Colchester County High School for Girls is a selective girls'

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

with

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

status in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

, Essex. The school consistently scores highly in the league tables for the UK. It was joint first in the country in the 2018 secondary GCSE league tables, and ninth in the country in the 2015 A-Level league tables. Entrance to Year 7 is by an academic selection test, the

Eleven Plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academ ...

. Entrance into Year 12 is by GCSE grades, although priority is given to pre-existing pupils.

History

The school was originally located in the Albert Hall in the High Street (now the Co-operative Bank), until its intended premises at the top of North Hill (now the Sixth Form College) were completed. Later, the lower school moved to Greyfriars on East Hill and, in 1957, moved to new buildings in Norman Way, off Lexden Road. Most of the buildings are unchanged, but an extension, including new science laboratories and Sixth Form facilities was added in 2002. The 'mSchool' was added between 2006 and 2009, with new facilities for music, mathematics and the mind; its 'iLab' (innovation laboratory) is one of the few in the UK outside a university. In 2018 new classrooms, including a new healthy living studio; a new sixth form centre with a lecture theatre and an IT suite were completed;In 2017, the top floor of the science block, or 'S-block’, was refurbished to facilitate the Colchester Teacher Training Consortium (CTTC). It was founded in 1909 as a girls' school for Colchester, and subsequently became a grammar school admitting girls from North East

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

and beyond on the basis of an 11+ selection test. The school is situated a mile to the west of central

, and celebrated its centenary in 2009–2010.

Specialisms

The school was one of the first Science Specialist Schools in the country. It later became a specialist Modern Language school too, teaching French and German as well as Latin.

School motto

''Wisdom Giveth Life'' has been the school's motto since the school opened in 1909. This reading is still included in the traditional school assembly at the start of each academic year:

Notable alumni

* Charlotte Atkins – MP for

Staffordshire Moorlands Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park. The ...

Fiona Bevan Fiona Mackay Barclay Bevan is an English singer-songwriter from Suffolk, who currently lives in London. She is noted for co-writing the song " Little Things" with Ed Sheeran which became a number-one single in 13 countries for One Direction, an ...

- singer/songwriter * Pamela Brown – writer *

Georgina Cates Georgina Elaine Cates (born Clare Elaine Woodgate; 14 January 1975) is an English film and television actress. Life and career Born Clare Elaine Woodgate in Colchester, Essex, Cates attended Colchester County High School for Girls and broke ...

– actor (born Clare Woodgate) *

Beth Chatto Beth Chatto (27 June 1923 – 13 May 2018) was an English plantswoman, garden designer and author known for creating and describing the Beth Chatto Gardens near Elmstead Market in the English county of Essex. She wrote several books about gard ...

–

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner supplem ...

Saskia Clark Saskia Clark, (born 23 August 1979 in Colchester, Essex) is a British sailor and Olympic Gold medalist. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics and she was selected, along with Hannah Mills, to sail in the 470 Women's class for Team GB. They ...

– GB Olympic Gold Medal Winning Sailor * Stella Creasy – MP for Walthamstow *

Virginia Crosbie Virginia Ann Crosbie (born 8 December 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ynys Môn since the 2019 general election. Prior to her political career, she worked as a director at UBS an ...

- MP for Ynys Môn * Christine Davies Professor of Physics at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Helen Mary Jones Helen Mary Jones (born 29 June 1960) is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the Senedd from 1999 to 2011 and again from August 2018 until 29 April 2021. Background Jones was born in Colchester, Essex. She was educated at Colch ...

– member for

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

* Elisabeth Murray – English biographer and educationist

References

{{authority control Girls' schools in Essex Grammar schools in Essex Educational institutions established in 1909 1909 establishments in England Academies in Essex Schools in Colchester (town)