School History
Spring Grove boasts a long and fascinating history before it became the happy, family school of today. The school is set in 14 acres of beautiful Kent countryside and is based in a magnificent Tudor/Stuart house, completed in the late 17th century.
In some of our history lessons this term, we have been researching the main school building. We went to look carefully at the building and we found evidence from old photos, timelines and trusted websites. We thought about how to be historians and use good questions to undertake a historical enquiry. We used primary and secondary sources as well as asking good follow-up questions.
Early History
The house was built in the mid-16th century (around 1550), and was originally called William Wells Hall. In 1674 it was refaced and extended by Dr Thomas Brett. By then the house was called Spring Grove. It was subsequently lived in by generations of the same Brett family. In the mid-19th century Spring Grove was home to Charles Jenyns, a businessman who moved from London to Wye to take advantage of the new, fast train service from rural Kent into the City: perhaps an early example of regular commuting into town. Jenyns was also an amateur painter and his watercolour of Wye, which includes a passing train, hangs in Wye Church.
Writers at Spring Grove
During the 20th century Spring Grove was home to the writer Joseph Conrad for 6 months in 1919, and a little over a 100 years before that, Jane Austen may well have been a visitor when she was staying at nearby Godmersham House, owned by her brother Edward.
School History
Spring Grove School owes its origins to Cynthia Christopherson who decided to create a school for her son and a few friends. The school opened its doors on 15 September 1967 with 12 pupils, led by Mrs Rosa Cobb, who was the Headmistress for the first ten years of the school’s life. In 1984, Mr and Mrs Christopherson sold the school to Niall Washington-Jones. After Mrs Cobb’s retirement, Mr Washington-Jones guided the school and established its reputation as a family school with a homely atmosphere and emphasis on good manners. In 2003 a group of parents bought the school and set it up as a charitable trust administered by a Board of Governors. Craig Gibbs served as Headmaster from 2004 to 2007.
From 2008 to 2020 Bill Jones was Headmaster and, together with his wife Hilary, strengthened Spring Grove’s reputation as a school that provides a first-class education for primary-age pupils, preparing them for their next schools. Bill was succeeded as Head in Autumn 2020 by Therésa Jaggard, who led the school through the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023, Spring Grove was awarded ‘Excellent’ in all aspects by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, followed by another very successful ISI inspection three years later in 2026.
SG50
SG50 was launched in 2017 to celebrate 50 years of Spring Grove School. In September 2017, two of the school’s first pupils, David Christopherson and Roger Pitt, visited and spoke to the children about how the school helped them to forge their life-long friendship, in a wonderful illustration of the powerful part the school can play in the lives of its pupils. In May 2018, a whole-school photograph included Springgrovians and Huw Jones, son of Bill and Hilary Jones and Scotland Rugby International, who also opened the school’s new Sports Pavilion.
Partnership with The King’s School Canterbury
From September 2026, Spring Grove will start an exciting new chapter in its history when the school enters into partnership with The King’s School Canterbury.
