At the time of the foundation of many of the UK’s oldest and most illustrious educational institutions, a room could be considered a classroom as long as it were equipped with a few hard wooden desks, the odd inkwell, an open fire and a window, if those first scholars were lucky.
Recreation time may have been spent chasing a misshapen leather ball across a lumpy field, fishing, if a river were to hand, or perhaps challenging a classmate to a game of fives by bashing a cork ball about with their fists on a brick-built court.
Undoubtedly, the idea of what constitutes a suitable learning environment has progressed rapidly over the centuries. Independent schools – particularly the oldest of them – have had to constantly adapt and upgrade their facilities to suit the requirements of a high-quality modern education.
School campuses are increasingly becoming mini villages in their…
