The Godolphin and Latymer School 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 in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

. The school motto is an ancient Cornish phrase, ''Francha Leale Toge'', which translates as "free and loyal art thou". The school crest includes a double-headed white eagle, Godolphin in Cornish signifies a white eagle. The ''

Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...

'' called the school a "Very strong academic school with a friendly atmosphere, an outstanding head and a broad range of extra-curricular activities."

History

A private Act of Parliament in 1697 modified the wills of Sir William Godolphin (1634–96) in favour of his nephew Francis and niece Elizabeth and devoting £1,520 to charity. In 1703 this fund was used to purchase land west of St James's, Piccadilly, for education and other charitable purposes and, independently, in 1707 Elizabeth founded the Godolphin School, Salisbury, from her own resources. In 1856 the Godolphin School for boys was opened in Great Church Lane, Hammersmith. In 1862 The school relocated to the current Iffley Road site. Though initially successful, it closed in 1900. In 1905 it reopened as an independent day school for girls, associated with the Latymer Foundation and taking the name of the Godolphin and Latymer School. From 1906 onwards it received grants from the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and the

Local Education Authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

for equipment, library books and buildings. In 1939 the whole school was evacuated from London with no forward planning for where the school would stay. In 1951 the school became a state

Voluntary aided school A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In mo ...

under the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Historians ...

, and ceased to charge fees to pupils. After the abolition of the scheme, the school chose to revert to full independent status in 1977 rather than join the state system and turn comprehensive and resumed the charging of fees to pupils. The Godolphin and Latymer School celebrated its centenary in May 2005 with a service at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. In the same year the nearby church of St John the Evangelist, designed by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

and built in the late 1850s, was closed and acquired by the School on a 125-year lease. It has been converted into the Bishop Arts Centre, named after Dame Joyce Bishop, who was headmistress between 1935 and 1963.

Houses

The house system has six houses: *Bassi –

Laura Bassi Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti (29 October 1711 – 20 February 1778) was an Italian physicist and academic. Recognized and depicted as "Minerva" (goddess of wisdom), she was the first woman to have a doctorate in science, and the second wo ...

– the first woman to earn a professorship in physics at a university, Bologna, 1732. *Lovelace –

Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852) was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the A ...

– an English mathematician and the first to publish a computer program in 1843. *Maathai –

Wangari Maathai Wangarĩ Muta Maathai (; 1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan social, environmental and a political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift, she studied in the Un ...

– an internationally renowned Kenyan environmental political activist and Nobel laureate. *Naidu –

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (''née'' Chattopadhyay; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist, feminist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important person in Indi ...

– an Indian independence activist and poet. *Quinn-Brown – Hallie Quinn Brown – an African-American educator, writer and activist. *Sheppard –

Kate Sheppard Katherine Wilson Sheppard ( Catherine Wilson Malcolm; 10 March 1848 – 13 July 1934) was the most prominent member of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand and the country's most famous suffragist. Born in Liverpool, England, she emig ...

– the most prominent member of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand.

Notable alumnae

The poet and Nobel Laureate

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

was a pupil on the current Iffley Road site, attending the Godolphin School between 1877 and 1881. Notable former pupils of the girls' school, known as Old Dolphins, include: *

Sarah Alexander Sarah Alexander ('' née'' Smith; 3 January 1971) is an English actress. She has appeared in British series including ''Armstrong and Miller'', ''Smack the Pony'', ''Coupling'', '' The Worst Week of My Life'', ''Green Wing'', '' Marley's Ghost ...

, actress *

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress and model. After some minor television roles, her film debut was ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She appeared in British costume ...

, actress and model. *

Hattie Jacques Hattie Jacques (; born Josephine Edwina Jaques; 7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the ''Carry On'' films, where she typically played strict, no-non ...

, actress *

Carrie Johnson Caroline Louise Beavan Johnson (' Symonds; born 17 March 1988) is a British media consultant and the wife of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson. She is the daughter of Matthew Symonds, co-founder of ''The Independent.'' ...

, Communications and PR advisor and wife of former Prime Minister

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

Julia King Julia Elizabeth King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge (born 11 July 1954) is a British engineer and a crossbench member of the House of Lords, where she chairs the Select Committee on Science and Technology. She is the incumbent chair of the Car ...

, Baroness Brown of Cambridge *

Nigella Lawson Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook. She attended Godolphin and Latymer School, London. After graduating from the University of Oxford, where she was a member of Lady Margaret Hall, Lawson ...

, food writer, journalist and broadcaster *

Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show ''Big Brother (UK), Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's '' ...

, actress and television presenter *

Candida Moss Candida R. Moss (born 26 November 1978) is an English public intellectual, journalist, New Testament scholar and historian of Christianity, who is the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology in the Department of Theology and Religion at the Univers ...

, writer and academic *

Lucy Punch Lucy Punch (born 30 December 1977) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films '' Ella Enchanted'', ''Hot Fuzz'', ''You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'', '' Dinner for Schmucks,'' and ''Into the Woods''. She is also known for her role as ...

, English actress *

Jemma Redgrave Jemima Rebecca Redgrave (born 14 January 1965), known as Jemma Redgrave, is a fourth-generation British actress of the Redgrave family. She played the title character in four series of '' Bramwell'', and has a recurring role in ''Doctor Who'' as ...

, actor *

Annunziata Rees-Mogg Annunziata Mary Rees-Mogg (; born 25 March 1979) is a freelance journalist whose focus is finance, economics, and European politics and has been a British Brexit Party then Conservative politician during 2019 and into early 2020. She has been ...

, journalist and politician *

Hayaatun Sillem Hayaatun Sillem (née Is’harc) is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Education Sillem attended Godolphin and Latymer School. She earned a master's degree in biochemistry from the University of Oxford in 19 ...

, CEO of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

Francesca Stavrakopoulou Francesca Stavrakopoulou (; born 3 October 1975) is a British biblical scholar and broadcaster. She is currently Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter. The main focus of her research is on the Hebrew Bible, a ...

, writer and academic * Winifred Watkins, biochemist *

Catherine Webb Catherine Webb (born 1986) is a British author. She also writes fantasy novels for adults under the name Kate Griffin, and she writes science fiction as Claire North. Life Webb was educated at the Godolphin and Latymer School, London, and th ...

, author *

Zoe Williams Zoe Abigail Williams (born 7 August 1973) is a Welsh columnist, journalist, and author. Early life Zoe Abigail Williams was born on 7 August 1973 in Hounslow, West London, England. Williams was educated at the independent Godolphin and Latymer ...

, newspaper columnist

References

External links

Godolphin and Latymer School websiteProfile
at the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busin ...

website
Profile
at the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godolphin And Latymer School Educational institutions established in 1861 Independent girls' schools in London Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Independent schools in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association International Baccalaureate schools in England 1861 establishments in England

History

Houses

Notable alumnae

See also

References

External links