Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

Blackheath High School

Blackheath High School is a private day school for girls in Blackheath Village in southeast London, England. It was founded in 1880 as part of the Girls' Day School Trust; the Senior School occupied a purpose-built site in Wemyss Road for over 110 years.

Blackheath High School
Address
Map
Vanbrugh Park

,
London
,
SE3 7AG

England
Coordinates51°28′40″N 0°00′56″E / 51.4777°N 0.0155°E / 51.4777; 0.0155
Information
TypePrivate day school
Motto"Inspiration, curiosity, distinction"
Established1880
FounderPrincess Louise
Local authorityGreenwich
Department for Education URN100756 Tables
HeadmistressNatalie Argile
GenderFemale
Age3 to 18
Enrolment680~
Websitehttp://www.blackheathhighschool.gdst.net/

History

edit

The school was set up in 1880 by the Girls' Public Day School Company. Sarah Allen Olney was the founding head. During her short leadership the school's role grew by a factor of four. Olney resigned in 1886 to found a "more socially exclusive" school with her sister Rebecca.[1]

Having established The Kingsley School, Florence Gadesden was moved by the GPDSC in 1886 from Leamington to Blackheath.[2] The Times would later comment that her appointment was an act of "incalculable wisdom".[3] The school then had 300 girls[2] and Gadesden made a strong positive impression on many of them.[3] She served as head for over thirty years and she retired in 1919.[3] It was a state-funded direct grant grammar school from the late 1940s until 1976 when it became independent during the phasing out of direct grant schools.

Location

edit

The Senior Department (Years 7-13) is located in the former Church Army Wilson Carlile Training College (opened in 1965) in Vanbrugh Park after moving from the Wemyss Road site in Blackheath in 1993/4. The school building in Blackheath village then became the Junior department, for girls aged 3-11. The Vanburgh Park site includes the Church Army Chapel, a locally listed building (designed by architect Ernest Trevor Spashett) now used as a music room and dance studio.

School motto

edit

The school's motto is "Blackheath High School – a place to grow, a place to excel". Previously it had been "Knowledge no more a fountain sealed": a reference to the days when girls had poor access to schooling, as was the case in the early years of the school.

Notable former pupils

edit

Published histories

edit
  • Malim, Mary Charlotte; Escreet, Henrietta Caroline (1927), The Book of Blackheath High School, Blackheath: Blackheath Press.
  • Watts, K M (1980), A History of Blackheath High School, Impart.
  • Allen, Dr Hillary (2005), Brief History of Blackheath High School GDST 1880–2005[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 21 May 2008.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Olney, Sarah Allen (1842–1915), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52261. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 1 August 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b Sondheimer, Janet (23 September 2004). "Gadesden [Gadsden], Florence Marie Armroid (1853–1934), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48569. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b c Kamm, Josephine (16 October 2013). Indicative Past: A Hundred Years of the Girls' Public Day School Trust. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-53167-7.
  4. ^ Dillon, Jo (4 June 2000). "Lady Jay stands accused of telling lies out of school". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2009.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Margaret Evelyn Popham - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
edit