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Chelsea School
The school was founded in 1898 by German-born Dorette Wilke and started as a Gymnastic Teachers’ Training College at the South Western Polytechnic in London. Dorette’s vocation was inspired by her arrival in England in 1885 to be treated for poor health and posture with gymnastic exercises. Deportment became an integral part of her initial curriculum. In 1908 Dorette Wilke applied for British citizenship and naturalised her surname to Wilkie.
May Fountain joined the staff in 1912, supervising all the medical aspects of the curriculum. May was an alumna of Dorette Wilkie’s Gymnastic Teachers’ Training College between 1906–1908 where she found the potential of physical activity and medicine revelatory.
In 1920 the Chelsea College of Physical Education was formed and by 1929, it had at least 30 students per year group. The uniform included cloaks for practice work and woollen stockings. The two-year Physical Education courses were solely for women and students were known by their surnames only. In 1929, May Fountain succeeded Dorette Wilkie as Chelsea’s headmistress.
Today: Professor Jo Doust
Chelsea School line up 1937
Dancing 1916
1960s anatomy class
1960s–1970s
Between 1963 and 1967, Hillbrow underwent a major building programme whereby the physiology lab was demolished and replaced with tutorial, art, music and practise rooms. A swimming pool and new dance hall were built alongside two gymnasia buildings – Gaudick and Middle. The original student accommodation was in hostels: St Winifred’s, Granville Crest, Bernersmede, Ravelston, Dorette Wilkie and Whitworth Hall. As Chelsea School expanded, so did its physical premises and collaborations. In 1976 Chelsea College of Physical Education merged with Eastbourne and Seaford Colleges of Education to form the East Sussex College of Higher Education. Then in 1979, the school joined what was to become the University of Brighton, when the East Sussex College of Higher Education, including Chelsea School, merged with Brighton Polytechnic.
1980s–1990s
1980s–1990s: Cover reproduced with permission from Taylor & Francis
These decades saw major developments in courses and increased expansion in research. In 1980 the Council for Academic Awards (CNAA) developed and validated the Sports Science BSc(Hons) course. Also in 1980, Trevin Towers was acquired for the school’s use. Chelsea opened its doors to overseas students in 1981 to study a one-term diploma course in Sports Management and Administration. Between 1981–1984, the masters degree in PE was developed. The first male students were recruited to the BEd course in 1983. In 1999 former staff member, Dr Ida Webb, published a comprehensive history of Chelsea School’s first 100 years – The Challenge of Change in Physical Education (Chelsea School 1898–1998). http://tinyurl.com/idawebb