Hill House International Junior School, known simply as Hill House, is an independentpreparatory day school primarily in the Knightsbridge district of London. It was founded in September 1949 by athlete and Liberal Party politician Lt-Col Stuart Townend with his wife, Beatrice. Initially only in Switzerland, the school soon also established branches in South West London. It is the largest preparatory school in London and was originally a boys-exclusive school, turning fully coeducational in 1981.[2][3] The school educates children belonging to over 60 nationalities, and most pupils are bi- or trilingual.[4]
In 2025, Hill House was ranked by Spear's to be amongst the “100 leading private schools in the world” alongside other British prep schools including the Dragon School and Westminster Under School and senior schools including Eton College, Wellington College, and Wycombe Abbey.[5] Besides notable alumni in politics and the arts, Hill House is famous for its distinct and eccentric uniform, designed by Beatrice Townend to be all-purpose and from the belief that “Grey school uniforms make for grey minds.” The uniform includes thick golden cable-knit jumpers, burgundy-coloured corduroy knickerbockers, cravats in the school colours, and backpacks in British racing green.[6]
History
The school was founded in Switzerland in 1949 and in London in 1951 by Lieutenant-Colonel Townend and his wife, Beatrice. Townend chose his pupils solely on the basis of his approval of their mothers.[7][8]
Prince Charles went to Hill House, following advice from then-Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan, some of whose young relatives had been pupils at the school.[9][10] It was the prince’s first school and was the first time that an heir to the British throne had been to a civilian school, as princes were educated either by tutors or at a military or naval academy such as Osborne.
As of 2018 there are 690 pupils at the school from the ages of 4 to 13.[1]
The Townend Family
As of 2025, Hill House is the only London school “in which the day to day administration of every aspect of the school remains in the care and control of the founding family.”[11]
Three generations of the Townend family have been headmasters of Hill House:
The school was outlined on page 74, chapter 3.1 ("Learning to be Sloane: Sloane Education"), of Peter York's and Ann Barr's 1982 guide book The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook as an appropriate calibre of school on the "third rung of the ladder" of a "Sloane boy's" education: describing it, amongst other things, as "Prince Charles's old school. Outdoorsy, musical, for energetic extroverts."
On 22 February 1989, headmaster Stuart Townend appeared on Season 9 Episode 22 of Wogan, alongside Desert Island Discs presenter Sue Lawley and future Labour PartyHome and Foreign SecretaryJack Straw. Hill House was also featured in the 23 February 1989 documentary episode "Knickerbockers in Knightsbridge", part of the ninth season of the BBC series 40 Minutes, in which school life under “Colonel” Townend is narrated.[16]
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