Hemdean House School

Hemdean House School was a mixed, independent, primary and nursery school for children aged 3–11. It was situated in the centre of Caversham in Reading, Berkshire, England. The school operated as a non-profit registered charity.^[3]

Hemdean House School
Location
Hemdean Road Caversham , Berkshire , RG4 8LR England
Coordinates	51.47134°N 0.975134°W / 51.47134; -0.975134
Information
Type	Private day school[1]
Motto	Laborate et Gaudete ("Work and Rejoice")[2]
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England[1]
Established	1859
Founder	Francis Knighton
Closed	2024
Head teacher	Helen Chalmers[1]
Gender	Mixed
Age	3 to 11
Houses	Knighton   Henderson   Kennet
Colour(s)	Light blue and Dark blue
Alumni	Lizbeth Webb
Website	http://www.hemdeanhouse.co.uk/

Hemdean House School was founded in 1859 by Francis Knighton. In 1862 land was bought for £320. The new building was named Hemdean House.^[4] The school formerly had a girls' senior school, which was closed in 2016.^[5] In 2018, Hemdean House was listed 29th in the Sunday Times list of 100 best performing independent schools in the UK.^[6]

On 12 July 2024 the school permanently closed. This was mainly due to dwindling numbers of students, which led to fees totalling up to around £3,990 per term.^[7]

Notable alumni

• Elsie Smith – nurse and missionary^[8]
• Lizbeth Webb – soprano and actress^[9]