The School was founded in 1947 by Mrs. Jane Baxter-Harris, ably assisted by her daughter Marjorie, who later became the School's Matron. The School quickly flourished and developed a reputation for having the perfect environment in which to educate the future ladies and gentlemen of our society.

The successors in the role of leadership were Bob and Joy Cope, parents of international ballet star Jonathon Cope, who spent his early years at Netherwood. Bob Cope developed Netherwood from a Preparatory School into a Secondary School, adding much to the geography of the School and vastly increasing it's population, as demand soared. His motto was 'Consideration for Others', which has had a positive influence on the way in which all inhabitants of Netherwood treat each other.

The Copes were followed by Huw and Barbara Morris, who saw their mission as improving the academic status of the School. This was achieved in a comparatively shortly space of time, with results taking a very sharp turn for the better.

Within four years of their arrival Netherwood featured as JOINT TOP SCHOOL IN ENGLAND & WALES FOR G.C.S.E. RESULTS.

Once the academic programmes for 3-16 year olds had been assured of continual success, the introduction of the Sixth Form was automatically the next step to be taken. Thus, the final two years were added to Netherwood's structure in the academic year of 2001/2002.

This ensured the continuation of the provision of personally structured education programmes right through to the pre-University stage. Links have already been forged with several significant Universities, providing an easy route through to Undergraduate Studies.

The other initiative undertaken by Huw Morris was to introduce International Students to Netherwood in small numbers, from many countries, so as to develop a 'little world of it's own' within Netherwood and to provide it's students with contacts all over the world.

The history of the School is strongly reflected in its current ethos. At Netherwood, we believe that everyone is born equal and that the intelligence level in those decent members of society, that we produce varies considerably. We are not a selective school as such, but we do promise to do all we can to provide the best possible education, within our means, for every child and adult who become part of our community. We see Netherwood as an environment where education and growing-up can be fun for everyone. Our students are encouraged to do their best - without being placed under severe pressure and undue stress. In addition to this we see the development of the person as being equally as important as their education and see the need for preparing the child for the modern world. The number of pupils at Netherwood will never be significantly more than 200, so that the School's family atmosphere will always be preserved. Attempts will be made also to ensure that class sizes will not be more than 20, if it can behelped, so that our pupils can be individually nurtured. Much of the learning process, particularly with younger children, is supported in the home or in the School's Boarding House, so that those who are responsible for supervising homeworks/preps can work as a team with subject/class teachers.

Fees are set constantly at a competitive level for Netherwood pupils. Our mainland fees are around half those set for the average Independent School in the United Kingdom. Our price for the International Package is equally as competitive. In our endeavour to take Independent School Education to as many people as possible, it is important that we retain this principle. We believe that the quality of the 'package' is far more important than it's price! In this way, we really do live up to our new motto.

Pupils at Netherwood are encouraged to be competitive in life. The School has two 'Houses' for this purpose. They are called Harris (after Mrs. Baxter Harris) and Merthyr (after Lord and Lady Merthyr who own the land on which Netherwood stands and support its existence as a school). All pupils are allocated a house for the purposes of competition. The two highlights of the year are the School Eisteddfod (a cultural, musical and academic competition) and our Sports Day. House Matches are also played in Rugby, Soccer, Netball and Hockey at various times throughout the year.