Jane Box-Grainger - Founding a School in France - LEcole Hampshire

Title page

Founding a School in France: LEcole Hampshire

Text and Watercolours

by

Jane Box-Grainger

A Sequel to A Vision Achieved

by

David Lemmon

ARTHUR H. STOCKWELL LTD

Torrs Park Ilfracombe Devon

Established 1898

www.ahstockwell.co.uk

Publisher information

2014 digital version by Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

Jane Box-Grainger, 2010

First published in Great Britain, 2010

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Dedication

To my children, Eve, Paul and Jill, and to my sisters and brother, Ann, Susan and John.

Glossary

1: Founding a School in France

This chronicle is the story of an educational project from its conception to its successful conclusion. It was to prepare pupils to take their place eventually in the newly formed European Union by giving them greater exposure to a foreign language than the curriculum would normally allow. The language selected was French because the pupils already had a grounding in French in their London school, The Hampshire School, Knightsbridge, a well-respected and successful preparatory operation. In order to create a sister school in France, it was essential to find some suitable premises as its base. The search to find a suitable and practical venue in France is the first stage of this story. The second stage was to turn the selected Grade II listed buildings into an attractive and practical site. The final stage was to implement the syllabus. All these stages were time-consuming, and, in some cases, costly. It is extremely gratifying to me as the instigator and author of this book that they have finally proved to be successful. I still find it amazing that what, at times appeared to be insurmountable difficulties were overcome, and that the project succeeded.

If I reveal a few brief details about the history of The Hampshire School in Knightsbridge, it may help the reader both to enjoy and understand this story.

The founder, my mother, June Hampshire, started a school in the drawing room of her home in Surrey in 1928, to teach dancing. June suffered from post-natal depression after the birth of her second daughter, Ann. Junes doctor asked her what she would like to do. Her reply was Dance! She had been a ballet dancer before her marriage, so it seemed logical to use the large drawing room in Oakgates, her house in Surrey, as a starting point for teaching a few pupils. The room had parquet flooring and enough space once the furniture had been pushed to the sides of the room. It was called the Jane Ann School of Dancing after her two eldest daughters, Jane and Ann. She taught ballroom, tap, ballet and general dancing. It was so successful that many pupils joined the classes and she had to rent two extra spaces, Cheam Hall and the ballroom of the Drift Bridge Hotel in Epsom. Then later, in 1935, she also opened an attractive studio in Epsom High Street. Throughout the period from 1928 to 1939, Junes pupils gave regular concerts and recitals to help to raise money for local worthy causes. Jane and Ann were a regular feature in the concerts, where they danced special duets choreographed by their mother. In 1932, June rented a studio in Knightsbridge, the London Ballet School, while in Surrey the school continued under its original name. With the opening of the London Ballet School, June expanded the curriculum to include tuition on elocution, music and dramatic art. The new curriculum also included courses in shorthand, typing and French for senior pupils, as well as professional training for the stage. All activities stopped in both schools in 1939, due to the commencement of World War II.

On Junes return to London, after three years serving in the WRAAF, the school in Knightsbridge reopened. It incorporated general education with dancing, and Junes youngest daughter, Susan, became one of the first six pupils.

In 1943, a flying bomb fell in a field adjoining Oakgates. The blast blew out most of the windows and doors. As no one was living in the house it provided a field day for looters, who practically emptied the house of all its contents. My father, Junes husband, was very tardy in taking action and so he sold the lovely property very cheaply what a pity! So from that time there was no longer a school in Surrey owned by my mother.