St George’s School announce sale of Lansdowne House

St George’s School is selling off Lansdowne House on Coltbridge Terrace to fund a new building within the grounds of the main school.

The new construction will then be self-funded and the school will be contained “on one cohesive campus” as it used to be before it bought Lansdowne House School across the road in the late 1970s.

The new part of the private girls’ school will be used for pupils from 10 to 13 and will include versatile teaching spaces for problem solving STEM subjects, welfare and quiet spaces, a purpose built outdoor space and a building for “community use”.

The sale of the grand Lansdowne building will allow the school to complete this development without needing to increase fees. The boarding fees at St George’s for final year pupils are in the region of £40,000 per annum.

St George’s says it already has the privilege of caring for historical documents and artefacts of Lansdowne House and also St Margaret’s which it took over at much the same time, within their own archive. The School hopes that their new build will enable them to display this material more prominently and make it more accessible to members of the public.

Carol Chandler-Thompson, Head of St George’s School, said: “It is of great importance to us to honour our school’s past and to balance maintaining a beautiful, historic campus, with ensuring St George’s offers the best 21st century educational environment. We have a carefully considered, proactive future strategy to ensure we constantly improve all aspects of our school and school experience.

“The history of Lansdowne House as a stand-alone school, and indeed as part of St George’s, is a highly valued part of local and school history. We are fully committed to keeping the fabric and legacy of Lansdowne House part of our identity as we move forward. However, currently being split across two sites causes logistical challenges and increased costs of maintenance. The Lansdowne building is beautiful, but facilities like this are very difficult to renovate and suitably equip with sustainable and modern technology. As the house ages, its ongoing maintenance becomes ever more impractical and expensive.

“The new building’s design will reflect the importance St George’s has long-placed upon developing our pupils’ skills for the future: problem-solving, team-working, generating creative solutions, testing hypotheses, and using their voice to communicate ideas to peers and wider audiences.”

There will be an open event when Murrayfield neighbours will be invited to learn more about the plans. At the earliest work will begin in 2026 as the school has already completed a pre-planning stage in the development.

Savills will market the 2.2 acre Lansdowne portion of the school from end of August 2024. This comprises Lansdowne House which is C-listed, Lansdowne Modern, a Food Tech Building and the Lodge at the main gates where Lansdowne head teachers used to live on site.

The photograph below shows the Upper school on the St George’s site.