The early years of St. Hilda’s School remain something of a mystery. It was founded in 1891 at 2 Rothamsted Avenue by a Miss Craig and moving to its present home in Douglas Road sometime around the turn of the century. Boys were accepted as well as girls and pupils could stay on until school leaving age. Miss Craig was succeeded by a Miss Fisher and then Miss Lowe during the early years of the century. Then, in the 1920s and ’30s, the School was run by joint headmistresses – Miss Pierpoint and Miss Hilton. They were replaced sometime around World War II by Miss Hallett and Miss Hanson.
The school was purchased by Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson in 1950. It has remained in the Hutchinson family ever since, during which time it has been extended and the facilities greatly improved. When Mrs Hutchinson died in 1966, her husband carried on as headmaster until ill health forced him to hand over to his deputy, Mrs Williams, in 1981.
Mary Piachaud, elder daughter of Colonel and Mrs Hutchinson, took over as headmistress in 1986 and under her leadership many further improvements to the school were undertaken. Mrs Piachaud retired in 2002, at which time Mrs Schofield (later to become Mrs Williams) took over as headmistress, to be succeeded by Mrs Godlee in 2008. The current Headmaster, Mr Sayers, has been in post since 2015.
