Malting House School

It was set up by the eccentric and, at the time, wealthy Geoffrey Pyke in his family home in Cambridge and it was run by Susan Sutherland Isaacs.

Although it was open for only a few years, the radical ideas explored in this institution have remained influential up until the present day.

It was originally a malthouse, Oast house, and a small brewery owned, in the 1830s, by the Beales family, a well-known Cambridge trading dynasty.

[1] Maurice and Sylia Dobb lived in a cottage behind the Malting House – he had a position at Trinity College – Ludwig Wittgenstein was lodging with them at the time, at the invitation of Bertrand Russell.

For a while, he made a lot of money speculating on the commodity market using his system of financial management instead of more conventional techniques.

She sent Geoffrey to Wellington, a snobbish private school mainly catering to the children of Army officers; here, she insisted that Pyke maintain the dress and habits of an Orthodox Jew.

[7] After two years at Wellington he was withdrawn, tutored privately and then admitted to Pembroke College, Cambridge to study law.

This philosophy extended to permitting the children to express a full range of feelings including aggression and curiosity about bodily functions.

[16] In 1924, Geoffrey became infatuated with Susan Isaacs and before long they began an affair with Margaret blessing and encouraging the relationship – although Nathan was kept in the dark.

[16] As young David reached the age of six, Pyke extended the remit of the school and expanded its ambition.

[5] The Maltings School was forced to close, Margaret Pyke had to take a job as headmistress's secretary; she left Geoffrey although they were never divorced.

Already suffering from periodic fits of depression and burdened with huge debts to his brokers, he now withdrew from normal life altogether and existed on donations from his close friends.

For a short time The Maltings was a critical if not a commercial success; It was visited by many educationalists and the radical ideas explored in this institution have remained influential up until the present day.