Lowewood Academy

Lowewood Academy is a co-educational boarding establishment for young ladies and gentlemen of our first families with some scholarships for poor girls*

Founded in 1795 as the Lord Fawcett School for Endowed Girls, Lowewood has a proud history. It was originally conceived as a fashionable boarding school where poor but clever girls would be given the opportunity to attend and could rub shoulders with girls from the wealthy and better parts of society and improve their social standing. It quickly became very fashionable with the upper classes, due to the standing of its founder, the Marquess of Bathwick, the 5th Lord Fawcett, who provided the endowment for his poor girls scholarships. Early pupils at Lowewood included Harriette Wilson, Julia Johnstone, Mary Wollstonecraft and Martha Linton, who later became known as the girl with the swansdown seat**.

In the Victorian era, Lowewood enthusiastically embraced the principles of strict discipline, healthy exercise and frequent cold baths as ideal methods of improving girls deportment, constitution and demeanor. Following in the footsteps of notable boys schools, it adopted the discipline methods of Dr Hans Onabutts***, who was evangelical in his belief that the way to enthuse girls with knowledge was via their bottoms and that regular application of such methods ensured that the girl continued to strive for betterment. This ethos is still prevalent in Lowewood today.

In the 20th century, Lowewood has been proud to keep to its traditional ways and not follow modern educational fads such as child centered learning. It firmly believes in instilling the 3R’s as well as history, geography, music, art, drama, games, PSE, languages and also places an emphasis on the feminine arts, such as flower-arranging, embroidery and dance. It’s graduates are everything that a modern man might seek in his future wife womanly, accomplished, obedient and devoted.

Ten years ago, Lowewood made the momentous decision to admit boys to its sixth form, believing that it was important for young ladies to come into contact with the opposite sex in a scholarly and firm environment.**** The academy became immediately popular with young men from the finest families who enjoy its emphasis on muscular discipline and restraint.

Today, under the firm hand of its Head Master, Mr Shaftebotham, Lowewood continues to turn out girls that fulfill in every way the ideas of its founder, Lord Fawcett. The current Lord Fawcett is chairman of the governors.

Notes:
*who are hygienic and disease free, with their own teeth and no crabs.
** also known in America as “Jeez, I wish I could afford her”.
***Heidelburg and Hanover Universities, and author of “A young ladies guide to being good: how to win friends, influence patrons and never have a sore bottom”
**** Sixth formers at Lowewood are expected to maintain the six-inch rule at all time “If it’s less than six inches, just say no!”