South Hampstead High School
South Hampstead High School is an independent day school in Hampstead, north-west London, England, which was founded by the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST). It is for girls aged 4–18 with selective entry at ages 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+ (Sixth Form).
South Hampstead High School | |
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Address | |
3 Maresfield Gardens , , NW3 5SS England | |
Coordinates | 51.5462°N 0.1773°W |
Information | |
Type | Independent day school |
Motto | More Light (German: Mehr Licht) |
Established | 1876 | as St. Johns Wood School
Local authority | London Borough of Camden |
Department for Education URN | 100076 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports |
Head teacher | Victoria Bingham |
Staff | circa 160 |
Gender | Girls |
Age | 4 to 18 |
Enrolment | 930 |
Houses | Walker, Potter, Bodington, Benton |
Colour(s) | Gold and Navy |
Publication | The Penguin (student magazine) |
Website | www |
History
The school was founded in 1876, the ninth school established by the GDST (previously known at the Girls' Public Day School Trust), as the St John's Wood School, with 27 pupils. In 1886 the school was still led by Rita/Rebecca Allen Olney. She left to found another school nearby with her sister Sarah Allen Olney who had been an assistant head at this school.[1] In 1887, it changed its name to South Hampstead High School. From 1946 until the late 1970s, it was a girls' direct grant grammar school, with around half the intake paid for by the local council.[2] In January 2015, alumna Helena Bonham Carter officially opened a new 7-storey building for the Senior School, designed by Hopkins Architects.[3] In January 2020, the school unveiled a new state-of-the-art performance space, Waterlow Hall.[4]
Staff
Head Teachers
- Victoria Bingham 2017– present
- Sandrine Paillasse 2016 (acting)
- Helen Pike 2013–2016
- Elizabeth Nicholas 2013, one term
- Jenny Stephen 2005–2013
- Vivien Ainley 2001–2004
- Jean Scott 1993–2001 (Chairman from 2001–6 of the Independent Schools Council, and also Head from 1986–93 of St. George's School, Edinburgh)
- Averil Burgess OBE 1975–93 (President from 1988–9 of the Girls' Schools Association)
- Sheila Wiltshire 1969–1974
- Prunella Bodington 1954–1969
- Muriel Potter 1927–1954
- Dorothy Walker 1918–1926 (Miss McGonigle 1926 one term)
- Mary Benton 1886–1918
- Rita Allen-Olney 1876–1886
Former teachers
- Edith Allen, mother of food writer Raymond Postgate and Dame Margaret Cole (who married G. D. H. Cole), and wife of classicist John Percival Postgate
- Rosalind Goodfellow, who taught history[5]
- Marianne Lutz, Headmistress from 1959–83 of Sheffield High School for Girls taught history from 1947–59.
- Margaret Nevinson, suffragette, and mother of the painter Christopher R. W. Nevinson (taught classics in the 1880s)
- Marie Orliac, who taught French in 1907–1910, founder of the University des Lettres Francaises (1910, Marble Arch, West London) that would become in 1913 the Institut Francais du Royaume-Uni.
Academic results
In 2019, South Hampstead High School was ranked 13th in the country for A Level results, based on data collated by the Independent Schools Council (ISC).
Typically around one fifth of the student body goes on to study at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.[6]
School motto
- "Mehr Licht" – More Light (German)—the reputed last words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Notable former pupils
- Katya Adler, journalist
- Naomi Alderman, author
- Madalyn Aslan, author
- Alma Birk, Baroness Birk, Labour politician
- Helena Bonham Carter, actress
- Prof Julia Briggs[7]
- Irene Bruegel[8]
- Ann Chegwidden, film editor[9]
- Janet Neel Cohen, Baroness Cohen of Pimlico, author and former BBC governor
- Joyti De-Laurey, Britain's biggest female fraudster[10]
- Lynsey de Paul, singer/songwriter/pianist/actress
- Una Ellis-Fermor, Hildred Carlile Professor of English from 1947–58 at Bedford College
- Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP from 2005 to 2015 for Hornsey and Wood Green
- Dame Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, actress
- Antonia Forest (Patricia Rubinstein), British children's author
- Jill Fraser, theatre director
- Jane Green, author
- Vivien Greene (née Dayrell-Browning), doll house expert (wife of author Graham Greene)
- Wendy Greengross(1925–2012), general practitioner and broadcaster[11]
- Charlotte Haldane (née Franken), writer, and first wife of evolutionary biologist J. B. S. Haldane from 1926–45
- Amanda Harlech, model [12]
- Margot Heinemann, left-wing writer
- Elizabeth Irving (Lady Brunner), actress and founder of the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign
- Elsie Janner, Baroness Janner CBE, wife of Barnett Janner, Baron Janner
- Laura Janner-Klausner, their daughter; Senior Rabbi, Movement for Reform Judaism
- Miriam Karlin, actress and activist
- Suzy Klein, radio and television presenter, writer and producer
- Angela Lansbury, actress
- Una Ledingham (née Garvin),[13] physician in the field of diabetes mellitus and pregnancy, and daughter of James Louis Garvin
- Nora Lee (née Nora Francisca Blackburne), actress and casting director [14]
- E. C. R. Lorac, crime writer
- Daisy Lowe, model
- Ruth Mace, Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology since 2004 at University College London[15]
- Joanna MacGregor, pianist
- Shirley Manson, rock musician
- Lucasta Miller, writer
- Kate Moross, graphic designer
- Sophie Newton, entrepreneur
- Julia Neuberger, Rabbi
- Freya North, author
- Margaret Quass, educationalist
- Tessa Rajak (née Goldsmith), Professor Emerita of Ancient History, Reading University
- Netta Rheinberg MBE, cricketer
- Diana Rowntree, architecture journalist[16]
- Jordan Scott, photographer, daughter of Ridley Scott
- Georgia Slowe, actress
- Anna Stothard (briefly), author
- Rachel Sylvester, columnist at The Times
- Flora Twort, English painter
- Jess Wade, physicist and activist
- Fay Weldon, author
- Olivia Williams, actress
- Sula Wolff, child psychiatrist
See also
References
- "Olney, Sarah Allen (1842–1915), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52261. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- Mr. K. Lindsay (31 May 1946). "Direct grant status". Hansard.millbanksystems.com. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- Blake, Imogen. "Belsize Park actress Helena Bonham Carter reminisces about Hampstead schooldays". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- Boniface, Michael. "Royal guests: Crown stars Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Colman open South Hampstead school's arts hall". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- Rosalind Goodfellow
- "Leavers' destinations". South Hampstead High School. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- "Julia Briggs – obituaries". The Times. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- Himmelweit, Sue; Mohun, Simon (15 October 2008). "Obituary: Irene Bruegel". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- Michael Ratcliffe (23 October 2007). "Obituary: Ann Chegwidden". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- Bindel, Julie (17 September 2005). "Julie Bindel meets Goldman Sachs thief Joyti De-Laurey". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- Bayfield, Tony. "Greengross [married name Katz, later Kates], Wendy Elsa (1925–2012)". ONDB. OUP. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- Picardie, Justine (2 December 2007). "Amanda Harlech: a charmed life". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- "Una Ledingham". British Medical Journal. 2 (5473): 1314. PMC 1846661.
- The way we were: my life in pictures, The Times 23 August 2005
- "Ruth Mace". Ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- Fiona MacCarthy (27 August 2008). "Obituary: Diana Rowntree | Art and design". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2011.