School Campus & Development

Since Walthamstow Hall moved to Sevenoaks in 1882, we have constructed the school around the needs of our pupils. Every building on our campus, from the original Arts and Crafts-inspired Victorian Main Building through to the new Pool Complex, has been purpose-built for us and designed for learning.

Our Campus

Our Main Building, containing the vaulted Dining Hall and Erasmus classrooms for Languages and Humanities, remains the solid heart from which the school has continued to expand and evolve.

Sixth Form Centre

In 1992, the Junior School was relocated to its own site nearby in Sevenoaks, allowing the creation of a separate Sixth Form centre, called EBH (Emmeline Blackburn House) in the Senior School grounds. This facility gives Sixth Formers greater independence in a supportive school context; ideal preparation for university life.

Academic Classrooms

An ongoing programme of renovation and rebuilding has created bright, airy and modern classrooms grouped together in subject areas.
The Salmon Wing brings together the Creative Arts with airy classrooms for English, a floor of Art and Textiles Studios and a well-stocked Library and Information Centre with panoramic views over Knole Park and the North Downs.
The Erasmus Centre for Humanities (2003), Languages and Classics sits on two refurbished and renovated floors in our old Main Building and a suite of four new dedicated Mathematics classrooms was completed in 2009.
We integrate ICT into the way we work and learn, so Computer Suites are complemented by mobile sets of laptops and computers in teaching areas around the school.

Art

The bright and spacious Art Studios in Salmon Wing will be completed in September 2010 with the opening of a new Design Technology Room, which has been developed on the site of the original laundry, with funding from The Wolfson Foundation.

Science Block

Walthamstow Hall boasts a state-of-the-art Science Block (refitted in 2004 with the financial assistance of The Wolfson Foundation) with seven laboratories, three preparation rooms and a dark room, over three floors, dedicated to each of the Sciences.

Music and Drama

The Ship Theatre is the focus for our Performing Arts. Equipped to professional standard, it is a perfect performance venue for Drama and Music. The School’s Main Hall, with larger audience capacity, is in regular use for concerts, performances and as an assembly hall in which the school can gather together for Prayers. The John Downton Music Room (2010) and the Elwes Drama Studio (2009) also offer impressively equipped, but more intimate, rehearsal and performance spaces.

Sport

In 2008 we opened our state-of-the-art, 25 metre, six-lane Swimming Pool Complex, a development that also saw the creation of the Mulberry Hall as a useful indoor sports space. As well as our own Lacrosse pitch, Squash courts and Tennis and Netball courts we have direct access to the neighbouring Holly Bush AstroTurf for lessons and matches.

School Development – The Mulberry Plan

Some of the larger new developments outlined above, for example the building of the new Swimming Pool Complex, form part of Walthamstow Hall’s Mulberry Development Plan.
Launched in 2006, the Mulberry Plan outlines future development to Walthamstow Hall’s campus to ensure that the school remains at the forefront of girls’ education in the 21st century.
Whilst inspirational teaching is the key to achieving excellence, in the Mulberry Plan we also recognise that staff and girls are more likely to achieve their best when working in an optimum setting with the latest facilities. With this in mind we undertook a three-year period of research and consultation (from 2003–2006) reviewing the future needs of the school and identifying the development required for our students to continue to reach their potential academically, in Sport and in the Arts. The result was our Mulberry Development Plan, the implementation of which is now well advanced.
The Mulberry was chosen as a symbol of continuity, growth and development, particularly pertinent to Walthamstow Hall. A mulberry tree, still flourishing in our grounds, was planted when we moved to Sevenoaks in 1882, having been grown from a cutting in the garden of our original Walthamstow site. In 1988 a second mulberry was planted to mark the 150th anniversary of the school’s foundation.

The Mulberry Development Plan Phase One – A New Pool

The first phase of this major development programme was the building of the new school swimming pool.
The 25 metre, six-lane pool, was opened by World Champion and Olympic swimmer Katy Sexton MBE, in March 2008. Today, it is used extensively by the whole school and the wider community. Every pupil from age four has the opportunity to learn to swim. This is one of the first and most important ways in which girls gain a sense of success and learn that sport is fun.
Our best swimmers go on to compete at a high level both locally and nationally, as members of our successful swimming squads. But all girls, whatever their level, can enjoy the benefit of personal fitness by using the pool. For many years we have enjoyed having our own pool, and the Mulberry Development Plan has enabled us to replace our 40-year-old pool with a more modern facility, which suits the needs of the whole school.
The site of our old pool has been converted into The Mulberry Hall, a sports hall that provides invaluable space for a variety of indoor activities from Judo to Gymnastics and Fencing with wet weather Lacrosse and Netball training in between.

The Mulberry Development Plan Phase Two – The Redevelopment of the Assembly Block

The redevelopment of the Assembly Block includes the Main Hall, its entrance vestibule and the classrooms that lie behind it.
Work is well advanced on this phase of the plan, with the refitting of the Assembly Block classrooms to create an up-to-date, dedicated Mathematics facility, completed in 2009. Redevelopment of the body of the Main Hall will commence in summer 2010.
The Main Hall is at the heart school life: large enough to accommodate the whole community for Morning Prayers, or to host a major concert, a Prize-Giving or a Parents’ Evening. It is used extensively by the school and the community for a host of purposes, from fund-raising events to dancing classes.
We wish to retain the attractive traditional quality of our hall, but to update it to create a more flexible space for the benefit of our talented actors and musicians.
Since The Ship Theatre is too small to satisfy the growing demands of Music and Drama, we also need a flexible assembly hall that can be used as a complementary performance and concert venue. In addition there will be a redesigned and extended entrance and vestibule area, with a communal reception area and exhibition space for our students’ outstanding Art and Textiles work and refreshment facilities.

The Mulberry Development Plan Phase Three – A New Sports Hall

The final phase of the Mulberry Development Plan will be the construction of a second, larger Sports Hall to offer valuable indoor training space alongside the existing Mulberry Hall and Squash and Fitness Centre. The new Sports Hall will provide valuable indoor teaching space for major games during inclement weather. As well as being a venue for Netball and Lacrosse training, whatever the weather, the specialist hall will extend the range of games we can offer. Gymnastics, Trampolining, Tennis, Judo and Dance will also be enhanced.

Sixth Form Facilities