Alice Woods


Alice Woods or Alice Augusta Woods was a British educationist and college head. She was an advocate for co-education.

Life

Woods was born in Walthamstow in 1849 and she was brought up as a Quaker. Her cousin Mary Woods was a headmistress. Woods went to Girton College before joining teaching herself in Scotland for two years at St Leonards School in St Andrews.
Her first headship was at a school in Bedford Park, Chiswick.
In 1892, the Maria Grey Training College attracted Woods as its new head. This was the first college to train women teachers and it had just had new buildings. The college was in the same grounds as a high school. The college and high school were erected in 1892, designed by architect J. Osborne Smith, at a cost of £11,500.
She was not a great administrator but she focused on raising the quality of the student's work. The students hoping to teach in Kindergartens learnt about the teaching methods developed by Maria Montessori and Froebel and every other student was taught by teachers who all had their own degrees.
Woods was recognised as an expert on teaching and she was invited to speak abroad. She also served on leading committees to improve education.
Woods died in Radlett in 1941.

Works