Bradford Girls' Grammar School is a free school for girls aged 5 – 16 and boys aged 5 – 11. Founded in 1875, the school is on the outskirts of Bradford city centre in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. Recent public examination results put the school top in Bradford and among the top three in Yorkshire. Bradford Girls has a debating society, which Barbara Castle attended when at the school. Previously an independent school, it became a free school in 2013, and no longer charges for admission. An outline history of the school, with photographs, is available on the BGGS website. For many years, the school publication was known as ''The Chronicle''. The school celebrated its centenary in 1975.

Head teachers

*Miss Porter, Headmistress from 1875 *Miss Stocker *Miss Roberts, 1894–1927 *Miss Hooke, 1927–1955 *Miss M.M. Black, 1955–1975 *Miss R.M. Gleave, 1975–1986 *Mrs L. Warrington, 1986–2009 *Mrs K. Matthews, 2009–2020 *Mrs C Martin 2020-current

Notable former pupils

Juliet Barker Juliet R. V. Barker FRSL (born 1958) is an English historian, specialising in the Middle Ages and literary biography. She is the author of a number of well-regarded works on the Brontës, William Wordsworth, and medieval tournaments. From 198 ...

, British historian. *

Linda Barker Linda Barker (born 26 October 1961) is an English interior designer and television presenter. Education Born in Shelf, on the outskirts of Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Barker was educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School before ...

, English interior designer and television presenter. * Marion Bidder, British physiologist. *

Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002), was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in Bri ...

(1910-2002), British Labour Party politician. *

Katy Deacon Katy Deacon is a British engineer involved in renewable energy systems. Deacon has been noted for influencing the engineering industry. Biography Deacon is an energy engineer working for Kirklees Metropolitan Council. She has been involved w ...

, Young Woman Engineer of the Year 2007. *

Thangam Debbonaire Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire (' Singh; born 3 August 1966) is a British Labour Party politician, serving as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since May 2021. She was previously the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing from 2020 t ...

, British Labour Party politician. *

Elizabeth Denby Elizabeth Denby (1894 – 3 November 1965) was an English social housing expert and consultant. Biography Denby was from Bradford, Yorkshire, the daughter of a doctor. She went to Bradford Girls Grammar School and then studied at the London ...

(1894–1965), English social housing expert and consultant. * Anne Dyer, first female bishop in the Scottish Episcopal Church *

Ruby Ferguson Ruby Constance Annie Ferguson, née Ashby (28 July 1899 – 11 November 1966), was an English writer of popular fiction, including children's literature, romances and mysteries as R. C. Ashby and Ruby Fergunson. She is best known today for her ...

(1899–1966), née Rubie Constance Ashby, writer of popular fiction, including children's books. *

Isabel Hilton Isabel Nancy Hilton OBE (born 25 November 1949) is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster based in London. Early life Hilton was educated at Edinburgh University, where she studied Chinese to post-graduate level. As Secretary of the entir ...

, journalist. * Jennifer Ingleheart, Professor of Latin at Durham University. *

Melanie Kilburn Sarah Melanie Jean Kilburn is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Laura Bryant in the ITV police drama series ''The Bill''. She also played the part of Sandra Conway, wife of CI Derek Conway in earlier episodes of The Bill. He ...

, English actress. *

Natalia Kills Natalia Noemi "Teddy" Sinclair (née Cappuccini; born 15 August 1986), is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She has recorded music under various aliases, most famously as Natalia Kills and Verbalicious. She is currently the lead vocali ...

, English singer-songwriter. *

Julia Longbottom Julia Longbottom (born 13 July 1963) is a British diplomat and the current Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Japan since March 2021. She is the first woman ambassador to represent the United Kingdom in Tokyo. Education Longbottom was educa ...

, diplomat *

Lizzie Mickery Elizabeth Mickery is a British writer and former actress. She was known for her role as Maggie Thorpe in the BBC television drama series '' Tenko'', roles in ''Emmerdale Farm'', ''Juliet Bravo'', '' Lovejoy'', '' Heartbeat'', ''Woof!'', ''The Mer ...

, British writer and former actress. * Dorothy, Miell, Academic. *

Anita Rani Anita Rani Nazran (born 25 October 1977), better known as Anita Rani, is an English radio and television presenter. Early life Rani was born and brought up in Bradford, West Yorkshire to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother. In an episode of ...

, English radio and television presenter, and journalist. *

Helene Reynard Helene Reynard or Helene Reinherz (24 August 1875 – 27 December 1947) was a United Kingdom economist and college administrator. She created as a separate entity King's College of Household and Social Science in London and then ran it. Life Re ...

, Economist and college administrator. *

Jo Shaw Jo Shaw FRSE holds the Salvesen Chair of European Institutions, one of the established chairs at the University of Edinburgh, and was director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities 2014-17. Between 2009 and 2014 she was dean ...

, Legal scholar *

Mary Tamm Mary Tamm (22 March 1950 – 26 July 2012) was a British actress, who appeared in many British TV drama series and serials, and is best known for her role as Romana I in the BBC's science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', starrin ...

, Actress. *

Anna Watts Anna Louise Watts is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam. She studies neutron stars and their thermonuclear explosions. Education Watts was educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School. She studied physics at Merton Colle ...

, astrophysicist.

References

External links

Bradford Girls' Grammar School web site
{{Authority control Schools in Bradford Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association * Educational institutions established in 1875 1875 establishments in England Secondary schools in the City of Bradford Free schools in Yorkshire Primary schools in the City of Bradford