Royal School Haslemere

The original Royal Naval School was founded in 1840 as The Royal Female School for the daughters of Naval and Marine Officers, one of the earliest academic girls' schools in England. The co-ancestor of The Royal School, The Grove School Hindhead was founded in the 1850s and was, equally, a pioneer in girls' education. From the outset, the founders' ambition was for the girls to become independent.

In 1815, the Battle of Waterloo finally put an end to the Napoleonic Wars. In the following peaceful years, the Royal Navy was put on half or even quarter pay. Peace also brought an end to the prize money from captured ships. The Navy had been at war nearly continuously since the 1770s, so that the potential for senior officers to become rich and to set themselves up as country gentlemen, had become established. The peace brought significant changes to their way of life. After Waterloo, many Naval Officers found themselves in financial difficulty. They could send their sons from the age of nine to sea as midshipmen, where they would gain an education and naval training. Their daughters,…