The school was originally intended for senior officers of the British Army who aspired to battalion command.

It was taken as an affront by some senior officers of the day, who resented the implication—true in some cases—that they were incapable of delivering the necessary training.

The school attempted to widen officers' outlook by including in its syllabus subjects that were not immediately military but led to an appreciation of the wider political, geographical and technological environment in which the British Army would operate.

In 1939 it moved to Erlestoke Park, a country house at Erlestoke, Wiltshire,[2] where it continued to operate until June 1950 when a major fire caused it to move to the wings of the house; the school closed completely in 1961.

[2] The site was then converted into a detention centre for young offenders, and is now HM Prison Erlestoke.