Manchester High School for Girls
Encyclopedia
Manchester High School for Girls is an independent daytime school
for girls and a member of the Girls School Association. It is situated in Fallowfield
, Manchester
, United Kingdom
. The school is regarded as one of the UK's leading independent day schools based on A-level results.
The school currently enrols over 930 students and is under the direction of Head Mistress Claire Hewitt: Mrs Hewitt took up the position in January 2009 and is the 10th Head Mistress in the school's history.
.
In September 1939 the school was evacuated to Cheadle Hulme
and by 1940 a new school building was under construction at Fallowfield. However the new buildings at the Grangethorpe Road site (still unfinished) were destroyed by bombing on 20 December 1940. In 1941 the school moved temporarily to Didsbury
and by 1949 a new building at Grangethorpe Road began to be occupied. The move into the new school was complete by 1952. The Grangethorpe site had been from 1882 to 1936 occupied by a large private house and gardens which were in use from 1917 to 1929 as a military hospital.
The school archive, under archivist Dr Christine Joy, is one of the most extensive in the country, attracting a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
, and contains material from the mid-19th century onwards.
Department for girls aged 4 to 11 and many progress into the Senior School. Prep pupils benefit from a close community which includes a purpose-built infant
section, two assembly halls and a fully equipped playground and gardens. There are also specially designated areas for Mathematics
and Science
, a music room, library
and two computer-suites providing multi-media facilities. In 2006, the school introduced the teaching of Mandarin to girls in Years 3 and 4.
and use of ICT
resources. Pupils are also tutored in areas such as Mathematics
, Science
s and Art
and Design Technology
. MHSG is a multi-cultural school embracing many faiths. Assemblies are organised by Sixth Form students and include Christian
, Hindu
and Sikh
, Humanist
, Jewish, Muslim
and Secular themes.
A purpose-built Music House has 12 practice rooms and several classrooms, including one with space for orchestra
rehearsals. Tuition is provided by over 25 specialist instrumental teachers. A flood-lit, all-weather hockey
pitch, tennis
courts, netball
courts and swimming
pool all provide facilities for all-year-around sports.
MHSG's Sixth Form offers AS Level
and A Level courses in around 25 subjects.
for study at Sixth Form. The two-year course will run independently alongside the usual A Level curriculum.
Its introduction supports the school's strategic aim to ensure MHSG remains a centre of educational excellence, which stimulates and challenges bright, able girls. The IB Diploma will further develop the school's international activities and ensure a global dimension to learning.
MHSG was awarded International Baccalaureate (IB) World School status in April 2010, and is the first girls' school in Greater Manchester to offer the globally recognised IB Diploma.
Within the first month of the school year, new Year 7 senior school students go on a trip to the YHA Lakeside Outdoor Activity Centre on the bank of Windermere
. During this trip, students participate in activities such as archery, orienteering and team challenges. The point of the trip is to allow students to make new friends and meet teachers outside the school environment.
Note:- the medical officer was Dr Catherine Chisholm (see above, Alumnae)
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
for girls and a member of the Girls School Association. It is situated in Fallowfield
Fallowfield
Ladybarn is the part of Fallowfield to the south-east. Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre is used by the University of Manchester: it was built by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth, as were the Firs Botanical Grounds.-Religion:...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The school is regarded as one of the UK's leading independent day schools based on A-level results.
The school currently enrols over 930 students and is under the direction of Head Mistress Claire Hewitt: Mrs Hewitt took up the position in January 2009 and is the 10th Head Mistress in the school's history.
History
The School was founded in 1874 by nine men and women who were prominent citizens of Manchester: it was first established in Chorlton on Medlock (a new school was built in 1881 in Dover Street: the building still exists and is occupied by the University's School of Social Sciences). The founding group included Prof A. S. Wilkins, Harriet and Robert Dukinfield Darbishire and Edward Donner (afterwards Sir Edward Donner, Bart.) The first headmistress was Sara Burstall who had been educated at the North London Collegiate SchoolNorth London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls founded in 1850 in Camden Town, and now in the London Borough of Harrow.The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Academically stunning outer London school in a glorious setting which, in 2003, demonstrated its refusal to rest...
.
In September 1939 the school was evacuated to Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Stockport and southeast of the city of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley on the Cheshire Plain, and the drift consists mostly of boulder clay, sands and gravels...
and by 1940 a new school building was under construction at Fallowfield. However the new buildings at the Grangethorpe Road site (still unfinished) were destroyed by bombing on 20 December 1940. In 1941 the school moved temporarily to Didsbury
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
and by 1949 a new building at Grangethorpe Road began to be occupied. The move into the new school was complete by 1952. The Grangethorpe site had been from 1882 to 1936 occupied by a large private house and gardens which were in use from 1917 to 1929 as a military hospital.
The school archive, under archivist Dr Christine Joy, is one of the most extensive in the country, attracting a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
, and contains material from the mid-19th century onwards.
Preparatory department
MHSG has a PreparatoryPreparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
Department for girls aged 4 to 11 and many progress into the Senior School. Prep pupils benefit from a close community which includes a purpose-built infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
section, two assembly halls and a fully equipped playground and gardens. There are also specially designated areas for Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, a music room, library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
and two computer-suites providing multi-media facilities. In 2006, the school introduced the teaching of Mandarin to girls in Years 3 and 4.
The Senior School
MHSG's curriculum includes traditional disciplines such as LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and use of ICT
Information and communication technologies
Information and communications technology or information and communication technology, usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology , but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of...
resources. Pupils are also tutored in areas such as Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
s and Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and Design Technology
Design Technology
Design and Technology is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school. In some countries such as England it is a part of the National Curriculum. It is offered in many countries around the world such as Brunei, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan...
. MHSG is a multi-cultural school embracing many faiths. Assemblies are organised by Sixth Form students and include Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
, Humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
, Jewish, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and Secular themes.
A purpose-built Music House has 12 practice rooms and several classrooms, including one with space for orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
rehearsals. Tuition is provided by over 25 specialist instrumental teachers. A flood-lit, all-weather hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
pitch, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
courts, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
courts and swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
pool all provide facilities for all-year-around sports.
Forms
There are four forms in each year, M, H, S and G and students placed in these forms remain in that form until Sixth Form.MHSG's Sixth Form offers AS Level
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
and A Level courses in around 25 subjects.
International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma
From September 2010, Manchester High School for Girls is offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) DiplomaIB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
for study at Sixth Form. The two-year course will run independently alongside the usual A Level curriculum.
Its introduction supports the school's strategic aim to ensure MHSG remains a centre of educational excellence, which stimulates and challenges bright, able girls. The IB Diploma will further develop the school's international activities and ensure a global dimension to learning.
MHSG was awarded International Baccalaureate (IB) World School status in April 2010, and is the first girls' school in Greater Manchester to offer the globally recognised IB Diploma.
Curriculum
The curriculum contains English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, History, French, Religious Studies, Music, Latin and Art (which deviates into Fine Art or Graphics in Y10). These subjects are taken in Y7, Y8 and Y9 when students choose which subjects to take for GCSE.Within the first month of the school year, new Year 7 senior school students go on a trip to the YHA Lakeside Outdoor Activity Centre on the bank of Windermere
Windermere
Windermere is the largest natural lake of England. It is also a name used in a number of places, including:-Australia:* Lake Windermere , a reservoir, Australian Capital Territory * Lake Windermere...
. During this trip, students participate in activities such as archery, orienteering and team challenges. The point of the trip is to allow students to make new friends and meet teachers outside the school environment.
Uniform
Uniform consists of a plain black A-line skirt, a cream, open-necked shirt and a black blazer with the school logo on the left breast. The uniform is worn by students from year 7 to year 11. In Sixth Form, students may wear their own clothes, but there is a strict dress code that enforces the wearing of suits or very smart clothing.Notable former pupils
- Dr Susan Atkins, Service Complaints Commissioner for the Armed Forces since 2007
- Julia Bodmer, discovered the details of the Human leukocyte antigenHuman leukocyte antigenThe human leukocyte antigen system is the name of the major histocompatibility complex in humans. The super locus contains a large number of genes related to immune system function in humans. This group of genes resides on chromosome 6, and encodes cell-surface antigen-presenting proteins and...
(HLA) with genetic differences causing transplant rejectionTransplant rejectionTransplant rejection occurs when transplanted tissue is rejected by the recipient's immune system, which destroys the transplanted tissue. Transplant rejection can be lessened by determining the molecular similitude between donor and recipient and by use of immunosuppressant drugs after...
, and was married to Sir Walter BodmerWalter BodmerSir Walter Bodmer is a German-born British human geneticist. His father being Jewish, the family left Germany in 1938 and settled in Manchester. Bodmer has developed models for population genetics and done work on the human leukocyte antigen system and the use of somatic cell hybrids for human...
, who was the first Professor of Genetics at the University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Chancellor of the University of SalfordUniversity of SalfordThe University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
from 1995 to 2005 and Principal from 1996 to 2005 of Hertford College, OxfordHertford College, OxfordHertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting... - Catherine Chisholm (1879–1952), GP and paediatrician: the first woman to study medicine at Manchester Medical School; also the school's medical officer (1908–38). She retired in 1948 having founded the Manchester Babies' Hospital (afterwards the Duchess of York Hospital) in 1914.
- Myrella CohenMyrella CohenMyrella Cohen was one of the first female judges in Great Britain. She was born into a Jewish family in Manchester in 1927 and her parents, Sam and Sarah Cohen wanted to name her after their mothers who were called Myra and Ella, so they came up with the combination of Myrella.She was educated at...
, Britain's third female judge in 1972 - Carolyn Davidson, Joint High Commissioner (with her husband) to Zambia since 2008
- Louise EllmanLouise EllmanLouise Joyce Ellman is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Liverpool Riverside since 1997. In parliament she is Chair of the Transport Select Committee and a member of the Liaison Committee.-Early life:Ellman was born in Manchester to a British...
, Labour MP since 1997 for Liverpool RiversideLiverpool Riverside (UK Parliament constituency)Liverpool Riverside is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:... - Philippa Esdaile, zoologist
- Judy FinniganJudy FinniganJudith "Judy" Finnigan is a British television presenter and columnist. She has usually co-presented with her husband, Richard Madeley, and the two are collectively known, informally, as Richard and Judy...
, television presenter - Clara Freeman OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, the first woman to be appointed to the Board of Marks and Spencer - Adrienne Fresko CBE, Director of the Foresight Partnership
- Kathleen Gordon CBE, Director from 1948–68 of the Royal Academy of DancingRoyal Academy of DanceThe Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
- Kathleen HaleKathleen HaleKathleen Hale was a British artist, illustrator, and children's author. She is best remembered for her series of books about Orlando the Marmalade Cat....
, artist and children's author, best remembered for the Orlando the Marmalade Cat series - Sally Hamwee, Baroness HamweeSally Hamwee, Baroness HamweeSally Rachel, Baroness Hamwee is a Liberal Democrat politician. She is a Life Peer and former chair of the London Assembly.Sally Hamwee was educated at the Manchester High School for Girls...
, President from 1995 to 2002 of the Town and Country Planning AssociationTown and Country Planning AssociationThe Town and Country Planning Association is England's oldest environmental charity. It was founded as the Garden Cities Association in 1899 by Ebenezer Howard, initially to promote the development of Garden Cities...
, and former Chairman of the London AssemblyLondon AssemblyThe London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
until 2008 - Mollie HardwickMollie HardwickMollie Greenhalgh Hardwick was an English author who was best known for writing books that accompanied the TV series Upstairs, Downstairs....
, author - Lucy Higginson, Editor since 2002 of Horse & HoundHorse & HoundHorse & Hound is the oldest equestrian magazine in the United Kingdom. It is a weekly magazine with the first edition published in 1884. It is also known by the nickname 'Nag & Dog'. The magazine contains horse industry news, reports from equestrian events, veterinary advice about caring for...
- Maud Jepson (born Mary Winifred Maud Jepson) (1902–1977), illustrator and author of bestselling books: Biological Drawings with Notes (around 2 million copies sold world-wide), Anatomical Atlas, Illustrated Biology. Her books were continuously in print from 1930s to 1970s.
- Hilda and Mary Johnstone, historians (Mary was afterwards Mrs Thomas Tout)
- Victoria Kloss, communications officer for Manchester City F.C.
- Sunny LowrySunny LowryEthel "Sunny" Lowry MBE was the first British woman to swim the English Channel.Lowry, a student at Manchester High School for Girls and a keen swimmer from a young age, joined the Victoria Ladies Swimming Club of Victoria Baths, Longsight, Manchester...
, one of the first British women to swim the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover... - Merlyn Lowther, the first woman Chief Cashier of the Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
from 1999 to 2004 - Joyce Moseley OBE, Chief Executive since 1999 of Catch22 (charity)Catch22 (charity)Catch22 is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2008, it has over 1000 employees.-Scope:Catch22 work with young people and their families within England and Wales. They provide advice, mentoring, mediation, accommodation, education and employment opportunities to young people...
- Adela PankhurstAdela PankhurstAdela Constantia Mary Pankhurst Walsh was a British-Australian suffragette, political organizer, and co-founder of both the Communist Party of Australia and the Australia First Movement....
, campaigner in the Australian suffragette movemment - Christabel PankhurstChristabel PankhurstDame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, DBE , was a suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union , she directed its militant actions from exile in France from 1912 to 1913. In 1914 she became a fervent supporter of the war against Germany...
, campaigner in the British suffragette movement - Sylvia PankhurstSylvia PankhurstEstelle Sylvia Pankhurst was an English campaigner for the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom. She was for a time a prominent left communist who then devoted herself to the cause of anti-fascism.-Early life:...
, campaigner in the British suffragette movement - Evelyn Rose MBE, cookery writer
- Sue Turner, Controller of Children's Programmes 1972–78 at Thames TelevisionThames TelevisionThames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
- Clare VenablesClare VenablesClare Rosamund Venables was an English theatre director. She was artistic director of regional theatres in Lincoln, Stratford East , and Sheffield; she became Director of Education at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and she also directed a number of operas.-Early life:She was born in...
, theatre director - Elfrida VipontElfrida VipontElfrida Vipont was the pen name of Elfrida Vipont Foulds , a British children's author. She was also a schoolteacher and a prominent member of the Society of Friends in England.-Parentage and education:...
(Elfrida Vipont Brown), children's author
- Unidentified alumnae
- The first woman student at Trinity HallTrinity Hall, CambridgeTrinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
, Cambridge - The first woman to be awarded a First Class degree in history at Oxford University
- The first woman to become a solicitor
- The first woman student at Trinity Hall
The school in 1929
The headmistress wrote in 1929: "The pupils number about 600, of ages ranging from 10 to 19. The general aim of the school is twofold: first to develop in the pupils a general capacity and vigour both practical and intellectual; and second to provide such advanced teaching as shall fit a number of the girls to proceed to the universities ... Physical culture, both in drill and gymnastic work and in games, is an important feature ... The choice of activities open to the girls—societies, lectures, expeditions, etc.—is great ... Medical supervision, which is in the hands of an experienced woman medical officer, is an integral part of the organisation ... The average school attendance ... is in the neighbourhood of 94 per cent." -- M. G. Clarke.Note:- the medical officer was Dr Catherine Chisholm (see above, Alumnae)