Gatehouse School

Gatehouse School
Established 1948
Type Independent school
Founder Phyllis Wallbank
Location Sewardstone Road
Victoria Park
London
E2 9JG
England, UK
Coordinates: 51°31′56″N 0°02′48″W / 51.53214°N 0.04668°W / 51.53214; -0.04668
Local authority Tower Hamlets
DfE URN 100980
Gender Coeducational
Ages 3–11
Website www.gatehouseschool.co.uk

Gatehouse School is a co-educational independent school based in Sewardstone Road in Victoria Park in East London, educating pupils from the ages of three to eleven years. The youngest classes follow a Montessori-style education, but the influence of the national curriculum has brought the older classes more into line with mainstream schools. The school admits children from the full ability range, with an emphasis on the Arts, including visits to museums and theatres, as well as sports and outward bound activities.

The School was originally founded in Smithfield, London by Phyllis Wallbank, in 1948. It was originally housed in the Gatehouse of St Bartholomew-the-Great church in Smithfield but moved to Bethnal Green in the 1970s. It has been run along Montessori method principles developed by the educationalist Maria Montessori and initially served children from 2 – 16 years of age, and at the time of its founding, was quite untraditional in its educational philosophy. The school's 60th anniversary in 2008 was marked by a service in the school's original home, St Bartholomew's in Smithfield.

The School integrates children with a wide range of disabilities with able-bodied children. It follows the idea that true learning results from children exploring the world for themselves through play. It allows children to choose when to take their lessons during the week. A child is required to complete a certain number of lessons in Mathematics, English, Art, Geography etc. per week but would be able to decide when to do them. Students also have free lessons where they can choose any subject they like. The balance of subjects is often weighted towards a child's aptitude or current interests. Different abilities/ages of children are taught in the same session, and their teachers 'sign pupils off' for the lessons they have completed. Some older children (14/15 year olds) can then take the amount of each subject they wished to do over the course of each week, resulting in some pupils spending the week doing 'what they want' e.g., Art/Monday, Geography/Tuesday, English/Wednesday, Biology/Thursday and then back to Art/Friday.

After an hour for lunch pupils have an hour to read followed by 'afternoon activities'. These include football, swimming, and visits to museums. The school has also had two ponies, as well as a duck, for the children. It also has an old farm cottage just outside Clochan in Scotland.

The Gatehouse School featured in several documentary programmes during the 1970s. Saxophonist & Bon Viveur Brian Hardy taught Art & Dance here. Actors Sophie Ward and Linus Roche were pupils.

Bibliography

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