Finishing School

Here’s a summary of Lucie Clayton Finishing School / College in London — its history, what it taught, how it evolved, and what became of it.

🏛️ History & Origins

Founded in 1928 by Sylvia Lucie Golledge as a finishing school and modelling agency.
The name “Lucie Clayton” came from Golledge; later, Leslie Kark (who owned a modelling directory) bought the business. Evelyn Florence Gordine (later Mrs. Kark) became principal and public face, using the name Lucie Clayton.

🎯 What It Taught

Over the years, Lucie Clayton offered a mixture of traditional finishing school skills plus more practical training as needs changed. Some of the subjects included:

Grooming, deportment, etiquette — posture, how to walk, how to carry oneself, how to behave at formal/social events.
Make-up, style of dress, fashion design, pattern cutting, dressmaking.
Flower arranging, cookery, how to host, how to look after home etc. These “domestic refinement” subjects were typical finishing school fare.
Secretarial training was added later (in the 1960s) — typing, office skills etc.

It was not a boarding school, but a day/part-time finishing and charm school.

🔄 Evolution Over Time

Became one of the most well-known finishing/charm schools in Britain through mid-20th century, especially in the 1950s-1960s. It had a modelling agency side, which ran alongside the social/etiquette training.
In the 1960s, because of social change, the curriculum expanded to include more practical skills like secretarial training.
Eventually, in more modern decades, the finishing school model (with focus on etiquette, grooming) became less central. Lucie Clayton merged with St James’s College (a secretarial college) in 2003.
Eventually it became part of Quest Professional. Lucie Clayton as a standalone charm/finishing school no longer exists in the same way.

🧾 Impact & Legacy

Many famous women attended or were connected: Jean Shrimpton, Joanna Lumley, Celia Hammond are often cited.
It shaped cultural ideas in Britain of what “proper behaviour”, high social polish, and elegance meant for women in upper/middle classes.