Rosa Bassett School
Encyclopedia
Rosa Bassett School was a grammar school for girls in South London
. It was established in Stockwell
in 1906 as the Stockwell County Secondary School and in 1913 moved to Welham Road on the boundary between Streatham
and Tooting
, becoming the County Secondary School, Streatham, often referred to as Streatham County Secondary School or simply Streatham Secondary School. It was renamed Rosa Bassett in 1951 in memory of the first headmistress.
The school closed when it was amalgamated with Battersea Grammar School
, a school for boys, in 1977 to create the new Furzedown Secondary School
, a mixed
comprehensive school
, which incorporated the Rosa Bassett buildings into a larger site.
The school's first headmistress, Rosa Bassett
, encouraged self-reliance and personal responsibility in its pupils. This pattern was carried still further when, in 1920, Bassett introduced the use of the Dalton Plan
to the school. The Dalton Plan was a system of education developed in Massachusetts
by Helen Parkhurst
that moved away from traditional, rigid, class-based teaching and allowed for teaching to be adjusted to the pace of each individual child.
The introduction of the Dalton Plan to an English school resulted in considerable interest and when, following Parkhurst's visit to England in 1921, the school opened its doors to visitors over a thousand people attended over three days. The experiences of the staff and pupils during this period were recorded by Rosa Bassett in a chapter in Parkhurst's book and were also described by Evelyn Dewey in her book on the Dalton Plan.
. During the war the school was evacuated to Chichester
, sharing accommodation with the High School for Boys (now Chichester High School for Boys
), between 1939 and 1943.
The application of the principles of the Dalton Plan continued under the next headmistress, Laura C. Jewill Hill, who remained at the school until 1963, when she was succeeded by Kathleen S. Dougill. Facilities at the school were improved by the addition of a new gymnasium and separate science building, both designed by the architect Trevor Dannatt, RA
, in 1964.
The influence of the first headmistress in introducing the Dalton Plan was recognised in 1951, when the school was renamed to Rosa Bassett in her honour, an idea that had first been proposed in 1926.
the Inner London Education Authority
took the decision to move to a fully Comprehensive System of education, meaning significant changes for grammar schools such as Rosa Bassett.
In the case of Rosa Bassett the change to comprehensive status was achieved in 1977 by amalgamating it with Battersea Grammar School
, a school for boys, to create Furzedown Secondary School
. The majority of the teaching staff transferred to the new comprehensive school, which incorporated the buildings of Rosa Bassett into an enlarged site. Today the former Rosa Bassett School buildings are part of Graveney School
.
was normally translated as "Hold Fast [To] That Which Is Good", taken from 1 Thessalonians
5:21, Authorised Version.
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
. It was established in Stockwell
Stockwell
Stockwell is a district in inner south west London, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth.It is situated south south-east of Charing Cross. Brixton, Clapham, Vauxhall and Kennington all border Stockwell...
in 1906 as the Stockwell County Secondary School and in 1913 moved to Welham Road on the boundary between Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
and Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, becoming the County Secondary School, Streatham, often referred to as Streatham County Secondary School or simply Streatham Secondary School. It was renamed Rosa Bassett in 1951 in memory of the first headmistress.
The school closed when it was amalgamated with Battersea Grammar School
Battersea Grammar School
Battersea Grammar School was a Voluntary-Controlled Secondary Grammar School in South London. It was established in Battersea by the Sir Walter St John Trust in 1875 and moved to larger premises in Streatham in 1936....
, a school for boys, in 1977 to create the new Furzedown Secondary School
Furzedown Secondary School
Furzedown Secondary School was a mixed comprehensive school in South London. It was established in Welham Road on the boundary between Streatham and Tooting in 1977, following the amalgamation of Battersea Grammar boys' school and Rosa Bassett girls' grammar school.The school closed when it was...
, a mixed
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, which incorporated the Rosa Bassett buildings into a larger site.
Early years and the Dalton Plan
The school was originally located in Durand Gardens, SW9, Stockwell, where it was known as Stockwell County Secondary School. It transferred to a new building on Welham Road, SW17, in 1913, changing its name to the County Secondary School, Streatham.The school's first headmistress, Rosa Bassett
Rosa Bassett
Rosa Bassett, MBE was an English educationist and headmistress of the County Secondary School, Streatham, in London....
, encouraged self-reliance and personal responsibility in its pupils. This pattern was carried still further when, in 1920, Bassett introduced the use of the Dalton Plan
Dalton Plan
The Dalton Plan is an educational concept created by Helen Parkhurst.Inspired by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the 19th century, educational thinkers such as Maria Montessori and John Dewey began to cast a bold vision of a new progressive approach to education...
to the school. The Dalton Plan was a system of education developed in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
by Helen Parkhurst
Helen Parkhurst
Helen Parkhurst was an American educator, author, lecturer, the originator of the Dalton Plan and the founder of The Dalton School....
that moved away from traditional, rigid, class-based teaching and allowed for teaching to be adjusted to the pace of each individual child.
The introduction of the Dalton Plan to an English school resulted in considerable interest and when, following Parkhurst's visit to England in 1921, the school opened its doors to visitors over a thousand people attended over three days. The experiences of the staff and pupils during this period were recorded by Rosa Bassett in a chapter in Parkhurst's book and were also described by Evelyn Dewey in her book on the Dalton Plan.
Further development
Following Rosa Bassett's early death in 1925 the school's new headmistress, Muriel Davies, continued the principles of the Dalton Plan, although in somewhat modified form. Miss Davies continued at the school until 1947, seeing it though World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During the war the school was evacuated to Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
, sharing accommodation with the High School for Boys (now Chichester High School for Boys
Chichester High School For Boys
Chichester High School for Boys, often referred to as CHSB, is a community school, with specialist status of Business and Enterprise College, for boys aged 11 to 18 located in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England...
), between 1939 and 1943.
The application of the principles of the Dalton Plan continued under the next headmistress, Laura C. Jewill Hill, who remained at the school until 1963, when she was succeeded by Kathleen S. Dougill. Facilities at the school were improved by the addition of a new gymnasium and separate science building, both designed by the architect Trevor Dannatt, RA
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, in 1964.
The influence of the first headmistress in introducing the Dalton Plan was recognised in 1951, when the school was renamed to Rosa Bassett in her honour, an idea that had first been proposed in 1926.
Amalgamation
With the abolition of the Tripartite SystemTripartite System
The Tripartite System was the arrangement of state funded secondary education between 1944 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 to 2009 in Northern Ireland....
the Inner London Education Authority
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority was the education authority for the 12 inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990.-History:...
took the decision to move to a fully Comprehensive System of education, meaning significant changes for grammar schools such as Rosa Bassett.
In the case of Rosa Bassett the change to comprehensive status was achieved in 1977 by amalgamating it with Battersea Grammar School
Battersea Grammar School
Battersea Grammar School was a Voluntary-Controlled Secondary Grammar School in South London. It was established in Battersea by the Sir Walter St John Trust in 1875 and moved to larger premises in Streatham in 1936....
, a school for boys, to create Furzedown Secondary School
Furzedown Secondary School
Furzedown Secondary School was a mixed comprehensive school in South London. It was established in Welham Road on the boundary between Streatham and Tooting in 1977, following the amalgamation of Battersea Grammar boys' school and Rosa Bassett girls' grammar school.The school closed when it was...
. The majority of the teaching staff transferred to the new comprehensive school, which incorporated the buildings of Rosa Bassett into an enlarged site. Today the former Rosa Bassett School buildings are part of Graveney School
Graveney School
Graveney School is a foundation specialist school with Technology College status in the Furzedown area of Tooting, south west London. The Principal is Graham Stapleton and the Headteacher is Keith Barbrook. It teaches years 7 to 11 , with nine classes per year averaging thirty students each. In...
.
Headmistresses
- 1906–1925 Miss Rosa BassettRosa BassettRosa Bassett, MBE was an English educationist and headmistress of the County Secondary School, Streatham, in London....
, MBE, BA (1871–1925) - 1926–1947 Miss Muriel Davies, MA (d. 1980)
- 1947–1963 Miss Laura C. Jewill Hill, MA (Oxon) (1907–2004)
- 1963–1977 Miss Kathleen S. Dougill, BSc
School motto
The school's original motto was "Steadiness, Sincerity and Service", but this was changed to Honesta Obtinete (literally: "Possess Virtues!") while the school was still at Stockwell. The LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
was normally translated as "Hold Fast [To] That Which Is Good", taken from 1 Thessalonians
First Epistle to the Thessalonians
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, usually referred to simply as First Thessalonians and often written 1 Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible....
5:21, Authorised Version.
Former pupils
Former pupils include:- Anna Livia Julian BrawnAnna Livia Julian BrawnAnna Livia Julian Brawn ,who used the pen name Anna Livia for her novels, was a "widely read lesbian feminist writer and linguistic theorist", well-known for her fiction and non-fiction regarding issues of sexuality...
(Anna Livia), writer - Rosemary BrownRosemary Brown (spiritualist)Rosemary Brown was a spirit medium who claimed that dead composers dictated new musical works to her. She created a small media sensation in the 1970s by presenting works dictated to her by Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Johann Sebastian Bach, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Franz Schubert, Edvard Grieg,...
, mediumMediumshipMediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :... - Baroness Park of MonmouthDaphne Park, Baroness Park of MonmouthDaphne Margaret Sybil Désirée Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth CMG, OBE, FRSA was a British diplomat. During her career she was also a clandestine senior controller in MI6 in Hanoi, Moscow, the Congo, and Zambia....
, diplomat - Penelope WensleyPenelope WensleyPenelope "Penny" Anne Wensley, AC is the Governor of Queensland and a former Australian diplomat.Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, she was educated at Penrith High School in New South Wales, the Rosa Bassett School in London , and the University of Queensland where she graduated with a first class...
, AOOrder of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, Australian diplomat, 25th Governor of Queensland