Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007)

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School (TWGGS)

Motto	Give Your Best
Established	1905
Type	Grammar
Headmistress	Linda Wybar
Location	Southfield Road Tunbridge Wells Kent TN4 9UJ ENGLAND
LEA	Kent
Ofsted number	118789
Students	c. 950
Gender	Female
Ages	11 to 18
School colours	Navy and Gold
Website	http://www.twggs.kent.sch.uk
Coordinates: 51°08′41″N 0°15′30″E / 51.1448, 0.2583

Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School (TWGGS) is a grammar school in Royal Tunbridge Wells, a town in Kent, England. The school was founded in 1905^{[citation needed]}.

1 The Form System
2 Uniform
3 Assembly
4 Headmistresses
5 Wings of the School
6 Notable Alumnae
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] The Form System

Until 2001 (when the school took more pupils), upon arrival at TWGGS, girls were sorted into one of four forms: 7T, 7W, 7G or 7S each with about 32 girls. They were registered in these forms in the morning and after lunch, had their own form room (usually a hut for the lower years) and attended most classes in this form. This created a strong bond between the students which was enforced by events such as sports day (and inter-form tug-of-war).

Maths was streamed in y8 but all other classes were held within forms. It was preferable practice for the students to have the same form teacher for both years. At the end of year 8, the girls were rearranged into 5 smaller forms in preparation for external exams: 9T, 9W, 9I, 9G, 9S this time with about 28 girls in each (extra intakes from private schools (such as Holmewood House and Kent College, Pembury) via the 13+ were not uncommon) and new form teachers assigned. Again, most year 9 classes were held in form groups.

Year 10 and 11 saw the girls split off into their 'options' classes for their GCSEs and only the core subjects were held within the form. These being English, Science, Religious Studies and Physical Education.

The forms barely changed structure for Sixth Form, although the form teacher and classroom would, but the common rooms for both year levels encouraged inter-form bonding and general friendship.

This system changed in 2001 when the number of new entrants meant an extra class had to be added to year 7 and the forms never got rearranged at y9 (although they did change form rooms and teachers).

[edit] Uniform

The uniform consists of a pleated short tartan skirt, white blouse, matching tartan tie and navy jumper with a gold TWGGS logo (the same as the school. Photos are available on the stockists (Simmonds) website^[1]. This uniform was brought in with year 7 of 1997 being the first class to wear it. A summer uniform was added in the form of a thin, cotton, tartan dress which improved in fabric quality in later years (they were prone to rip in revealing places). Tartan trousers were also available for winter in early runs of the uniform but these failed to be popular and were removed by 2000.

[edit] Assembly

Whole school assembly is held every Monday and Thursday. The whole school can fit into the school hall, the younger students on the balcony and the older on the stage. The Headmistress or deputy usually leads the assembly, beginning with a hymn (despite there being no Christian affiliation to the school) from the golden school hymnbook. This book is presented to new students and, if lost, can be bought at reception for a small fee.

Each Key Stage has assemblies on the other days, KS4 on Tuesday, the Sixth Form on Wednesday and KS3 on Fridays.

[edit] Headmistresses

Miss MacCuish

Mrs Angela Daly ( - 1999)

Mrs Linda Wybar (1999 - )

[edit] Wings of the School

[edit] The Alice Lunn Wing

Named after a headmistress. For the three languages, German, French, and Spanish.

[edit] The Huts

Remnants of WWII, 13 prefabricated huts served as classrooms at TWGGS until 2004. A lack of funding meant a lack of building could be carried out to replace them, despite the fact that most were 60 years old with 2 being 80! As part of the 'collapsed timetable day', students painted the insides of each hut to their own design, making them entertaining and cheerful places to be however this did not stop their tendency to be colder than the outside in winter. When Mrs Wybar became headmistress, she refused to carry out any more maintenance on them and force the government to give a bigger grant to replace them. Building started for their replacements in 2003.

[edit] The Bomb Shelter

Created during the Second World War. The top surface became tennis courts for a while before being revamped in 1999 with brick paving and gravel creating an outdoor chessboard and many walkways. A sundial was added by Mrs Daly on her departure and a memorial to a student (d. 2004) in the form of a fountain. This is along with the memorial of a silver birch tree to another student who died c. 1994.

The main rumour surrounding the bomb shelter is about a supposed passage, linking TWGGS with the Skinners' School across the road. Apparently it still exists but is not usable because of ventilation problems. Another rumour says that it is fallen in in places but this would have impacts for the surrounding houses and roading.