Royal High School Bath is an independent day and boarding school for girls and in the city of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, Somerset, England, catering for up to 650 pupils. The school is on Lansdown Road, just outside Bath city centre, and has boarding facilities for about 150 girls.

History

Bath High School for Girls

Bath High School for Girls was founded in 1875 by the Girls' Public Day School Company, now the

Girls' Day School Trust The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each ye ...

. It was a

direct grant grammar school A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...

from 1946 until 1976.

Royal School

Merger

Royal High School Bath was formed by the merger in 1998 of Bath High School (day) and the Royal School (day and boarding). As a result, it is the only member of the Girls' Day School Trust to provide boarding accommodation. Today, the

Prep School Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

has Cranwell House as its main building, whereas the Senior School has the main school building and the Winfield centre for sixth form students – both on Lansdown Road.

Prep School

Girls can start in the Nursery School one and a half months before they are three years old. The Prep School will take pupils in the September after their fourth birthday. The Prep School has around 200 full-time pupils from Reception to Year 6, and around 20 part-time pupils in the Nursery. The Prep School is in Cranwell House, in Weston Park, near to the Senior School.

Senior School

The senior school is on Lansdown Road near

city centre. The main building was built in 1856-8 by James Wilson and is a Grade II listed building. There is an Art School; a Sixth Form café; a fitness suite, a separate Sixth Form building and newly refurbished boarding houses; two Performing Arts Theatres (The Sophie Cameron Performing Arts Centre and The Memorial Hall); The Hudson Centre for lectures and meetings; a sports hall complex, netball and tennis courts, an astroturf; a library, a Media Centre, and a new music school and state of the art recording studio. The boarding houses are situated in Lansdown Road. The Senior school has a medical centre.

Academic performance

It regularly comes near the top of league tables for Bath schools for

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

and

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

results. The school provides Modern Languages including

French, which girls start to learn in reception class. German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic, and Japanese are also available. The school also provides the IB Programme, where it had an average score of 37 points in 2019 with nearly half the cohort achieving 40+ points. The Royal High School Bath England arp

Arts

The art school was opened by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling – Rector of the Royal College of Art and Chairman of the Arts Council, England – in November 2008. There are four studios for activities such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, film and photography. In 2006 it received an award from the 'Good Schools Guide' for gaining the best A level results in the country over a three-year period. Degree choices vary from Fine Art and Fashion through to Architecture and Photography. The building was designed by Textus architectural practice to replicate other professional art schools, like the Royal Academy Schools and the Prince's Drawing School, which can be transformed from working studios into exhibition spaces. There are well-lit studio spaces for drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and three-dimensional work. In 2011 a History of Art A-level began to be offered.

Music

The Music Department (Steinway School Status from January 2020) is housed in a purpose-built Music School and consists of a 60-seat Recital Room with a Model B Steinway grand piano, state of the art, soundproofed recording studios with two Model AS Steinway grand pianos, 10 soundproofed practice rooms each containing upright Steinway pianos, Apple Mac suite, main teaching room, Green Room, reception area, offices and instrument storage facilities. Ensembles consist of Vocalise (Year 7–9 choir), V20 (Show and Pop choir), Chamber Choir, The Sixth Sense (6th Form Choir), Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Brass Ensemble, Sax Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Pop & Rock Bands. The department produces 35-40 concerts during the academic year, both internally and externally, and a whole-school production every Summer Term. International tours take place every two years and there are opportunities for all students to learn any musical instrument, provided by professional visiting instrumental staff. As part of the department's Steinway Music School status, there is a regular programme of masterclasses and recitals led by leading artists who work closely with the students.

Drama

The Drama department has use of the school's two performance venues; the Memorial Hall is a traditional 'end on' performance space and has movable raked seating, the Sophie Cameron Performing Arts is a converted chapel with almost limitless performance possibilities. There is an annual Summer musical, open to all students. Previous productions include, 'Guys & Dolls', 'Annie', 'Oliver!' and 'Stepping Out'. There is an annual Lower School play for students in Years 7–8 and an upper school play open to Year 9 and upwards. Previous KS3 productions include, 'Cold Comfort Farm', 'Pride & Prejudice', 'The Wind in the Willows', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', and at KS4; 'The Crucible', 'Antigone', and 'Numbers'. The Year 13 Theatre Studies students run the weekly Year 7 Drama Club and the drama scholars regularly produce their own evening of performances throughout the school year. Students can participate in Speech & Drama lessons, and the school also participates in the National Theatre Connections Festival biannually. Students at the Prep school put on plays too.

PE and sports

The sports facilities at Royal High School Bath are situated on its Lansdown site. Girls play a wide range of sports with elite performers in equestrian, gymnastics, swimming, netball, biathlon, fencing, and martial arts. Royal High School competes with a range of state and independent schools, participates in national leagues and competitions, and accesses high-performance facilities at the University of Bath Olympic Sports Training Village. On-site facilities include: * All-weather Astroturf for hockey * Tennis courts * Netball courts * Outdoor swimming pool * Football field * Rounders pitches * Indoor sports hall * Gym suite * Dance studio * Gymnastic equipment * Cricket pitches * Off-site, an equestrian team trains at local equestrian centres. Sporting achievements within the school are awarded by the presentation of "Colours" annually for commitment to clubs and extra-curricular activities.

Houses

There are four houses across both the Prep and Senior School: Brontë
Du Pré
Wollstonecraft
Austen

Notable alumni

Royal School

Mary Duggan Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, cricketer * Sheila Gish, actress *

Gillian Howell Gillian Margaret "Jill" Howell (née Sarson, 1927–2000), was a British architect. Early life She was born Gillian Margaret Sarson, on 3 November 1927 in Multan, in the western Punjab, British India, the daughter of Colonel Edward Vipan Sarson, c ...

(1927–2000), architect * June Lloyd, Baroness Lloyd of Highbury, Nuffield Professor of Child Health from 1985 to 1992 at the

British Postgraduate Medical Federation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, Professor of Child Health from 1975 to 1985 at

St George's Hospital Medical School St George's, University of London (legally St George's Hospital Medical School, informally St George's or SGUL), is a University located in Tooting in South London and is a constituent college of the University of London. St George's has its o ...

, and President from 1988 to 1991 of the British Paediatric Association *

Myrtle Maclagan Myrtle Ethel Maclagan (2 April 1911 – 11 March 1993) was an English cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and right-arm off break bowler. She appeared in 14 Test matches for England between 1934 and 1951. She played in the first-e ...

, cricketer *

Iris Morley Iris Vivienne Morley (10 May 1910 – 27 July 1953) was an English historian, writer and journalist. Morley was born at Carshalton, Surrey, the daughter of Colonel Lyddon Charteris Morley CBE and Gladys Vivienne Charteris Braddell. She married Ro ...

, historian *

Edith Picton-Turbervill Edith Picton-Turbervill OBE (13 June 1872 – 31 August 1960) was an English social reformer, writer and Labour Party politician. From 1929 to 1931, she served as the Member of Parliament for The Wrekin in Shropshire. Early life Edith was bo ...

OBE, Labour MP from 1929 to 1931 for The Wrekin *

Susan Strange Susan Strange (9 June 1923 – 25 October 1998) was a British scholar who was "almost single-handedly responsible for creating international political economy." Notable publications include ''Sterling and British Policy'' (1971), ''Casino ...

, economist *

Cecil Woodham-Smith Cecil Blanche Woodham-Smith ( Fitzgerald; 29 April 1896 – 16 March 1977) CBE was a British historian and biographer. She wrote four popular history books, each dealing with a different aspect of the Victorian era. Early life Cecil Woodham-Smi ...

(née Fitzgerald), historian *

Sonia Melchett Sonia Elizabeth Sinclair, JP (née Graham; formerly Mond; born 6 September 1928), known as Sonia Melchett, is an English socialite and author. Formerly married to Julian Mond, Baron Melchett, she married the writer Andrew Sinclair after her hu ...

(née Graham), socialite and writer * Penny Mountbatten, Lady Ivar Mountbatten, businesswoman and philanthropist

Bath High School

Dawn Austwick Dawn Jacquelyn Austwick, (born December 1960) was the chief executive (CEO) of the Big Lottery Fund from October 2014 to 2020. Education Austwick was educated at Royal High School, Bath, followed by a bachelor's degree from London University, ...

OBE, chief executive of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and CEO of the Big Lottery Fund * Mary Berry, food writer *

Jennie Formby Jennifer "Jennie" Formby (' Sandle; born 12 April 1960) is a British trade unionist and political figure who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2018 to 2020. She was previously political director and south-east England regiona ...

, senior official in the

Unite Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...

trade union and General Secretary of the Labour Party *

Elspeth Howe, Baroness Howe of Idlicote Elspeth Rosamund Morton Howe, Baroness Howe of Idlicote, (; 8 February 1932 – 22 March 2022) was a British life peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords (2001–2020) who served in many capacities in public life. As the widow of Geof ...

CBE, wife of Geoffrey Howe, and chair 1997–9 of the Broadcasting Standards Commission *

Joan Heal Joan Heal (17 October 1922 – 12 April 1998) was an English actress and singer, known for her appearances in revue in the 1940s and 1950s. Life and career Heal was born in Vobster, Somerset, and educated at Bath High School and later the Old V ...

Actress * Dr

Cicely Williams Cicely Delphine Williams, OM, CMG, FRCP (2 December 1893 – 13 July 1992) was a Jamaican physician, most notable for her discovery and research into kwashiorkor, a condition of advanced malnutrition, and her campaign against the use of swee ...

CMG, advisor in Maternal and Child Health, pioneer in the treatment of

kwashiorkor Kwashiorkor ( , ) is a form of severe protein malnutrition characterized by edema and an enlarged liver with fatty infiltrates. It is thought to be caused by sufficient calorie intake, but with insufficient protein consumption (or lack of goo ...

, and the first Head of the maternal and child health section at the World Health Organization *

Bunny Guinness Peta "Bunny" Guinness (''née'' Ellis; born 16 December 1955) is a British chartered landscape architect, journalist and radio personality who is a regular panellist on the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, ''Gardener's Question Time''. She a ...

, landscape designer

References

External links

*
Profile
on the Independent Schools Council website {{authority control Girls' schools in Somerset Boarding schools in Somerset Educational institutions established in 1998 Independent schools in Bath and North East Somerset Schools of the Girls' Day School Trust Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association 1998 establishments in England Schools in Bath, Somerset