Eliana, Lady Houstoun-Boswall, I.S.I.T. (Paris) – Founder and Proprietor

Eliana is the principal founder of Hampton Court House and the former founder and Head Teacher of the Harrodian. She discovered her passion for teaching at the age of twelve when she mentored her younger sister. As a parent whose own children did not have a happy school life, she decided she wanted to run a school that was academic, but where children are treated as individuals in an environment which celebrates children’s uniqueness. She has remained a committed educationalist with a unique vision for Hampton Court House. Over the years she and her staff have created a school that provides a safe environment in which children become confident, cultured and are encouraged to achieve the best for themselves. Her passion for education and her understanding of child development and psychology have been the driving forces behind the creation of the school.

Eliana studied French and Russian Linguistics at Georgetown University and obtained a postgraduate degree at the Ecole d’Interprètes at the Sorbonne in Paris. Her first job was teaching English as a foreign language at West London College. Eliana’s entrepreneurial spirit and unwavering determination have carried her on a journey starting with property development and restoration in London, New York and France and culminating in her dream of creating a school for “children like [her] own”. Eliana’s first experience of school management was with Merlin School in Putney which she purchased with her husband. A few years later they purchased the grounds of the Harrodian Club and established the Harrodian School, where Eliana was founding Headmistress from 1993 to 1996, when she separated from her husband. During her time there the pupil numbers grew to 250. She acquired Hampton Court House in 1998 and refurbished it as a school in September 2001.

With her son Alexander, Eliana has acquired and restored Hampton Court House with a view to improving on the Harrodian. Eliana is the very essence of Hampton Court House and her daily presence ensures that the ethos and atmosphere continue to evolve in the right direction and that current and future staff remain inspirational. She continues to teach in the junior section of the school, where she retains the title of ‘Head’.