The Birth and Incunabula of a School
Published in Windlesora 30 (2014)
© WLHG
Learning in the opinion of Juan Vives was the cure for all evils, for, as he wrote: “The study of learning is such a thing that it occupieth one’s mind wholly and lifteth it up unto the knowledge of most goodly matters and plucketh it from the remembrance of such things as be foul.” Queen Katherine Parr by Anthony Martienssen
1936 was for regal Windsor, a year of endings and beginnings. January saw the end of the reign of King George V and the beginning of his successor, Edward VII, whose own suzerainty terminated abruptly less than eleven months later. As the latter’s ended, so began the reign of his brother, King George VI. In the meantime, on 5th May in Kings Road, the long story of Upton School began. As the new king was to prove his worth for the benefit of Nation and Commonwealth, so Upton was to prove itself for Windsor.
In the summer of 1935 Mrs Sydney Slingsby of St Mary’s in Frances, mother of two, enquired of a friend, Miss Constance Robertson, Senior Mistress at Sherbourne Preparatory School in Coulsden, whether she would consider opening a small school in Windsor for which she believed there was a great need. Miss Robertson indicated assent if Mrs Slingsby could find premises and a minimum of ten pupils. Mrs Slingsby owned 52 Kings Road, of which the ground floor and garden had become vacant. She discussed the project with another friend, Mrs Eric Handcock, a mother of two young boys, who was in accord as to the desirability of a new school. Mrs Handcock undertook to find seven pupils, including her elder son (the present writer), and Mrs Slingsby engaged to provide another three, including her daughter Jill.
So it was that on 5th May 1936, a group of ten children, in brand new blue and white uniforms, gathered at 52 Kings Road for the opening by Miss Robertson’s cousin, Miss Janet Robertson RA. The school was named Upton School after one kept by Constance’s grandfather, the Revd. John Robertson at Upton Park. Amongst this first intake was Ursula Williams, the daughter of John Williams, the Director of Education for Windsor, and Jean Fairhurst, daughter of Herbert Fairhurst, Headmaster of Windsor County Boys’ School. The involvement of these latter parents was undoubtedly a boost to the fortunes of the new and untried venture.
Miss Robertson possessed the personality, drive, and ability to ensure the success of her fledgling school, and by Christmas 1936, the number of pupils had grown to twenty-four, necessitating the engagement of a second mistress, Miss Iris Hetherington. She was also fired with the spirit of excellence and enthusiasm set by Constance Robertson.
A second batch of pupils included Sally Lillywhite, whose parents owned the Sheet Street Dairy situated in the building subsequently occupied by solicitors Charles Coleman, and now redeveloped. Monica and Philip Brown were the children of the Vicar of Cranbourne, and Desmond Buick was the son of a well-respected verger of St George’s Chapel. Another pupil of those early days was Malcolm Davis, whose father Stanley became Mayor of Windsor in 1960.
Lessons were structured, and absorbed the attention, so no child ever retreated into the cul-de-sac of boredom. The curriculum included scripture, history, geography, arithmetic, writing, reading, and spelling, in addition to which there were such hitherto unknown delights as handwork, drawing, singing, nature study, and general knowledge. The heights of excellence were rewarded with gold and silver stars, whereas the depths of decadent behaviour were marked with black stars and Order Marks. Daily prayers were a part of the school’s ethos, in which Mrs Alexander’s perennially popular children’s hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ frequently figured. There were two houses, St George and St Christopher. In 1936, the only classrooms were on the ground floor at the front of the building, looking out onto a small garden, effectually screened from the distractions of passing traffic.
That December, Miss Robertson held the first Christmas party in the Tudor Room at the Windlesora Restaurant in the High Street, run by the redoubtable Mrs Brian. This fancy dress party was preserved for posterity in two columns in the Windsor and Eton Express. The Vicar of Windsor, Reverend C H Hamilton, welcomed the Mayoress and Mrs A E Churcher on the latter’s Hertfordshire campus early in 1942. The ISC had held Camperdown House on a long lease from the Crown, which Miss Joy and Miss Drewe purchased. The chapel was sold, later becoming a spiritualist church. Later still, the Principals were able to buy the Crown freehold, and the school, under these two dedicate and energetic leaders, continued to grow. For many years, there was even a boarding house situated in Osborne Road.
As an aside, for many years an Old Uptonian Association flourished with its own committee, an annual magazine, and a host of activities including sports, and theatre outings.
In 1949, an acclaimed and memorable full-length production of 1066 and All That, was performed, of which Ursula Williams was the producer and several early pupils took part. A number continue to meet regularly for lunch seventy-eight years later!
Winifred Drewe left the school on her marriage and was replaced by another partner Miss Thorpe-Ellis, an excellent teacher, good-humoured and a warm empathy with the pupils. After her retirement in 1951, Stella Joy remained the pivot around which the school revolved. In the summer of 1960, the school suffered a seismic blow when Miss Joy, in her fifties, died suddenly of cancer. The unexpected demise of Stella Joy, its sole proprietor, let the school in unchartered waters in which it may have well foundered, however by this time Upton School was a well-established and respected institution in the town, and a number of influential eminences came speedily to the rescue. In an incredibly short time, a new Council of Management was formed whose members included Alderman Richard Tozer, a former Mayor, and Reginald Hyne, an eminent local architect. Herbert Fairhurst became the first Chairman. Purchase of the school freehold was negotiated with Miss Joy’s executors and a new Headmistress. Mrs Preston-Littlewood, was appointed. An enthusiastic, bubbly, efficient person, Mrs Preston-Littlewood went far to fill the enormous crater left by Stella Joy. The new Headmistress remained for barely five years however, as her husband was moved by his company and she went with him. This seemingly calamitous circumstance turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Upton would not have secured Sheila Wallace as Headmistress.
Jack Crump, then Windsor’s Director of Education, had known Sheila during his time as Director of Military Education in post-war Germany. Appreciative of her considerable qualities as a teacher, organiser, and administrator, he has no hesitation in putting her name forward. Sheila Wallace always claimed her appointment was secure when Dr O’Donovan, one of the interviewers, asked what she would do if the cleaners failed to turn up. She replied that she would take the broom herself. When John Slingsby, as Chairman of the Council of Management, came to contribute the preface to Sheila’s valedictory book, ‘Action at Upton 1965 – 1987’, he wrote:
‘through her ideas, energy, and hard work, she created an educational establishment that is considered one of the best in the district and with the help of her very able staff, made Upton House School that we know today. It was not only in the classroom that Miss Wallace’s ideas bore fruit, but it also made the school part of the Windsor scene, involving the children in the many activities that had taken place in the Royal Borough.’
Sheila Wallace reigned at Upton for an epic twenty-two years. To bring this impressive saga up to date, it is a truism to say that a Headteacher makes or breaks a school. In Sheila’s case, and in those of her successors, the school has gained mightily from their respective periods of leadership. Miss Jane Woodward served for some eleven years after Sheila Wallace’s retirement, and was succeeded in her turn by the present popular Headmistress, Mrs Madeleine Collins, who came to the school in 1999. An enormous building programme has taken place in recent years, and at the time of writing the complement of pupils has grown from its original ten, to no less than two hundred and sixty-six.
To conclude, it is apposite to quote from one of the characters in the children’s book The Far-Distant Oxus, written by two teenage authors, Katherine Hull and Pamela Whitlock, which the writer himself quoted when giving away prizes at Upton in 1996:
‘It’s a good feeling when you’ve done something. Something that seemed incredibly remote and impossible at first.’
Upton House School, as it is now, has from those far off days of 1936, proved a story of amazing and continuous success, and to Windsor a boon of the first magnitude
John E Handcock
Acknowledgements
In preparation for this article the author acknowledges help from reading:
The Chronicle of Upton House School 1936-1949 by Jill Scoular (nee Slingsby)
Action at Upton: Upton House School 1965-1987 by Sheila Wallace
Windsor Local History Group 