18/09/2026
Following in D. V. Thompson’s Footsteps 💚
During her recent trip to the United Kingdom, our Executive Head, Lisa Palmer, had the incredible opportunity to visit Cheltenham Ladies’ College (CLC), where she met with the Head of College, Jemima Edney, and toured the school.
There is a special historical connection between CLC and Kingsmead, as our founder, D. V. Thompson, attended school there. Ms Palmer was particularly interested to see how many similarities she could find between the two schools.
Like Kingsmead, CLC is arranged around quads, similar to our Garth, and its buildings are spectacular. The main corridor, known as The Marble Corridor, stretches an impressive 95 metres.
The values CLC speaks most strongly about are curiosity, courage and compassion, values that resonate closely with Kingsmead. CLC has approximately 800 students, around 600 of whom are boarders.
CLC’s founder, Dorothea Beale, was a visionary who pioneered girls’ education in the late 1800s. Much like D. V. Thompson, she believed in educating for character and developing the whole person.
The most recent addition to their buildings is the Art and Technology room, a modern building where, when you stand and look at the glass, the old buildings are reflected in the new, bringing the old and the new together.
We hope this visit marks the beginning of a strong connection between Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Kingsmead College, and we look forward to exploring opportunities to build this relationship in the years ahead. 💚
