The Claremont Estate
Claremont’s history began long before Claremont Fan Court School, when the mansion was commissioned in 1769 by Lord Clive of Plassey, replacing the original house positioned where our grass ‘triangle’ now lies.
A royal abode
After his death, it then passed into the hands of Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold, later King of the Belgians, in 1816. The then Princess Victoria visited her beloved uncle many times at Claremont, and continued her interest in it for the whole of her life.
Queen Victoria
During that time Claremont also served as a refuge to the last King and Queen of France, when they fled the French revolution in 1848, and following Leopold’s death in 1865 the estate reverted to the Crown and Parliament granted it to Queen Victoria.
A wedding gift
Claremont then became a wedding gift to her youngest son, the Duke of Albany and his bride, Princess Helena of Waldeck in 1879 before being sold in 1922 to Sir William Corry, director of the Cunard shipping line. He made many improvements to the interior of the house, and began to sell off parts of the estate for housing development.
The School
Meanwhile, Clear View School for girls also opened in 1922, originally based in London. By 1930, the school had expanded from 8 pupils to 45, and the directors purchased Claremont and changed the school’s name to match in January 1931. After the outbreak of war in 1939, Claremont School was evacuated to Llandrindod Wells and the mansion was leased to the Hawker Aircraft company from 1940-46 under the leadership of Sir Sydney Camm.
In 1978, Claremont School amalgamated with Fan Court School, originally based in Longcross, Surrey to form a co-educational school for 3-18 year-olds, becoming Claremont Fan Court School.
The school has grown steadily since, adding the Joyce Grenfell Centre in 1979, named after one of our distinguished performing arts alumna and later the sports hall in 1999. A new sixth form centre and the Sir Sydney Camm science and technology building followed in 2019, which provides outstanding facilities across subjects from physics to design technology and textiles.
Now we are a thriving school of around 1,000 pupils, still governed by our original principles of creating young people that are ‘strong in understanding’ through a character quality education, where they are supported to achieve their utmost potential. Now a non-denominational school, we welcome pupils from all faiths and none.
Heritage open day
On one day every September we open our school gates to the public in celebration of Heritage Open Day – England’s largest festival of history and culture. This year it is being held on 7 September 2024. Join us to unearth the royal, political and social history of Claremont mansion on a self-guided tour (no booking required). Admission and tours are all free. The mansion is open from 11.30am-16.00pm for self-guided tours.
Our mission, vision and ethos
To see our full mission, vision and ethos visit our policy page.
