Dallington School owes its existence to our founder, Mogg Hercules. Educated in Australia, she started her teaching career there. Having been nominated as an outstanding graduate teachers and offered a wide choice of schools, she chose to work in a one-teacher, one-room school in the Australian Outback. It was from Mogg´s love of this challenging experience that the germ of the Dallington story took root. Mogg moved to the UK in the 1960s and taught in State Schools at all age levels. She knew instinctively that mainstream schooling was not working for many children; that they were being put under a huge amount of pressure to conform, and that above all children were simply not being allowed to enjoy their childhood.
A natural educator, Mogg knew fundamentally that her philosophy and ideas were focused on nurturing children´s development and broadening their learning experiences and she wanted to be able to put them into practice. In 1978 she and her husband, Evan Hercules, bought number 8 Dallington Street, the former site of the Gatehouse School, and Dallington School was born.
Teaching mixed ages in one room, Mogg´s unusual approach to teaching and learning soon attracted parents who wanted something a bit different for their children: parents who wanted to allow their children to become independent and curious learners; children who could think for themselves; who were given the chance to explore their interests and who would develop exceptional collaborative and social skills and be able to debate intelligently; to be kind, self-aware and aware of others.
Mogg wanted school to be fun; she wanted children to love coming to school, for every day to be a surprise, and most of all for children to feel that they were valued, were being listened to and that their contribution was valid.
In 2009 Mogg received the Ted Wragg Lifetime Achievement Award (with Distinction) and then, in 2018 she was awarded an MBE for outstanding services to education. It is heartening that her approach to an alternative education was so widely recognised and rewarded during her lifetime.
Dallington School has continued to uphold Mogg´s values and ethos, with a constantly evolving curriculum, whilst maintaining a holistic and child-centred approach, and placing the child at the heart of everything it does.
“This lovely school has created an extreme juxtaposition: a village primary-school vibe in the heart of London and a wondrous alternative to the assessment-driven culture that often fails to accept or nurture the unique qualities of every child. Its founder’s motto of ‘value your own worth and understand the difference in others’ is a sentiment that would change the world if we were all a bit more Dallington.”