The school was based in a former Franciscan priory, St. Josefsheim, built in 1913, that closed in 1937 and was then used by the Nazis, as Waldniel Institute, as part of their child euthanasia programme.

During the redevelopment work, human remains were uncovered - the bodies of patients who had died - or been killed - at the Nazi-run Institute which had been housed here during the war.

The Gothic appearance of the school led to it being nicknamed Colditz by the British, after the infamous prisoner-of-war camp in East Germany.

[5] During the late 1960s one of the outbuildings overlooking the outdoor netball playing area, was taken over by the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes(NAAFI) as a staff hostel housing around 15 managers and charge hands.

[7] In 1993, as a result of the end of the Cold War and the reduction of Allied Forces in Germany, the site at Hostert was closed and it was returned to the German authorities.