In 1990, Hall School Wimbledon opened in a Wimbledon village hall with just nine children who shared twelve different nationalities and differed widely in ability and interests. But they all had something in common – they wanted to learn and they wanted to do well; they wanted to feel safe and they wanted to be treated with respect.

Timothy Hobbs, Headmaster and Founder, created an environment in which his first nine pupils could be happy and where they would be appropriately prepared for Common Entrance. He banished constraints and pressures that had been making the children unhappy at their previous schools and focused on building their self-confidence, believing this to be a pre-requisite for examination success.

Mr Hobbs settled on a simple regime that involved a balanced day with a wholesome lunch and at least one Games period. More importantly, he encouraged the children to find their own information from active seeing and doing rather than solely depending on textbooks. The children took part in archaeological digs, scaled castle walls and practised their French in France.

This combination of sound educational standards and unique philosophy – inspired and determined by those first nine pupils – proved a winning formula, and remains embedded in the Spirit of the School.

Within two years of opening, the school roll had grown to more than 150 children and the rented village hall premises could no longer accommodate the school’s ever-burgeoning pupil numbers. Beavers Holt, the site of the present-day Junior School, was acquired in 1992 and purchased in 1996.

Through the implementation of a sustained development programme, the school has expanded the core buildings, which formerly housed a state primary school, to produce a practical and visually satisfying mixture of styles that provides an attractive, spacious environment for our younger pupils.

A further expansion opportunity arose in 1998 with the purchase of a former girls’ school in West Wimbledon. With the acquisition of The Downs, now the site of the Senior School, Hall School Wimbledon was able to offer families an education that took their children right through from Reception to completion of their GCSE examinations.