St Hilda's Church of England High School
Coordinates: 53°23′17″N 2°56′20″W / 53.388°N 2.939°W
 | |
| Motto |
"Laborare Est Orare" "to work is to pray" |
|---|---|
| Established | 1 May 1894[1] |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Headteacher | Mrs Eleanor Benson |
| Founder | Mother Emily Ayckbaum |
| Location |
Croxteth Drive Liverpool Merseyside L17 3AL  England |
| Local authority | Liverpool City Council |
| DfE URN | 104721 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 863 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Colours | |
| Website | St Hilda's Church of England High School |
St Hilda's Church of England High School is a Church of England secondary school with a sixth form, located in Croxteth Drive, Sefton Park, Liverpool (post code: L17 3AL).[2] Years 7 - 11 are girls only, but the sixth form is coeducational.[3]
History
St Hilda's was established in 1894 by Emily 'Mother Emily' Ayckbaum, focusing on the education of girls. Mother Emily's strong views on Christianity incorporated some of the strong beliefs in the school today and still remain part of the school ethos. The Community of the Sisters of the Church opened "Sefton Park School" on 1 May 1894 with 17 pupils. By 1905, the roll had risen to 377, and the name changed to "Arundel Central School" in 1924. After the 1944 Education act, the name became "St Hilda's C of E Secondary Commercial Technical School", and, eventually, "St Hilda's C E High School" before its move to a new building in Croxteth Drive, Sefton Park, in 1967 when there were 361 pupils including 32 in the sixth form.
The Diocese persuaded St Hilda's to become comprehensive in 1980 with a four-form intake, and numbers have subsequently increased to 863 with a large sixth form. On becoming Grant Maintained in January 1995, the school began a building programme to improve its educational facilities, and this continued after returning to Voluntary Aided status with the addition of a Drama Studio and new library, officially opened on 15 April 2005.
For ninety years, St Hilda's only had female headteachers until 1980 when Mr Dawson arrived at the school, serving one of the longest periods. In 1997 he retired to the Isle of Man leaving the school in the care of headteacher, Mr Christopher Yates. In March 2009 it was announced that he was to retire due to ill health and Mrs Eleanor Benson, the former head of sixth form became acting Headmistress, being officially appointed Headmistress from September 2009.In September 2015 the school once again became a coeducational school with a roll of 56 boys and 94 girls.