James Allen's Girls' School
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James Allen's Girls' School, or JAGS, is a private single-sex school situated in Dulwich, South London.
It has a daughter school, James Allen's Preparatory School - JAPS.
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[edit] History
The school is part of a foundation established by Edward Alleyn, which also includes Dulwich College and Alleyn's. It was founded by a Master of Dulwich College, James Allen, in 1741, as a free reading school for the local poor. James Allen was born on 4th May 1683 in Hornsey, North London, but later moved to Sussex. His father, also James Allen, drowned in an accident in 1690, after which his mother, Elizabeth, moved the family to Westminster and remarried.
By 1701, James Allen was a clerk in the Cursitors' Hall, the clerical branch of the Court of Chancery. In 1712, he became the Warden and later Master of the College of God's Gift at Dulwich. Allen believed that there ought to be a school where poor boys could learn to read and write, and girls to read and sew. He purchased the freehold of six houses in what is now Kensington Church Street, the annual rental of which provided income for the school. The Reading Schools opened on 25th June 1741 in Dulwich Village, with two mixed classes of children between six and ten years of age. Tuition was free. Entry was restricted to the children of poor families living within a one mile radius of Dulwich.
James Allen died on 28th October 1746, leaving a bequest to his school to secure its future down the centuries. The final part of his legacy was used to establish the Scholars' Fund in 1997.
By 1814 the school was expanding rapidly. It had been renamed the Dulwich Free School. In 1842 the boys were removed to become the nucleus of Alleyn's School nearby. The remaining girls were the first pupils of JAGS as a single sex school, as it is now.
The school moved to its present building in September 1886, and has undergone continued development since. JAGS now has a four class entry at 11+, with some 740 girls in the senior school and over 1000 in the three schools combined. The school prides itself on its high academic standard.
[edit] Houses
JAGS currently has four houses: Bettany, named after Caroline Bettany, one of the early headmistresses of JAGS; Clarke, named after famous botanist Lilian Clarke who taught at the school and planted their botanical gardens in 1896; Desenfans, named after Margaret Desenfans, the wife of Noël Desenfans, who founded the nearby Dulwich Picture Gallery; and finally Holst, named after the composer Gustav Holst, who was once music master at the school, and after whom the school's main hall is also named. The houses compete annually for the Quarmby Shield. Clarke house has never won the Quarmby Shield. Most of the charity events in the school are organised on a House basis, and there are various competitions during the year from which points towards the house shield can be earned.
[edit] The school magazine
Originally started in 1926, the school magazine is in part written and edited by the pupils, in particular by those in year 12.
[edit] Alumni
- Anita Brookner, author
- Muriel Smith, who compiled the first National Apple Register
- Jessie Brown, who was involved in the development of Britain's atomic bomb
- Kate Searle, A daughter of the famous British cartoonist and illustrator Ronald Searle attended JAGS. It is believed that Searle drew inspiration for the costumes for his St Trinians girls from the gym-slips worn by JAGS girls. Whether he drew any other parallels between JAGS and St Trinians is not known.
- Frances Line, formerly a BBC producer and Controller of BBC Radio 2 who invented the title: Pop Go The Beatles
- Deborah Rix, TV presenter
- Lisa St Aubin de Téran, author
- Judith Cook, who was Chief Aide to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and was killed by a terrorist bomb
- Sally Hawkins, actress
- Shani Anderson, GB Athlete
- Alakina Mann, actress
- Catherine Shepherd, daughter of actor Jack Shepherd and an actress in her own right
[edit] Trivia
- A letter to The Times in August 2006 asserted that, as a result of its name, alumni of the school never had difficulty with the use of apostrophes.
