St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.
Video St Paul's Girls' School
History
St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part of the endowment of the foundation set up by John Colet, to create a girls' school to complement the boys' school he had founded in the sixteenth century. The governors hold proprietorial responsibility, and some are representatives of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London.
The buildings for the school were designed by the architect Gerald Horsley, the son of the painter John Callcott Horsley and one of the founder members of the Art Workers Guild.
The school has had several distinguished directors of music, most notably Gustav Holst (1905-34) and Herbert Howells (1936-62). Holst composed his St Paul's and Brook Green suites for the pupils at the school. Holst also composed what is arguably his most well known work, "The Planets", while teaching at St Paul's. John Linton Gardener took a part-time job as Director of Music at St Paul's Girls School.
Maps St Paul's Girls' School
Exam results
St Paul's girls have regularly performed extremely well in the GCSEs and A Levels. Over half of girls at the school get all A*s in their GCSEs and many take extra languages or maths GCSEs. In 2014, 99.3% of GCSEs were graded at A*s or As with 93.6% graded at A* alone. This was the highest ever A* percentage achieved by the school and in the country. In 2016, the school achieved the highest A Level results in its history with 60.0% of entries achieving an A* grade and 93.8% of entries achieving A* or A grades.
GCSE summary: last five years
A level summary: last five years
Music
Gustav Holst was Director of Music at the school during the period he composed his orchestral suites, including St Paul's Suite and The Planets; he was succeeded by Herbert Howells before John Gardner followed in the 1960s. Gardner wrote many memorable pieces for the school, including his popular Christmas carols Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day and The Holly and the Ivy.
Drama
The school's main theatre, where most school productions are staged, is named after alumna Celia Johnson. Other productions are staged in the drama studio is a smaller space.
Bursaries and scholarships
Bursaries
The school awards up to twenty means-tested bursaries to students who join in Y7 (two of which are funded by HSBC), and up to five more bursaries for students arriving in Y12. For candidates who join in Y12, there is also the Ogden Trust science award for a UK citizen currently at a non-independent school who wants to study both physics and maths at A level. Bursaries fund up to 100% of tuition fees on a sliding scale depending on family income and assets, plus exam entry fees and a grant towards textbooks. Holders of 100% bursaries entering in Y12 also receive an extra package to cover additional expenses, such as the cost of sports equipment and music tuition.
Scholarships
Year 7: The school awards up to four academic scholarships and two music scholarships to 11+ entrants (worth £100 a year; the music scholarship also includes free tuition in one instrument).
Year 12: The school may also award two music scholarships to current students and two more to new joiners (worth £250 a year plus free tuition in two instruments), and two art scholarships (worth £250 a year) to internal and external candidates. The Nora Day music scholarship (worth up to 50% of school fees plus free tuition in two instruments) is awarded every other year to a new joiner who shows exceptional musical potential. The school also awards scholarships worth £250 a year for academic distinction in the "Senior Scholarship", a dissertation written by students in the summer holiday following Y12.
Logo
The school logo is a Grecian laurel wreath, representing the school's competitive spirit. In 2007, this logo was replaced by High Mistress Clarissa Farr with a blossoming rose, chosen to suggest potential. The change provoked much opposition from students within the school, and an article in the Daily Mail. The traditional wreath was retained as the symbol of the Old Paulina Alumnae Association. In 2013 it was announced that the old logo would be reinstated.
High Mistresses
The headmistress of St Paul's Girls School is known as the High Mistress.
- Frances Ralph Grey (d.1935), High Mistress 1903-1927
- Ethel Strudwick (1880-1954), High Mistress 1927-1948, daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Melhuish Strudwick
- Margaret Osborn (1906-1985), High Mistress 1948-1963
- Dame Alison Munro (1914-9 September 2008), High Mistress 1964-1974
- Lady Brigstocke CBE (Heather Renwick Brigstocke, created Baroness Brigstocke 1990) (1929-2004), High Mistress 1974-1989
- Helen Elizabeth Webber Williams (born 1938), High Mistress 1989-1992
- Janet Gough (born 1940), High Mistress 1993-1998
- Elizabeth Mary Diggory (1945-2007), High Mistress 1998-2006
- Clarissa Mary Farr (born 1958), High Mistress 2006-2017
- Sarah Fletcher, High Mistress 2017-present
Old Paulinas
Alumnae of the school, known as "Old Paulinas", include:
Arts
Culinary arts
- Thomasina Miers - Chef and founder of Wahaca restaurant chain
Education
- Sheila Forbes - Principal, St Hilda's College, Oxford
- Jessica Rawson - Warden, Merton College, Oxford
- Barbara Reynolds - scholar
- Joan Robinson - economist
Humanitarianism
- Myrtle Solomon - pacifist and former Chair War Resisters' International
Law
- Dame Sonia Proudman QC - High Court Judge
- Rosalind Wright CB QC - Director Serious Fraud Office (1997-2003)
Journalism and media
Politics
- Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Conservative MP
- Jane Bonham Carter - Liberal Democrat peer
- Harriet Harman - Labour MP, former Acting Leader of the Labour Party, former Leader of the Opposition and former Cabinet minister
- Susan Kramer - former Liberal Democrat MP
- Jo Valentine, Baroness Valentine - member of the British House of Lords
- Mavis Tate - Conservative MP and women's rights campaigner
- Vicky Ford, Conservative MP and formerly MEP
- Shirley Williams - former Labour Education Secretary and co-founder of the Social Democratic Party
- Eirene White, Baroness White - Labour Minister of State then life peer
Science
- Ruth Bowden - anatomist
- Rosalind Franklin - scientist, research led to discovery of the structure of DNA
- Jean Ginsburg - physiologist, endocrinologist
- Christine Hamill - mathematician
- Kathleen Kenyon - archaeologist
- Irene Manton, FRS - botanist
- Sidnie Manton, FRS - entomologist
- Onora O'Neill - philosopher
- Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin - astronomer
- Catherine Peckham - doctor and scientist
- Joan Beauchamp Procter - zoologist, herpetologist
Sport
- Kitty Godfree - tennis player
- Victoria Coren Mitchell - poker player
- Lara Prior-Palmer - equestrian
Notable former staff
- Margaret Cole - socialist politician, former Classics teacher
- Gustav Holst - composer, pioneer of music education for girls
- Nicola LeFanu - Director of Music during the 1970s
Feeder prep school
St Paul's does not have a formal preparatory school, but many girls from Bute House Preparatory School for Girls join St Paul's owing to the two schools' proximity.
Controversy
The school was in the news in November 2017 with allegations of sexual assault from the 1970s through the 1990s, as well as lack of support for students struggling with their mental health and eating disorders. One teacher resigned on November 22nd, 2017 amidst these allegations. An insensitive letter to alumni suggested this could make an "exciting" drama opportunity.
References
External links
- Official School Website
- Profile at The Good Schools Guide
- ISI Inspection Reports
Source of article : Wikipedia
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