West Heath Girls' School was an English girls'

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

established in 1865, initially in London and from 1932 near

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

, Kent. It closed in 1997.

History

Philip Bennet Power and his wife, Emma, undertook the education of their daughters at their

Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an List of areas of London, area in southeast London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and bordering the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 ...

home, West Heath House. The quality of the girls' education attracted other local families to ask the Powers to teach their children, and West Heath School was thus opened in 1865. In 1879, the expanding school moved to 1 Ham Common, in what was then the agricultural community of

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. The house, set in over of grounds, was the former residence of the Duc de Chartres. In 1890, Sarah, Maria and Anna Buckland and Jane Percival, who owned a similar school in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, joined forces with the ageing Emma Power at Ham Common, and they ran the school until its purchase in 1900 by Emma Lawrence and Margaret Skeat. Miss Elliott joined the staff in 1928 and was appointed principal the following year. The development of nearby shops and housing prompted a second move, Ham having become "too suburbanised for a high-class girls' school". In 1932, the school moved to its final site, the 18th-century Ashgrove House, near

, the former home of the Elliot family. The larger premises allowed the school to grow from its previous capacity at Ham of about seventy boarders, to over one hundred by the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

, then Diana Spencer, attended the school from 1974 to 1977 and won an award as "the girl giving maximum help to the school and her schoolfellows". In the 1990s, the school had financial difficulties due to falling numbers of pupils, and it was placed into receivership in 1997.

Later use of the site

The

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was an independent grant-giving foundation established in September 1997 after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, to continue her humanitarian work in the United Kingdom and overseas. It was a reg ...

considered buying the school, but decided against it, and Mohamed Al Fayed stepped in to buy West Heath for £2,300,000 on 20 May 1998 as new premises for the Beth Marie Centre. He later pledged to contribute a further £550,000 towards equipping the school. In a statement, he said: :I am surprised that the Princess Diana Memorial Fund, with all its millions in the bank, did not show a greater interest in this project. I believe it to be a far more fitting tribute to her work than putting her name on tasteless souvenirs. The New School at West Heath, a

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

, opened in the same premises on 14 September 1998, and was renamed as West Heath School in September 2015.

Notable former pupils

Lady Sarah McCorquodale Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia McCorquodale (''née'' Spencer; born 19 March 1955) is one of the two older sisters of Diana, Princess of Wales, the other being Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes. For a short period of time, she dated Prince Charles ...

Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes Cynthia Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes (''née'' Spencer; born 11 February 1957), is one of the two older sisters of Diana, Princess of Wales, the other being Lady Sarah McCorquodale. Early life and education Lady Fellowes is the second daug ...

Issy van Randwyck Isabelle Caroline van Randwyck Hall known as Issy van Randwyck (born 1963, Hong Kong) is a Dutch singer and actress. She is a former member of British comedy singing group and satirical cabaret act Fascinating Aïda. Biography Of Dutch descent, B ...

Annabel Croft Annabel Nicola Croft (born 12 July 1966) is a British former professional tennis player and current radio and television presenter. As a tennis player she won the WTA Tour event Virginia Slims of San Diego and represented Great Britain in the ...

Penelope Farmer Penelope Jane Farmer (born 1939) is an English fiction writer well known for children's fantasy novels. Her best-known novel is '' Charlotte Sometimes'' (1969), a boarding-school story that features a multiple time slip. Life Farmer was born a f ...

* Gillian Joynson-Hicks *

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. She is known for playing eccentric and enigmatic characters, often working with auteurs. Her accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Volpi Cup, in addit ...

Rose Ridley Rose Emily Paterson (; 13 August 1956 – 24 June 2020) was a British business executive, fundraiser, and the chairman of Aintree Racecourse. Early life Rose Emily Paterson was born on 13 August 1956 in Northumberland. She was the daughter of ...

* Ethel Haythornthwaite

References

External links

Information about the school previously on Al-Fayed's website
(last available archived version, 17 May 2006)
West Heath Tennis Centre
which takes place on the school's facilities when not in use for additional funding.
An account of Princess Diana's time at the school

An account, from ''Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words''
{{authority control Boarding schools in Kent Educational institutions established in 1865 Schools in Sevenoaks Defunct schools in Kent 1865 establishments in England Girls' schools in England 1997 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1997