Lady Margaret School

Lady Margaret School, 2016

Lady Margaret School is a smaller than average all-girls' Church of England secondary school in Parsons Green, Fulham, London. It was awarded specialist school status as a Mathematics & Computing College in September 2003,^[1] and became an academy in September 2012.

Now

The school has approximately 719 girls aged between eleven and eighteen years, about 183 of whom are in the sixth form. The school is heavily oversubscribed, with more than 7 girls applying per place.^[2] The majority of girls stay on into the Sixth Form. A number of students from other schools are given places in the Sixth Form following its expansion with the opening of the purpose-built Olivier Centre in 2010.

The headteacher is Elisabeth Stevenson, following the retirement of Sally Whyte in July 2015.

Today Lady Margaret School is a successful Church of England academy in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003 the school achieved specialist status in Mathematics and Computing. In 2007 the school was described by Ofsted as 'good with outstanding features' and by the Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools as 'outstanding'.

In 2010, the school opened a new building named the 'Olivier Centre', named after the former headteacher, Joan Olivier. The auditorium in there was named after Colin Busby, a former deputy head who also retired in 2006.

It was reviewed again in 2011, with Ofsted describing the school as 'outstanding'. Having been designated a 'high performing specialist school' following the successful Ofsted inspection, the school has was awarded a second specialism in Music.

In December 2012 the school was given the go ahead by Hammersmith & Fulham Council to expand to permanently admit four forms of entry in Year 7 following the success of two earlier 'bulge' years. From September 2014 the school admitted four forms (120 pupils) in Year 7.

In December 2016, the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) conducted an inspection to evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of the school as a church school. The report judged the school to be ‘Outstanding’ in all categories.

The school's alumnae association for former pupils, governors and members of staff, is called LMX.

History

Lady Margaret School has its origins in Whitelands College School, founded in 1842, a year after the creation of Whitelands College, one of the oldest higher education institutions in England. The latter was founded by the Church of England's National Society as a teacher training college for women. The college was named after its first home, a Georgian building, Whitelands House, on King's Road in Chelsea, London.

In 1917, Whitelands School was threatened with closure, and it was only by the strenuous efforts of Enid Moberly Bell, the Second Mistress, and her staff, that a substantial number of the pupils were "rescued", forming Lady Margaret School that September. Records in The National Archives suggest that she was its founding headmistress.^[3] The School was named after the Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, founder of St John's and Christ's Colleges, Cambridge, and a benefactress of education.

The School began life in the oldest of the three houses facing Parsons Green which now form the present school: Belfield House. In 1937, the second house, Elm House, was purchased through the generosity of Anne Lupton (died 1967).^[4]

With the passing of the Butler Act in 1944, the Kindergarten and Junior School were phased out and Lady Margaret became a two-form entry grammar school. In April 1951 its relationship to the Church of England was regularised when it became a Voluntary Aided School.

Houses

There are six houses in the school, each with a distinctive colour to be worn during house activities, and in the lower years house points can be collected for these houses. In addition, there are many inter-house competitions including poetry, sport and debating; the two biggest house events being Sports Day at the end of the academic year and also the School's Birthday, on 29 September, when each of the houses performs a short play whose plot corresponds to a uniting theme, for example: Grimm's Fairy Tales, Greek Myths or Musicals. The plays are judged by a Teacher Panel on the basis of plot coherence, quotable lines, specific references to the school, the quality of the teacher parodies and overall effort from the house.

In 2010 the house plays were won by Lyttelton with their version of The Titanic. Kensington won in 2011, with their version of Grease. Sports Day, the final house event of the year, was won by Chirol. Lyttleton won in 2012, playing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Kensington coming a close second (with Alice in Wonderland). However the house with the most house points – points received when students are extremely well behaved or do exceptional homework etc. – was Kensington. In 2013–14 the overall house competition points tally was: 1st – Chirol (18,901 points) 2nd Carver (18,212 points) 3rd Moberly Bell (16,629 points) 4th Marshall (16,054 points) 5th Kensington (15,781 points) 6th Lyttleton (15,778 points).^[5]

Three of the six houses are named after women. They are as follows: Moberly-Bell, (named after Enid Moberly-Bell, first Headmistress of LMS) (pink), Lyttelton (after Dr. Edward Lytelton, a benefactor of the school) (blue), Carver (named after an early benefactor of the school, Miss Gertrude Carver, who was also a close family friend of Enid Moberly Bell) (green), Marshall (Florence Marshall, a previous headmistress)(purple), Chirol (Sir Valentine Chirol, a benefactor of the school) (red) and Kensington (The Bishop of Kensington) (yellow).

Notable former pupils

• Joanne Adams - actress on EastEnders
• Louise Alder – soprano
• Laura Barnett – author and journalist
• Mahalia Belo – film director
• Jessie Burton – actress and writer
• Martha Fiennes – film director
• Gemma Gregory – cast member of Made In Chelsea
• Morgann Runacre-Temple – choreographer of ballet in Ireland
• Jill Saward, rape law reformist, aka the Ealing Vicarage Rape Victim
• Mia Soteriou, (Maria Soteriou) – actress and musician

Grammar school

• Betty Birch, England cricketer (1923-2016)
• Barbara Buss, (Boxall) Editor from 1964–74 of Woman, and from 1962–64 of Woman's Realm
• Miranda Foster, actress, daughter of Barry Foster (actor)
• Diana Garnham, Board member Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), Chief Executive 2006 – October 2015 of the Science Council, and from 1991–2005 of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
• Kelly Hunter – actress
• Nigella Lawson (briefly) and her sister Horatia
• Kathy Polge, married Laurie Lee
• Joanna Simons CBE, Chief Executive since 2005 of Oxfordshire County Council, and from 2001–05 of Sutton London Borough Council
• Julia Simpson, former journalist, Director of Communications from 2002–06 at the Home Office
• Janet Street Porter — Editor-at-large at the Independent newspapers

References

External links

• School website
• PTA website
• Alumnae Association
• Department for Children, Schools and Families Performance Tables (GCSE and equivalent)
• Ofsted Reports
• Media related to Lady Margaret School at Wikimedia Commons