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Blackheath High School

Coordinates: 51°28′40″N 0°00′56″E / 51.4777°N 0.0155°E / 51.4777; 0.0155
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blackheath High School
Address
Map
Vanbrugh Park

,
London
,
SE3 7AG

England
Coordinates51°28′40″N 0°00′56″E / 51.4777°N 0.0155°E / 51.4777; 0.0155
Information
TypePrivate day school
Motto"Inspiration, curiosity, distinction"
Established1880
FounderPrincess Louise
Local authorityGreenwich
Department for Education URN100756 Tables
HeadmistressNatalie Argile
GenderFemale
Age3 to 18
Enrolment680~
Websitehttp://www.blackheathhighschool.gdst.net/

Blackheath High School is a private day school for girls in Blackheath Village in southeast London, England. It was founded in 1880 as part of the Girls' Day School Trust; the Senior School occupied a purpose-built site in Wemyss Road for over 110 years.

History

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The school was set up in 1880 by the Girls' Public Day School Company. Sarah Allen Olney was the founding head. During her short leadership the school's role grew by a factor of four. Olney resigned in 1886 to found a "more socially exclusive" school with her sister Rebecca.[1]

Having established The Kingsley School, Florence Gadesden was moved by the GPDSC in 1886 from Leamington to Blackheath.[2] The Times would later comment that her appointment was an act of "incalculable wisdom".[3] The school then had 300 girls[2] and Gadesden made a strong positive impression on many of them.[3] She served as head for over thirty years and she retired in 1919.[3] It was a state-funded direct grant grammar school from the late 1940s until 1976 when it became independent during the phasing out of direct grant schools.

Location

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The Senior Department (Years 7-13) is located in the former Church Army Wilson Carlile Training College (opened in 1965) in Vanbrugh Park after moving from the Wemyss Road site in Blackheath in 1993/4. The school building in Blackheath village then became the Junior department, for girls aged 3-11. The Vanburgh Park site includes the Church Army Chapel, a locally listed building (designed by architect Ernest Trevor Spashett) now used as a music room and dance studio.

School motto

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The school's motto is "Blackheath High School – a place to grow, a place to excel". Previously it had been "Knowledge no more a fountain sealed": a reference to the days when girls had poor access to schooling, as was the case in the early years of the school.

Notable former pupils

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Published histories

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  • Malim, Mary Charlotte; Escreet, Henrietta Caroline (1927), The Book of Blackheath High School, Blackheath: Blackheath Press.
  • Watts, K M (1980), A History of Blackheath High School, Impart.
  • Allen, Dr Hillary (2005), Brief History of Blackheath High School GDST 1880–2005[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 21 May 2008.

References

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  1. ^ "Olney, Sarah Allen (1842–1915), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52261. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 1 August 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b Sondheimer, Janet (23 September 2004). "Gadesden [Gadsden], Florence Marie Armroid (1853–1934), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48569. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b c Kamm, Josephine (16 October 2013). Indicative Past: A Hundred Years of the Girls' Public Day School Trust. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-53167-7.
  4. ^ Dillon, Jo (4 June 2000). "Lady Jay stands accused of telling lies out of school". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2009.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Margaret Evelyn Popham - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
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