Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army

The Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army was a girls' boarding school situated in Bath, England. In 1998 it was incorporated into the Royal High School.

The Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army grew out of the Officers' Widows and Orphans Fund, initiated by philanthropist Alfred Douglas Hamilton as a result of the Crimean War. The school was founded in 1864, and opened on 24 August 1865 under lady superintendent (headmistress) Emmeline Maria Kingdon, who may have been recommended by Florence Nightingale and who retired in 1882. The school's mission was to provide practical and religious education for the daughters of army officers who might otherwise be unable to afford it. The Royal Patriotic Fund was already providing for needy families of soldiers and non-commissioned officers. The Royal Naval Female School, founded in 1840, provided assistance for the daughters of naval officers. It formed the model on which the new school was based. Other schools existed for officers' sons.

The Royal School was privately funded, relying on a mixture of subscriptions, legacies and other gifts, and fees. Subscribers were eligible to vote on which girls would receive admission at reduced fees (initially twelve pounds). Greater contributors received more votes.

The school's building was originally intended to be a boys' day school. This school failed and the building, in Lansdown on the outskirts of Bath, was purchased in September 1863. A London office was maintained, initially on Cockspur Street, until a bursar was appointed at Bath after World War II.

In 1870 a junior school was opened in Clarence House at Roehampton, for girls aged ten to fourteen. However, this branch of the school struggled to achieve the standards of the parent institution. In 1885 the junior school closed and the girls transferred to Bath.

In September 1939, after war was declared, the school moved to Longleat and the Admiralty's Hydrographic Department took over the Lansdown premises. Significant improvisation and some construction were required to make the situation workable. Lack of space, and difficulty in retaining domestic and teaching staff, were among many problems. However, the school remained at Longleat until the end of summer term in 1947. During this time the system of voting for foundationers was suspended, never to be reinstated. This period also saw the deaths of their host Lord Bath, a president The Duke of Connaught, and two chairmen.

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