Abbot's Hill School
| Established | 1912 |
|---|---|
| Type | Independent girls' school |
| Religion | CofE |
| Headmistress | Elizabeth Thomas |
| Chairman of Governors | Janet Mark |
| Location |
Bunkers Lane Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire HP3 8RP England Coordinates: 51°43′46″N 0°26′37″W / 51.729407°N 0.443509°W |
| Local authority | Hertfordshire |
| DfE URN | 117600 Tables |
| Staff | 70 |
| Students | 509 |
| Gender | Girls: 0 to 16 Boys: 0 to 4 |
| Houses | Cameron, MacDonald and Macneil |
| Website | www |
Abbot's Hill School is an Independent Day School for girls aged 4–16 years and a Day Nursery and Pre-School for girls and boys from 6 months in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.
The School celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2012, having been founded on the present site by Alice, Katrine and Mary Baird who also ran a school in the Malverns. The School’s central building was built in 1836 by the paper manufacturer, John Dickinson, as a home for him and his family and he named it Abbot’s Hill. The Dickinson family founded one of the world’s largest stationery firms of the 19th and 20th centuries and John Dickinson’s grandson sold Abbot’s Hill to the Baird sisters.
Over the years the School has developed and grown in a variety of ways, but the key milestones in its history were in 1969, when St Nicholas House School moved to the Abbot’s Hill site to form the Junior Department, and in 2003, when boarding ceased. However, the School retains “its boarding feel”, which is to be seen in the extended school day, the emphasis given to extra-curricular pursuits, the intrinsic importance of pastoral care and the School’s strong sense of community.
It had been the home of John Dickinson (1782–1869) who was his own architect in its building, just east of his paper mill, Nash Mills. Construction was commenced in 1836. The building material was unusual, being dark grey stone setts, taken from the railway lines when replaced by wooden sleepers. The house design was unusual, having only a single door to the outside despite its size. John Dickinson's youngest daughter Harriet Ann (1823–1858) married Sir John Evans, K.C.B. (1823–1908) and their son Sir Arthur John Evans (1851–1941) inherited Abbot's Hill but never lived there.
The School is very much an all-through school, although for the purposes of educational and pastoral management it is divided into two parts, the Senior School and the Prep School, which are located on the same site. The Head of Senior School and Head of Prep School have responsibility for the day to day running of the Senior and Prep Schools and they are supported by their own separate management teams.
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