Girls’ hockey is reported to have been played at a number of renowned schools in the late 19th century: Roedean under the leadership of Penelope Lawrence in 1885; Dame Frances Dove at Wycombe Abbey from 1896; and Dorothea Beale at Cheltenham Ladies College between 1858 and 1906. However, it was not until the establishment of Madame Bergman Österberg’s Physical Training College in Hampstead in 1885, which then transferred to Dartford in 1895, that formal training for women physical education (PE) teachers became a reality.
The influence that those who attended the English specialist PE Colleges on the development of women’s hockey is significant, not only in England and the other Home Countries, but also in other areas of the world.
7 specialist English PE Colleges are particularly deserving of study:
- Dartford College of PE founded 1885 by Madame Bergman Österberg.
- Anstey College of PE founded 1897 by Rhoda Anstey.
- Chelsea College of PE founded 1898 by Dorette Wilkie.
- IM Marsh College of PE founded 1900 by Irene Mabel Marsh.
- Bedford College of PE founded 1903 by Margaret Stansfield.
- Nonington College of PE opened 1938 with Gladys Wright as its founder.
- Lady Mabel College of PE opened 1950.
