Miss Ena Makin, our founder, established the school on VE Day, 8th May 1945 in a house on Granville Road. She chose the Dove of Peace and Churchill’s victory sign as the school crest.
By 1957 the expansion of the school necessitated a move to its present location in Bradbourne Park Road. At this time Miss Makin’s niece, Miss Maureen Froggatt, took over as Headmistress, though Miss Makin continued to play an active part in the school until her death in 2001. On the retirement of Miss Froggatt in 1990, Mrs Jane Evans became Headmistress and was Headmistress of Granville until her retirement in 2008. Mrs Jane Scott succeeded Mrs Evans in 2008 until her retirement in 2018.
In 2018 Mrs Louise Lawrance took over as Headmistress.
Today the school is set in five acres of garden and woodland close to Sevenoaks station. Since 1966 the school has been an educational charitable trust and is administered by a board of members and governors, all of whom have personal links with the school either by being a past or current parent or an old girl.
Our main school building, The Granville, was built around 1883. This former mansion was called Dornhurst until it became The Granville School in 1957. Dornhurst’s first owner was Mr Augustus Thorne, the father of the highly decorated army officer General Sir Andrew Thorne, who was born in the house in 1885. He was educated at Eton and Sandhurst and served with distinction in both the 1st and 2nd World Wars. Amongst many other things, after the German surrender in Norway on 8th May 1945, General Sir Andrew Thorne formally held the sovereignty of Norway until 7th June when King Haakon VII of Norway (who also had connections to Sevenoaks) returned from exile. Due to its historic significance and character, the house is regarded as a heritage asset and appears on Sevenoaks District Council’s List of Local Assets of historic interest.
The school continues to maintain its Christian ethos whilst providing up to date excellence in modern teaching methods. The Granville is a school that moves with the times whilst preserving its unique traditions and values.
