Hill House School

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Hill House School
Motto	A child's mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled
Established	1951 London 1949 Tour-de-Peilz (Switzerland)
Type	Private school
Principal	Richard Townend
Founder	Colonel Stuart Townend
Location	Hans Place Knightsbridge London SW1X 0EP England
Staff	90 (approx.)
Students	800 (approx.)
Gender	Co-educational
Ages	4 to 13
School colours	Burgundy, Yellow, Tan
Former pupils	Hill Housers
Website	www.hillhouseschool.co.uk

Hill House School is a large preparatory day school located in Knightsbridge, London, behind the department store Harrods. Founded in September 1951 by Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Townend, the school now has several sites spread throughout Chelsea and Knightsbridge, and an annexe located in Switzerland.

Hill House pupils are often seen on the move around Knightsbridge, Sloane Square and Chelsea, and are distinct in that their school uniform entails burgundy knickerbockers, tan shirts, more often than not with yellow "V-Neck" jumpers. The uniform was designed by the founder's wife, and is notable for its bright colours. It was designed to be used for sport as well as class lessons and lacks a tie. The Colonel's wife once said "a grey uniform produces grey minds, grey boys". Prince Charles is known to have gone to Hill House as part of his primary education. Sadly, Lieutenant-Colonel Townend died in 2002 at the age of 93. His son, Richard Townend, is now Headmaster. The school very much remains a family concern.^[1]

Pupils attend the school from the ages of four to 13. ^[2] Many of the pupils come from abroad. Pupils generally go on to sit the Common Entrance Examination to continue into independent secondary schools.

Due to an agreement with the former Headmaster, the Duke of York barracks on King's Road is used as a sports ground both for regular games lessons and the school's annual field day; the school also makes use of local swimming facilities due to the late Colonel's belief that learning to swim is extremely important. Queens Club, in Fulham and the Oval, in Kennington are also used for tennis, squash and cricket.

The purpose built house in Glion, 2,500 feet above Lac Léman, hosts special courses throughout the year for selected pupils from London, providing experience of a boarding school environment in the setting of a mountain village in the French speaking canton of Vaud