Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army

The Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army was a girls' boarding school situated in Bath, England. In 1998 it was incorporated into the Royal High School. Early history The Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army grew out of the Officers' Widows and Orphans Fund, initiated by philanthropist Alfred Douglas Hamilton as a result of the Crimean War. The school was founded in 1864, and opened on 24 August 1865 under Lady Superintendent Emmeline Maria Kingdon, who was recommended by Florence Nightingale. She retired in 1882. Funding came in part from Queen Victoria, who was a patron. The school's mission was to provide practical and religious education for the daughters of army officers who might otherwise be unable to afford it. The Royal Patriotic Fund was already providing for needy families of soldiers and non-commissioned officers. The Royal Naval Female School, founded in 1840, provided assistance for the daughters of naval officers. It formed the model on which the new school was based. The Royal School was privately funded, relying on a mixture of subscriptions, legacies and other gifts, and fees. Subscribers were eligible to vote on which girls would receive admission at reduced fees (initially twelve pounds). Larger contributors received more votes. The school's building was originally intended to be a boys' day school. This school failed and the building, in Lansdown on the outskirts of Bath, was purchased in September 1863. A London office was maintained, initially on Cockspur Street, until a bursar was appointed at Bath after World War II.