Visitors - School History

The Hall School traces its roots back to 1889 when the Reverend Francis Wrottesley set up his own school, primarily to educate his own growing family of boys. He took in other paying pupils and so the Belsize School for Boys was born. He sold it in 1898 to the Reverend Douglas Marshall when pupil numbers had sunk to 13.

Marshall was a dynamic head, numbers steadily increased and in 1905 with pupil numbers up to 50 new premises were clearly required. Marshall arranged a building exchange with a girls school at The Hall Crossfield Road whose numbers were dwindling. Marshall left The Hall, as it now was, in 1909 when numbers were up to 100. He sold the school to Edward Montauban (later, one of the founders of Stowe School) who continued the development of The Hall over the next 10 years. 1920 saw The Hall pass into the hands of Robin Gladstone the nephew of Gerard Wathen and it was Wathen who, over the next 30 years really established The Hall as the leading North London prep school.

The Hall became a charitable trust in 1952 and in 1955 Raymond Cooper its first appointed non-proprietorial head.

Headmasters of The Hall:

Francis Wrottesley  1889 - 1899
Douglas Marshall  1899 - 1909
Ernest Montauban  1909 - 1920
Robin Gladstone  1920 - 1929
Gerard Wathen  1924 - 1955
Raymond Cooper  1955 - 1976
Paddy Heazell  1976 - 1991
Nicholas Coates  1991 - 1992
Dicky Dawe  1992 - 1993
Paul Ramage  1993 - 2003
Garry Pierson  2003 - 2005
Paul Ramage  2005 - 2006
Philip Lough  2006 - present