ABSTRACT
As this conclusive comment in the Hampstead and Highgate Express at the time of her death2 correctly suggests, Louisa Walker was among the most eminent of the infant department headmistresses appointed by the London School Board. Fleet Road School was possibly unique in possessing two such redoubtable headteachers as Louisa Walker and William Bateman Adams. Arguably Louisa Walker made the more notable educational contribution if, for example, range of innovation and publication are considered. This chapter will show, among other things, how the Walker family, like the Adamses, took early advantage of the meritocratic developments which were opening up opportunities for professional and social advancement in the formative years of their careers; how, like her counterpart in the Senior Mixed Department, Louisa Walker skilfully exploited the media; and how she contributed to the development of infant education in the urban milieu, in a period of radical social change.
