria Grey College after its founder. The college was attached to Brondesbury and Kilburn High School so that the trainee teachers could test their skills in a classroom situation. New buildings for the college and high school were erected in 1892, designed by architect J. Osborne Smith, at a cost of £11,500 (£ as of ). In 1892, it attracted

Alice Woods 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 on 6 August 1849 and she was brought up as a Quaker. Her ...

as its new head. She was not a great administrator but she focussed on raising the quality of the student's work. Under her leadership, she was able to have lecturers who were all graduates for every area except for the kindergarten. The teachers learnt about teaching methods developed by Maria Montessori and Froebel. In 1946, it moved to Twickenham. In 1976, the college merged with Borough Road College and Acton & Chiswick Polytechnic to form the West London Institute of Higher Education. In 1995, the West London Institute of Higher Education became part of Brunel University. The site was sold when the department moved to Uxbridge in 2005.

Primary sources

The records of the college are now held in the Brunel University Archives.

Notable alumni

Mary Russell Walker Mary Walker (1846 – 20 November 1938) was a Scottish teacher who was the founding head of the first Scottish teacher training college (St George's Training College) and the head of the first Scottish day school, St. George's High School for Gi ...

was trained here before creating a similar college in Scotland *

Madiha Omar Madiha Umar (1908 – 2005 in Aleppo) ( ar, مديحة عمر) was an Iraqi artist who was known for incorporating calligraphy with abstract art. She is generally perceived as the first Arab artist to have done this. Therefore, she is seen as ...

Charlotte Laurie Charlotte Louisa Laurie (1856 – 25 March 1933) was a British botanist and educator known for her writing and teaching. Laurie was born in 1856 in the British West Indies, the daughter of a clergyman in Barbados. She was educated at the Clergy ...

History

Primary sources

Notable alumni

References

See also