| Established | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Type | Selective Girls' Independent |
| Headteacher | Jo MacKenzie |
| Founder | Harpur Trust |
| Location | Cardington Road Bedford Bedfordshire MK42 0BX England |
| Gender | Girls |
| Ages | 7–18 |
Bedford Girls' School is an independent school for girls which opened in September 2010 in Bedford, England. The school is a result of a merger of Bedford High School and Dame Alice Harpur School, and is operated by the Harpur Trust. The school will be fully operational by September 2012.
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The Harpur Trust has a long history of providing education in the town of Bedford, and both Bedford High School and Dame Alice Harpur School were opened on the same site on Bromham Road in Bedford by the trust in 1882. While Bedford High School remained at the site, Dame Alice Harpur School moved to Bedford town centre by the end of the 19th century, and then relocated to its present site on Cardington Road in 1938.
In July 2009, the Harpur Trust announced its intention to merge Bedford High School and Dame Alice Harpur School. The decision was made as both schools had seen a drop in pupil numbers over the years: In 1990 more than 2,000 girls were on the rolls of both schools, whilst in 2009 there were only 1,500. The trust estimated that once started, it would take 3 to 5 years to merge the schools.[1]
In November 2009, the trust released further details of the merger. It was announced that the new merged school would be called Bedford Girls' School, and would be located on the current site of Dame Alice Harpur School. The new school will offer the International Baccalaureate as part of its curriculum, but will not offer boarding facilities for pupils.[2]
In December 2009, Jo MacKenzie was appointed as the first head of the Bedford Girls' School. Miss MacKenzie assumed her post over Easter 2010.[3] The junior department of the school opened in September 2010, when the junior schools of Bedford High and Dame Alice Harper merged on the Cardington Road site.[4] The senior department of the school opened in September 2011, with the full merger of the old schools, including the sixth form departments due to be completed in September 2012.[5]