St. Mary's Church, Theydon Bois
Frances Mary Buss
Frances Mary Buss (16 August 1827 – 24 December 1894) was a headmistress and an English pioneer of women's education.
Her father's career as an artist being at times unsuccessful, to help the family finances her mother set up a private school in Clarence Road, Kentish Town, in 1845. The Buss's school was renamed the North London Collegiate School and moved to larger premises in Camden Street on 4 April, 1850. Buss was its first Principal and remained so for the rest of her life. Under her headship, the school became a model for girls' education. By 1865 the school had 200 day girls, with a few boarders, but was still run as a private, family concern, with her father Robert William Buss and her brother Septimus Buss teaching Art and Scripture respectively. In July 1870 Frances Buss handed over the school to trustees, and in the following year she founded the Camden School for Girls with the aim of offering more affordable education for girls. She was the first ever headmistress.
Buss was at the forefront of campaigns for the endowment of girls' schools, and for girls to be allowed to sit public examinations and to enter universities. She became the founding president of the Association of Head Mistresses in 1874, a position she held until 1894, and was also involved in establishing the Teachers' Guild in 1883 and the Cambridge Training College (later Hughes Hall) for training teachers in 1885. In 1869 she became the first woman Fellow of the College of Preceptors, helping to establish the College's professorship of the science and art of education in 1872. Her election to a Fellowship of the College in 1873 was the only public recognition she ever received. She was also a member of the Council of the Teachers' Training and Registration Society.
Frances Mary Buss is commemorated in a pair of stained glass windows in the north wall of the church. Across the bottom of the windows is the inscription:
"To the Glory of God and to the beloved memory of Frances Mary Buss founder and first head mistress of the North London Collegiate School this window is erected by Grace Toplis and the girls of Montague House 25th September 1897."
She is buried in the churchyard on the north side of the church.
You are viewing the text version of this site.
To view the full version please install the Adobe Flash Player and ensure your web browser has JavaScript enabled.
Need help? check the requirements page.
