[3] Established on 9 July 1860 by Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, it was a model for many similar training schools through the UK, Commonwealth and other countries for the latter half of the 19th century.

[8][9][10][11] A freedom-of-information request in 2015 disclosed that the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery had one of the lowest admission offer rates of 14% to its applicants.

Nightingale decided to use the money to set up a training school at St Thomas' Hospital.

[2] When Nightingale's school for nurses was initially set up, under the direction of Mrs Wardroper, the hospital matron,[14] the students had a typical training period lasting a year.

[2] Around twenty to thirty students were accepted in a year, whose probationary period fall under two classifications.

[2] A common class woman who serves as student, upon completion, would receive a certain small amount of money plus a placement in a home or institution.

She introduced many educational innovations such as: a designated sister tutor, Nightingale medals for high achieving probationers, (designed by Countess Feodora Gleichen),[16] ward charts to record student nurses' learning which were later adopted by other hospitals and the General Nursing Council.

[17] Lloyd Still designed and inaugurated the Nightingale Badge in 1925 which was awarded to all students graduating from the school[17] until 1995.