ABSTRACT
The school opened its doors to pupils it was time to put the educational philosophy that Susan Isaacs and Geoffrey Pyke had worked out together into practice. The descriptions of the school by Susan herself, by former pupils, by staff and by outsiders make it clear that the teaching practice started and remained remarkably faithful to the principles that had been laid down when the school was founded. Susan noted that when, as was usually the case at the Malting House School, children were free to occupy themselves as they chose, one of their main activities was make-believe play. Consequently, reading and writing at the Malting House School were solely related to practical tasks that required written communication. By the end of 1926, as it entered its third year, the Malting House School seemed well-established. The staffs were stable and the number of pupils was increasing.
