Francis Holland School

History

The schools were founded in the 1870s by Canon Francis James Holland for the education of girls in London. He was born in London on 20 January 1828 and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. The Regent's Park School is the older of the two schools but no longer has a Junior Department. Francis Holland, Regent's Park, used to accept boys as primary school pupils but they would leave as soon as the girls moved on to secondary education.

The Sloane Square School was opened with 13 pupils on 1 March 1881 at 80 Coleshill Street, Belgravia, later renamed as 28 Eaton Terrace. Within a year, the school expanded into a further property opposite but as this arrangement proved awkward, Canon Holland purchased a site on the corner of Graham Street, now Graham Terrace where a new school building was constructed ready for occupation in October 1884.

In 2005, property tycoon Achilleas Kallakis donated £250,000 to the school, which his daughter attended at the time. A theatre at the school was named after him. However, following Kallakis' 2013 arrest and imprisonment for fraud, the school removed the plaque and returned £92,500 of the donation. The returned money was subsequently seized by the Serious Fraud Office.

In 2015, Vivienne Durham, the headteacher of the Regent's Park school, said in an interview "I’m not a feminist. I believe there is a glass ceiling – if we tell them there isn’t one, we are telling them a lie. Women still have to plan for a biological fact – ie motherhood". The Guardian said that she was criticised for this.

Francis Holland, Regent's Park

There are about 500 pupils at the school, and about 120 sixth-formers. Most of their sports take place in Regent's Park and Paddington Recreational Grounds.

Francis Holland, Sloane Square

There are over 605 pupils on roll.

Francis Holland Prep School

Formerly a part of the Sloane Square school, in September 2024 the junior department was relocated to 15 Manresa Road and established as a separate prep school.

The move enabled a transition from one-form entry to two-form entry, doubling the school's enrollment from 140 to 280.

Notable alumnae

SW3 6NB

• Rhiannon Adam, photographer
• Camilla Arfwedson, actress
• Amanda Donohoe, actress
• Eleanor Burbidge, astronomer
• Jackie Collins OBE, novelist
• Dame Joan Collins, actress and writer
• Lady Mary Charteris, singer and model
• Cara Delevingne, model
• Petra Ecclestone, fashion designer
• Tamara Ecclestone, TV presenter
• Emilia Fox, actress
• Joyce Grenfell, comedian and singer-songwriter
• Hermione Hammond, artist
• Evelyn Jamison, historian and vice principal of Lady Margaret Hall 1921 to 1937
• Elizabeth Jane Howard, novelist
• Gemma Jones, actress
• Jemima Khan (Jemima Goldsmith), journalist
• Eleni Kyriacou, fashion designer
• Susan Lawrence, Labour politician
• Sue Lloyd-Roberts, Special Correspondent for the BBC (formerly at ITN)
• Sienna Miller, actress
• Nancy Mitford, novelist and biographer
• Vanessa-Mae, violinist
• Farah Nabulsi, filmmaker
• Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford, biographer
• Tilly Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay's daughter
• Patricia Roc, actress
• Christina Scott, former Governor of Anguilla
• Sienna Spiro, singer-songwriter
• Rose Tremain, novelist
• Theresa Villiers, politician (formerly Secretary of State for Northern Ireland)
• Jennifer von Mayrhauser, costume designer
• Veronica Wadley, former editor of the Evening Standard
• Daisy Waterstone, actress

References

References

1. (2023-03-17). "Fraudster's £250K donation to private girls' school was from 'proceeds of crime'".
2. (31 October 2015). "Girls must choose career or motherhood, says top head". The Daily Telegraph.
3. (2 November 2015). "Girls can have it all, we need to stop telling them otherwise". The Guardian.
4. (2018). "Francis Holland School, Regent's Park".
5. (2018). "Francis Holland School, Sloane Square".
6. "History".
7. Bhuller, Anoop. (2024-08-01). "Francis Holland Prep School To Open September 2024".
8. (2023-03-17). "Astronaut Rhiannon Adam opens sixth form centre at her old school".
9. Yumpu.com. "Newsletter 2012 - Francis Holland School".
10. "Mrs St Johnston by Amanda Donohoe {{!}} Tes Magazine".
11. Knickelbine, Scott. (1980-06-29). "Amanda Donohoe".
12. Sargent, Anneila I.. (2021-08-25). "Eleanor Margaret Burbidge. 12 August 1919—5 April 2020". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society.
13. Horwell, Veronica. (2015-09-20). "Jackie Collins obituary". The Guardian.
14. "Secrets of a Hollywood Star {{!}} Mayfair Times".
15. Bickerstaff, Isaac. (2024-08-21). "‘The love we share shields me’: Lady Mary Charteris thanks her young daughter for her new found confidence".
16. "Fraudster ordered to hand over returned donation he made to independent school". The Independent.
17. (2011-06-18). "Life in the (very) fast lane: The Fabulous Ecclestone Sisters". The Independent.
18. Life, Country. (2017-06-03). "Emilia Fox on unexpected success, technophobia and being buried alive".
19. "Hermione Hammond". The Independent.
20. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/08/23/gordon-ramsays-daughter-gets-top-marks-gcses-d-cookery/] ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 23 August 2018.
21. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/may/10/featuresreviews.guardianreview5 Costume dramatist], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 10 May 2003.