Plymouth High School for Girls
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| Plymouth High School for Girls | |
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| Motto | Non scholae sed vitae discimus (Latin:For life not school we learn) |
| Established | 1874 |
| Type | Community Grammar |
| Headteacher | Mary Utton |
| Chair of Governors | David Walters |
| Founder | Frederick Temple |
| Specialisms | Technology (from Spring 2003) Languages (from April 2008) |
| Location | St Lawrence Road Plymouth Devon PL4 6HT England  |
| LEA | Plymouth City Council |
| Ofsted number | 113532 |
| Students | 780 |
| Gender | Girls |
| Ages | 11 to 18 |
| Houses | Antony , Kendall , Latimer and Temple |
| Website | www.plymouthgirls.plymouth.sch.uk |
| Coordinates: | |
Plymouth High School for Girls (PHSG) is a girls' grammar school founded in 1874. It is located on St Lawrence Road in Plymouth, Devon, England close to Mutley Plain and Plymouth's city centre.
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[edit] History
In February 1874 the Devon and Cornwall Girls' School Company was formed, opening a school for girls in Sherwell House, North Hill (only a few hundred meters from the school's current location), on September 14th of that same year. It was intended that the school should move to other premises and for this purpose a fund had been set up to purchase a suitable site. Land surrounding a detatched property known as 'North Hill' was chosen and the first part of these new premises were opened by the Bishop of Exeter, Doctor Frederick Temple, on January the 21st 1878. North Hill house became the home of the headmistress, Miss Kendall. A new building was designed by a Mr Paull and erected by Messrs Blatchford of Tavistock. £3,000 was expended on the purchase of the site and a further £10,000 on the buildings.
North Hill house was demolished in 1939 for the construction of a new wing. Around 1976 the school expanded into the adjacent block. This building, now refered to as 'The Annex', had previously been The South Devon and Cornwall Blind Institute, built in 1876. [1] The building is also belived to be located roughly where a fort stood during the seige of Plymouth in the Civil War of the 1600s, and before that to have been the location of The Maudlyn, a leper house.
It would also seem that Plymouth High was once a fee paying school, at least up until the 1940s.[2]
During World War Two an 'Emergency High School' was set up amalgamating Plymouth High School for Girls, Devonport High School for Girls and the now defunct Stoke Damerel High School for Girls with the PHSG Head Mistress, Miss V Turner, as its head teacher.[3] The school was also one of the 19 food centres open in Plymouth by April 1941. The school was one of the three of these centres which served a two course meal between noon and 2:30pm and again between 5:30pm and 7:30pm for the price of 9d (nine pence).[4]
In recent times PHSG has seen the building of the Newman Hall, the Science and PE blocks, the Metcalf building and a sixth Form centre.
The school's motto is "Non scholae sed vitae discimus", which roughly translates as 'For life not school we learn'.
The School's crest which features on the uniform is made up of four symbols, which are displayed equally on a shield and include:
- An owl representing wisdom.
- A beehive representing a busy and productive community.
- An emblem of the school's initials.
- Four towers symbolising the school's location (they also feature on the coat of arms of Plymouth).
[edit] Present day
Catering for pupils from year 7 (age 11) up to year 13 (age 18) PHSG is a single sex grammar school requiring pupils to pass the eleven plus exam in order to gain entry. The school draws its pupils mainly from the city of Plymouth but about a third come from outlying areas of Devon and Cornwall. Although pupils’ attainment on entry is high, the school takes pupils from a wider range of ability than many other grammar schools.[5]
The key aim of the school is to "Promote, achieve and celebrate the highest possible standards in all forms of achievement, throughout the school, and particularly in the specialist subjects: Mathematics, Science, Design Technology and Information Communication Technology".
Ms Utton became Headmistress in January 2008 after the departure of Mrs. Martin, the Head Teacher from 1999 to 2007, who in turn was preceded by Mrs Stogall. During the interim periods the school was led by Mr Holden, the Deputy Head Teacher. The school's 6th Form has been lead by Mr Callaghan since April 2008 after the retirement of the previous Head of 6th Form Mrs Caroline Enoch who had taught at the school for 25 years.
[edit] Curriculum
Girls can choose from a wide range of subjects at GCSE level and generally take 11 or 12 subjects. In some subjects, especially able girls can choose to skip the GCSE and move straight to the AS level. From 2009 Plymouth High School has been chosen as the first school in the city to teach the International Baccalaureate, an alternative to the A Level.
[edit] International links
Plymouth High School gained the full International Schools Award in October 2006. This is a prestigious award given to schools that have shown a commitment to international activities across the curriculum and have developed strong partnership with schools in other countries. PHSG has links with schools in Ghana (particularly Ahantaman Secondary School) as well as New Zealand, Germany, France and Russia. The school also runs an Amnesty International club for pupils.
[edit] Uniform
The majority of girls wear the original school uniform of a navy blue skirt. Recently however, a trouser suit consisting of navy trousers and a navy blazer with the school logo was introduced as an alternative to the skirt. Girls are only permitted to wear the trousers if they are wearing the blazer, although the blazer may be worn with a skirt in the place of a school jumper. All girls wear a white v-neck blouse with or without the blue and white striped school tie. Year 11 Student Leaders have a lighter plain blue tie to show their position within the school. There are other various restrictions in relation to coats, shoes, make-up and jewellery.[6] In the past the uniform used to feature a hat; an example of which can be seen in the Plymouth Museum.
[edit] School houses
The school has 4 houses:
| House | Colour | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Antony | Green | Named after Alice Antony, the school's first pupil |
| Kendall | Blue | Named after the school's first head mistress |
| Latimer | Yellow | Named after the architect who designed the main building |
| Temple | Red | Named after the Bishop who founded the school |
Each house elects a house captain from the sixth form. The school houses play a large part in school life, for instance they compete in regular house events:
- Sports day (usually taking place in the summer)
- Swimming gala (also usually occurring in the summer term)
- Music festival
- Science festival
- Drama festival
- Gym and dance festival (usually taking place in the winter term)
- Interhouse netball, tennis, science and hockey competitions
[edit] Academic standards
Plymouth High School consistently ranks as one of the top performing schools in Plymouth (and indeed the whole of Devon and Cornwall) in terms of examination results. In 2007 94% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*-C grade GCSEs, including English and Maths.[7] The Plymouth LEA average is 44.1% and the national average is 46.7%, the Cornwall LEA average is 44% and the Devon LEA average is 46.6%.
[edit] Notable Alumnae
Plymouth High School for Girls has an Old Girls association with around 260 members. The association meets twice a year; once for a dinner in the spring and again at the school in the autumn for a buffet and AGM. The member of staff designated as the PHS link to the Old Girls is Mrs Cowan.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Plymouth High School for Girls. www.plymouthdata.info. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ BBC - WW2 People's War - Memories Of Life At Plymouth High 1940-1946. www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ BBC - WW2 People's War - Evacuation with Plymouth High School. www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ Plymouth, Second World War - 1941. www.plymouthdata.info. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ Plymouth High School for Girls - Inspection Report 2006. www.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ a b Plymouth High School for Girls. www.plymouthgirls.plymouth.sch.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ Plymouth High School for Girls. www.dcsf.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
[edit] External links
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