This article reports on the opening up of a new, rich seam of interdisciplinary research that brings together historians of education with historians of art and architecture to examine the meaning and incidence of "The Decorated School". It examines the origins of the idea of art as educator in the nineteenth century and discusses how ideas about the education of taste accompanied the establishment of mass education in industrialised nations during the early part of the twentieth century. Some examples of Decorated Schools in Britain and Europe are discussed with reference to the nature of the international and interdisciplinary interpretation made possible by the research network. Finally, some of the challenges of interdisciplinary research in this area are presented, as well as rich opportunities for further exploration. The article concludes that in order to come closer to a realisation of how pupils might have experienced The Decorated School in the past, we need to incorporate histories of children's play-worlds in our project.