Newcastle High School for Girls is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

day school for girls aged 3–18 in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England. The Junior School is at Sandyford Park and the Senior School is located in the neighbouring suburb of

Jesmond Jesmond is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, situated to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher average house prices than most other areas of the city. H ...

. The school was formed in September 2014 by the merger of Central Newcastle High School and

Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School (also known locally as "Church High") was a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for girls in Jesmond, less than a mile north of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Until 2014 it ...

. It is operated by 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 ...

, an organisation which ran one of the predecessor schools, Central Newcastle High, pre-merger.

History

Newcastle High School for Girls was formed by the merger of the predecessor single-sex girls' schools, Church High School and Central Newcastle High School, which had good records of academic performance. Central Newcastle High School GDST dates back to 1876 when the Girls' Public Day School Trust founded Gateshead High School. The School moved to Newcastle in 1895, and was renamed to Central Newcastle High School. In 1884, The Church Schools' Company decided to open a private girls' school in the North East which focused on a church-based learning environment. A high school for girls in Newcastle was established in 1885 and opened with 59 pupils. A new association was formed in 1925, and the school was renamed The Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School. In 2014 the schools merged to form 2016, the school moved to new facilities on Tankerville Terrace which incorporated the former Church High building and a new purpose-built 3625-square-metre, three-storey block. The established Headmistress responsible for the move to the new facilities, Hilary French was dismissed from her post on the 16th of June 2018 following an investigation into her conduct where it was alleged that she had made dishonest expenses claims. She was arrested by

Northumbria Police Northumbria Police is a territorial police force in England. It is responsible for policing the metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and the City of Sunderland, as well as the ceremonial county ...

on the 20th of June 2018, interviewed and released pending further enquiries. In February 2019 a Northumbria Police spokesperson said that there was no update on the investigation into Hilary French. She was succeeded by Michael Tippet. Tankerville Terrace facilities

Curriculum

Newcastle High School for Girls has a strong academic record, regularly ranking in the top 5 independent schools in

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

and top 100 nationally.The Chronicle">

The Prime Minister's Global Fellowship

Two Central Newcastle High School students attainined places on the

Prime Minister's Global Fellowship The Global Fellowship programme (previously The Prime Minister's Global Fellowship) works with 18- and 19-year-old students from England to give them a strong foundation in interacting with one of the three major emerging economies. It began in 2008 ...

programme. The school achieved its first student in the inaugural year of the programme, 2008, and in 2009 had another successful applicant.British Council websit
"Fellows"
. Retrieved 11 November 2009.

Notable former pupils

* Dame

Irene Ward Irene Mary Bewick Ward, Baroness Ward of North Tyneside, (23 February 1895 – 26 April 1980) was a British Conservative Party politician. She was a long-serving female Member of Parliament (MP), the longest serving female Conservative MP in his ...

, (1895–1980), British politician (educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School) * Verena Winifred Holmes, engineer *

Ursula Dronke __NOTOC__ Ursula Miriam Dronke (née Brown, 3 November 1920 – 8 March 2012Heather O'Donoghue"Ursula Dronke obituary: Inspirational teacher of Old Norse literature specialising in the sagas and poetry of medieval Iceland" ''The Guardian'' 25 M ...

(1920–2012), Medievalist and Professor of Old Norse Studies (educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School) *

Andrea Riseborough Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go ...

(born 1981), actress (educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School) *

Lucy Akhurst Lucy Akhurst (born 18 November 1970) is an English actress, writer and director who has been working mainly in television since the 1990s. She starred alongside Neil Morrissey in ''The Vanishing Man'' and then came to prominence in a lead role in ...

(born 1975), actress, writer and director (educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School) * Ruth Caleb (born 1942), film and television producer (educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School)
Dr Barbara C. Morden
author and cultural historian (educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School) *

Esther McCracken Esther McCracken (née Armstrong, 1902–1971) was a British actress and playwright. Biography She was born Esther Helen Armstrong in Newcastle upon Tyne on 25 June 1902 and was educated at the Central Newcastle High School, where she won the c ...

(1902–1971), playwright and actress *

Miriam Stoppard Miriam, Lady Hogg ( Stern; formerly Stoppard; born 12 May 1937), known professionally by her former married name Miriam Stoppard, is an English medical doctor, journalist, author and television presenter. Early life and medical career Miria ...

(born 1937), doctor and author *Professor

Ruth Plummer Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

, Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine (educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Central High School) *

L Devine Olivia Rebecca Devine (born 21 June 1997), known professionally as L Devine, is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Bros. Records, she released her debut EP ''Growing Pains'' (2017). This was followed by the release of t ...

, Singer

References

Other sources

*A.C. and F.M., The Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School Jubilee History 1885-1935, Andrew Reid & Company Limited, 1935. *Helen G. Scott & Elizabeth A. Wise, The Centenary Book of the Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School 1885-1985, 1985. *Carter, Oliver; Girls' Public Day School Trust (1955). ''History of Gateshead High School 1876–1907 and Central Newcastle High School 1895–1955''. G.F. Laybourne. * 2007 ISI Inspectio
Report

External links

School websiteNewcastle Church High School Heritage website

Profile
on

GDST 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 yea ...

website
Profile
on

Girls' Schools Association The Girls' Schools Association (GSA) is a professional association of the heads of independent girls' schools. It is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council. History The GSA can trace its history back to the Association of Headm ...

website {{Schools in Tyne and Wear Girls' schools in Tyne and Wear Educational institutions established in 1895 Schools of the Girls' Day School Trust Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Independent schools in Newcastle upon Tyne 1895 establishments in England *