Lucie Clayton Charm Academy

Lucie Clayton College was founded by Sylvia Lucie Golledge in 1928 as a modelling agency and finishing school. It was bought by Leslie Kark who owned a successful model directory. It became Britain's top modelling agency during the 1950s and 1960s with Evelyn Gordine as the principal. Gordine (later Kark) was the business's public face using the name "Lucie Clayton".

Lucie Clayton Charm Academy
Location
Grosvenor Gardens

United Kingdom
Information
Other nameQuest Professional
TypeFinishing school
Established1928 (1928)
FounderSylvia Lucie Golledge
Websitehttp://www.questprofessional.co.uk

Later History

Sylvia Lucie Golledge founded the organisation in 1928 as a modelling agency and finishing school. It had offices in Oxford Street. It was bought by Leslie Kark who owned a successful model directory named "Model". Kark's personal assistant Evelyn Gordine became the principal. Another employee in the office was Muriel Spark (before she was a full-time novelist). Gordine used the name "Lucie Clayton" as her business name.[1]

In 1956 the owner, Leslie, and the principal, Evelyn, married and it was the Karks who ran the business.[1] Modelling became a higher status profession in Britain and the business moved to 66 New Bond Street.[1]

The modelling agency closed in the late 1970s but the school now prepared their charges for "the Season".[2] During the 1960s the alumni of the school included Sandra Paul, Celia Hammond and Joanna Lumley, who actually had careers modelling. Many of the students did not expect to enter a modelling career and the business became a de facto finishing school.[1]

In the early 1990s, Lucie Clayton reinvented itself as a secretarial and business college. The courses ranged from a few days up to a full year and included skills such as shorthand to IT to budgeting, marketing, public relations, law and personal development. Along the way, students may have picked up the odd City & Guilds or London Chamber of Commerce & Industry professional qualification. At the end of the course they left with Lucie Clayton's certificate. The list of employers associated with the college includes Amanda Wakeley, Arthur Andersen, Hermes, JWT, the BBC, Vogue, and Schroders.[3]

In 2007, Lucie Clayton College merged with two secretarial colleges, Queen's College and St James's College, to form Quest Business Training. Today it is known as "Quest Professional" and it has moved to Grosvenor Gardens.[4] Lucie Clayton House in South Kensington, London was converted into seven serviced apartments.[5]

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Kark [née Gordine], Evelyn Florence [known as Lucie Clayton] (1928–1997), college head". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/65698. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. "'We used to weigh the students...'". Tes. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  3. "John Crace gets a grooming at the finishing school that reinvented itself". The Guardian. 10 April 2001.
  4. "History of Quest". www.questprofessional.co.uk.
  5. "Lucie Clayton House: A model lesson in home-making". The Telegraph. 24 November 2007. Archived from the original on 27 January 2009.
  6. "'I'm a low-maintenance woman'". The Guardian. 9 April 2006.
  7. "Maripaz Jaramillo: "La única relación que no me ha defraudado ha sido la que he construido con el arte"". El Espectador. 8 July 2019.
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