Wimbledon High School
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Wimbledon High School is an independent all-girls school in Wimbledon, southwest London. It is run by the Girls' Day School Trust and celebrated its 125th birthday on November 9 2005, having been founded by Edith Hastings in 1880. WHS educates girls between the ages of 4 to 18.
The motto is "ex humilibus excelsa" meaning "From humble beginnings to great things". Another motto coined by the school is "stepping in, striding out".
The four school houses, Arnold (green), Scott (yellow), Meredith (red) and Hastings (blue) are named after the first girls to join the school. The current headmistress is Ms Pamela Wilkes, retiring at the end of the 2007-2008 year and handing over to Ms. Heather Hanbury.
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[edit] Key Information
- Headmistress: - Ms. Pamela Wilkes
- Junior School Headmistress - Ms. Kate Mitchell
- Established: - 1880
- Location: - Wimbledon, London
- School Colours: - Navy blue and Green
- Website: - www.gdst.net/wimbledon
[edit] History
The school was founded when a woman called Mary Gurney, who was a member of the Girls' Day School Trust, was asked by a friend to start a GDST school in Wimbledon. When the school was founded in 1880, it had twelve girls. They included Margaret Arnold, Mildred Hastings, Violet Scott-Moncreif and Sophie Meredith. By 1887 there were more than 100 girls and so the school expanded its site along Mansel Road. Edith Hastings was the first headmistress from when the school opened to 1908.
The first lesson taught was on the subject of the apple. Soon after the fruit was used as the emblem of the school. Every year on the school's birthday in November pupils and staff eat apple-green cakes in memory of this.
On a Saturday in February in 1917, fire broke out. Nearly all of the school's documents and papers were burnt and the library was destroyed.
The school playing grounds, known as Nursery Road, used to be home to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships until 1923 when it moved to its current setting a mile away. Nowadays a number of the Year 9 and 10 girls are selected to ballgirl at the Championships each year.
[edit] The School Song
The school song was written by a former pupil and later teacher of Wimbledon High School, The Duchess of Atholl, Kitty Ramsay. It is tradition to sing this on the school's birthday and at the end of the school year when the sixth formers are leaving. The first line is: "From year to year, our onward course we take".
The school hymn is Praise My Soul, a well known hymn. It is sung on special occasions in the school.
[edit] The School Houses
The four senior houses are Arnold (Green), Hastings (Blue), Meredith (Red)and Scott (Yellow). The houses were named after four of the twelve first students to attend Wimbledon High School. Each house has its own house committee consisting of a house captain and deputy house captain elected by the girls, and then Music, Art, Sports and Drama captains and a secretary elected by the house captain. Throughout the year there are several house events such as The Big Draw, The Interhouse Music Competition, Junior Drama and Off-timetable Day. Housepoints are also awarded by teachers in recognition for academic excellence and good deeds around school.
The junior houses are Austen (Red), Garrett-Anderson (Green), Hepworth (Yellow) and Somerville (Blue). The houses were name after famous and influential women.
The houses compete on various occasions during the year, such as Sports Day and Off-Timetable Day.
[edit] Previous Headmistresses
- Miss Edith Hastings (1880-1908)
- Miss Ethel Gavin (1908-1918)
- Miss Mabel Lewis (1918-1939)
- Miss Kathleen Littlewood (1940-1949)
- Miss Marguerite Burke (1949-1962)
- Mrs Anne Piper (1962-1982)
- Mrs Rosemary Smith (1982-1992)
- Mrs Elizabeth Baker (1992-1995)
- Dr Jill Clough (1995-2000)
- Mrs Pamela Wilkes (2001-present) Wilkes will leave the school at the end of the 2007-2008 school year.
[edit] Associated People
[edit] Notable Alumnae
- Samira Ahmed (b.1968), News Presenter, Channel 4.
- Jean Aitchison, Professor Emeritus of Language & Communication
- Monica Allanach, early women actuary and first women on the board of directors at Prudential plc.
- Christine Brown, Nursing Officer at King's College Hospital from 1970-1982. A ward in the Hospital was named after her[1].
- Amara Karan, Actress
- Margaret Mason, Gemma in Grange Hill- member of the Double Dare Gang
- Rosie Millard, Journalist & Broadcaster
- Michelle Paver, Author, The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness - Children's book
- Professor Lynne Reid, pathologist.
- Margaret Rutherford, Actress
- Gladys Sandes (1897-1968), consultant surgeon to Queen Mary's Hospital, Carshalton, and to the Mothers' Hospital, London.
- Georgina Sherrington, Actress, "The Worst Witch" ; Winner of Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Leading Young Actress
- Dame Mary Smieton (1902-1995), civil servant and Secretary to the Ministry of Education.
- Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl (1874-1960).
[edit] Notable Former Teachers
- Nellie Dale was a teacher at Wimbledon who created her own basic reading program that used phonological awareness and phonics. She created a series of popular instruction manuals and primers based on her method.
