Hill House International Junior School is an independent preparatory day school primarily in the Knightsbridge district of London. It was founded in September 1949 by athlete and Liberal Party 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. His son, Richard Townend, is the school's current Headmaster. The school remains a family concern. Prince Charles went to Hill House, following advice from Harold Macmillan, 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. 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 series 40 Minutes, in which school life under 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 former pupils