Manchester High School for Girls is an English

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 and a member of the Girls School Association. It is situated in

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...

, Manchester. The head mistress is Helen Jeys who took up the position in September 2020 and is the 11th head mistress in the school's history.

History

Manchester High School for Girls - Dover Street

The school was founded in 1874 by nine men and women who were prominent citizens of Manchester: it was first established in Chorlton on Medlock. A new school was built in Dover Street in 1881. (The building is now occupied by the University of Manchester School of Chemistry). The founding group included

Augustus Samuel Wilkins Augustus Samuel Wilkins (1843–1905) was an English classical scholar. He held a professorship of Latin in Manchester for 34 years. Life He was born in Enfield Road, Kingsland, London, on 20 August 1843 into a Congregationalist family, the son ...

, Harriet,

Robert Dukinfield Darbishire Robert Dukinfield Darbishire (1826–1908) was a prominent Manchester lawyer and philanthropist. Biography Robert Dukinfield Darbishire's father, Samuel Dukinfield Darbishire (1799-1870), was a founder of Manchester Athenaeum and Manchester ...

and Edward Donner (afterwards

Sir Edward Donner, 1st Baronet Sir Edward Donner, 1st Baronet (2 August 1840 – 29 December 1934), was a British banker, philanthropist and supporter of Liberal causes. Biography Donner was the eldest son of Edward Sedgfield Donner, a solicitor, of Scarborough, Yorkshire, a ...

.) The first headmistress was Elizabeth Day. Day was replaced as head by Sara Annie Burstall in 1898.Sara Annie Burstall
Oxford Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 30 January 2016 In September 1939 the school was evacuated to

Cheadle Hulme Cheadle Hulme () is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England,. Historically in Cheshire, it is south-west of Stockport and south-east of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley, on the Cheshire Plain ...

and by 1940 a new school building was under construction at Fallowfield. The unfinished buildings at the Grangethorpe Road site were destroyed by bombing on 20 December 1940. In 1941 the school moved temporarily to

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

and by 1949 a new building at Grangethorpe Road began to be occupied. The move into the new school was complete by 1952. The Grangethorpe site was occupied by a large private house and gardens from 1882 to 1936.

Preparatory department and senior school

Manchester High School for Girls has a preparatory department for girls aged 4 to 11 with the majority progressing into the senior school. Prep pupils have an

infant An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

section, two assembly halls and a playground and gardens. There are also specially designated areas for

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and science, a music room, library and two computer-suites providing multi-media facilities. In 2006, the school introduced the teaching of

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

to girls in years 3 and 4. Manchester High's curriculum includes traditional disciplines such as

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. Pupils are also tutored in areas such as

, sciences and art and design technology. MHSG is a multi-cultural school embracing many faiths. Assemblies are organised by sixth form students and include Christian,

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and Secular themes. A purpose-built music house has 12 practice rooms and several

classrooms A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where education ...

, including one with space for orchestra rehearsals. A floodlit, all-weather

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

pitch,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

courts,

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

courts, a rock-climbing wall, and a swimming pool provide facilities for year-around sports.

Former staff

Edith Aitken Edith Aitken (16 June 1861 – 2 November 1940) was a British headmistress. She was the founding head at Pretoria High School for Girls. Life Aitken was born in Bishophill, York in 1861. She was the daughter of Henry Martin Aitken, a surgical ins ...

, the first head of

Pretoria High School for Girls Pretoria High School for Girls (Simply often known as PHSG), is a full-government, fee-charging, English-medium high school for girls located in Hatfield, Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is the sister school to Pretoria Boy ...

Barbara E. Megson, 'Aitken, Edith (1861–1940)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 12 June 2017
/ref> * Sara Annie Burstall, the second headmistress of the school *

Catherine Chisholm Catherine Chisholm (2 January 1878 – 21 July 1952) was a British physician and the first female medical graduate of the University of Manchester. She was instrumental in founding the Manchester Babies Hospital, which was opened on 4 August ...

(1879–1952), Manchester High School doctor: 1908 – 1944, GP and paediatrician: the first woman to graduate from Manchester University Medical School in 1904, founder of the Manchester Babies Hospital

ater the Duchess of York Hospital Ater (Hebrew אֲתַר) is an Old Testament male name. #A descendant of Hezekiah, who returned from Babylon ; #An Israelite, who subscribed to Nehemiah Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in r ...

in 1914, in 1950 became the first woman to be awarded an honorary fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians.

Gallery

File:Former High School for Girls, Dover Street.jpg, Former buildings, Dover Street Dover House, Manchester.jpg, Former building, Dover Street Manchester High School for Girls Dover St Plan.jpg, Dover Street Elizabeth Day.jpg, Elizabeth Day Edith Aitkin b 01.png, Edith Aitkin Pankhurst-adela.jpg, Adela Pankhurst MHSG front entrance.JPG, Front entrance

Notable former pupils

Emma Barnett Emma Barnett (born 5 February 1985) is a British broadcaster and journalist. She has been the main presenter of ''Woman's Hour'' on BBC Radio 4 since January 2021. Barnett worked for BBC Radio 5 Live for six years, beginning in 2014, after th ...

, broadcaster and journalist *

Jenny Campbell Jennifer Bernice Campbell (' Sproson; born 5 October 1961) is a British entrepreneur. She bought YourCash Europe Ltd from RBS in 2010. She was a "Dragon" on two series of the UK's ''Dragons' Den''. In 2010, Campbell bought Hanco ATM systems ...

, multi-millionaire entrepreneur *

Ida Carroll Ida Gertrude Carroll (1 December 1905 — 9 September 1995) was a British music educator, university administrator, double bassist, and composer. From 1956 through 1972 she was President of the Northern School of Music, and she played a central ...

, composer, double bass player, music educator, and university administrator * Julia Bodmer, née Pilkington, Manchester High School pupil: 1945 – 1953, discovered the details of the

Human leukocyte antigen The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system or complex is a complex of genes on chromosome 6 in humans which encode cell-surface proteins responsible for the regulation of the immune system. The HLA system is also known as the human version of th ...

(HLA) with genetic differences causing

transplant rejection Transplant rejection occurs when Organ transplant, transplanted tissue is rejected by the recipient's immune system, which destroys the transplanted tissue. Transplant rejection can be lessened by determining the molecular similitude between don ...

, and was married to Sir

Walter Bodmer Sir Walter Fred Bodmer (born 10 January 1936) is a German-born British human geneticist. Early life Bodmer was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and went on to study the Mathematical Tripos at the Univ ...

, who was the first Professor of Genetics at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, Chancellor of the

University of Salford , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...

from 1995 to 2005 and Principal from 1996 to 2005 of

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

* Myrella Cohen, Manchester High School pupil: 1937 – 1940, was called to the bar in 1950, became Britain's third female judge in 1972, was appointed to the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey. *

Eileen Derbyshire Eileen Derbyshire, MBE (born 6 October 1931) is an English retired actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She played the character for 55 years from January 1961 to January 2016 ...

, Manchester High School pupil: 1943, actress, played Emily Bishop in the television soap, ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' *

Louise Ellman Dame Louise Joyce Ellman ( Rosenberg; born 14 November 1945) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Riverside (UK Parliament constituency), Liverpool Riverside from ...

, Labour MP since 1997 for Liverpool Riverside *

Judy Finnigan Judith Adele Finnigan (born 16 May 1948) is an English television presenter and writer. She co-presented ITV's '' This Morning'' (1988–2001, 2019–) and the Channel 4 chat show, ''Richard & Judy'' (2001–2008) alongside her husband Richard ...

, journalist and television presenter *

Kathleen Hale Kathleen Hale OBE (24 May 1898 – 26 January 2000) was a British artist, illustrator, and children's author. She is best remembered for her series of books about Orlando the Marmalade Cat. Biography Kathleen Hale was born in Lanarkshire, but ...

, Manchester High School pupil: 1913 – 1917, artist and children's author, best remembered for the

Orlando the Marmalade Cat Orlando (The Marmalade Cat) is the fictional eponymous hero of the series (of the same name) of 19 illustrated children's books written by Kathleen Hale between 1938 and 1972, issued by various publishers including '' Country Life'' and '' Puffi ...

series, was awarded the OBE for services to literature in 1976. *

Sally Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee Sally Rachel Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee (born 12 January 1947) is a Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat politician and their Lead Home Affairs Spokesperson in the House of Lords. She is a Life Peer and former chair of the London Assembly. Bi ...

, President from 1995 to 2002 of the

Town and Country Planning Association The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive. Through its research, tr ...

, and former Chairman of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

until 2008 *

Mollie Hardwick Mollie Greenhalgh Hardwick (7 March 1916 in Prestwich, Lancashire – 13 December 2003), also known as Mary Atkinson, was an English author who was best known for writing books that accompanied the TV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. Hardwi ...

, née Greenhalgh, Manchester High School pupil: 1930 – 1934, was one of the first women announcers on BBC radio in the 1940s, writer and scriptwriter of TV series, e.g. "Upstairs and Downstairs" and "The Duchess of Duke Street," with her husband she set up a theatre company, the Hardwick Players. * Vivienne Harris, née Hytner, Manchester High School pupil: 1933 – 1938, founder of the ''

Jewish Telegraph The ''Jewish Telegraph'' is a British Jewish newspaper. It was founded in December 1950 by Frank and Vivienne Harris, the parents of the current editor, Paul Harris. Founding Frank and Vivienne Harris founded the newspaper in their dining ro ...

'', Manchester Evening News Female Executive of the Year, awarded the MBE for services to the community and to journalism. *

Hilda Johnstone Hilda Johnstone Royal Historical Society, FRHS (1882–1961) was a British historian, and one of the first female professors in the London university system. Life Hilda Johnstone, born in 1882 to Herbert and Sarah Anne Johnstone, was educated at ...

, historian * Dorothy Lamb, archaeologist * Libby Lane, first female Church of England bishop *

Sunny Lowry Ethel "Sunny" Lowry MBE (2 January 1911, in Longsight, Manchester, Lancashire – 21 February 2008) was claimed to be the first British woman to swim the English Channel in 1933. (An earlier claim was successfully made by Mercedes Gleit ...

, Manchester High School pupil: 1923 – 1927, in 1933 was one of the first British women to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, President of the Channel Swimmers' Association. * Merlyn Lowther, the first woman Chief Cashier of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

from 1999 to 2003 *

Adela Pankhurst Adela Constantia Mary Walsh ( Pankhurst; 19 June 1885 – 23 May 1961) was a British born suffragette who worked as a political organiser for the WSPU in Scotland. In 1914 she moved to Australia where she continued her activism and was co-found ...

, Manchester High School pupil: 1893 – 1902, campaigner in the Australian suffragette movement *

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bord ...

, Manchester High School pupil: 1893 – 1897, first woman to be awarded an LLB degree by Manchester University, founder member of the Women's Social and Political Union and leading campaigner in the British suffragette movement. *

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was a campaigning English feminist and socialist. Committed to organising working-class women in London's East End, and unwilling in 1914 to enter into a wartime political truce with ...

, Manchester High School pupil: 1893 – 1898, leading campaigner in the British suffragette movement * Dorothy Smith electrical engineer, worked for the engineering firm

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

, second woman to gain Full Membership of the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Te ...

. *

Clare Venables Clare Rosamund Venables (17 March 1943 – 17 October 2003) was an English theatre director. She was artistic director of regional theatres in Lincoln, Stratford East (London), and Sheffield; she became Director of Education at the Royal Shakespear ...

, theatre director *

Paula Vennells Paula Anne Vennells, (born 1959), is a British businesswoman and Anglican priest. She was chief executive officer of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019. Under her leadership, the Post Office prosecuted hundreds of subpostmasters for fraud, de ...

, CEO of the Post Office * Julia Yeomans, professor of physics at Oxford University

References

*100 Years of Manchester High School for Girls, 1874–1974. Manchester: Manchester High School for Girls (Contributions by 16 women associated with the school, compiled by K. L. Hilton) *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester High School For Girls Girls' schools in Greater Manchester Independent schools in Manchester Secondary schools in Manchester International Baccalaureate schools in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Educational institutions established in 1874 1874 establishments in England 01 Hulme Trust