Oxford High 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

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. It was founded 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 ...

in 1875, making it the city's oldest girls' school.

History

Oxford University Computing Services, Banbury Road, Oxford - geograph

Oxford High School was opened on 3 November 1875, with twenty-nine girls and three teachers under headmistress Ada Benson, at the Judge's Lodgings (St Giles' House) at 16 St Giles', central Oxford.St Giles' House (Judge's Lodgings), 16 St Giles' Street, Oxford
(where OHS was founded). It was the 9th school opened by the

Girls' Public Day School Company 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 ...

. Pupils were given a holiday when the

Assize The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

Judge visited. The school moved to 38 St Giles' in 1879 and then to 21

Banbury Road Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the ...

at the start of 1881, in a building designed by Sir

Thomas Graham Jackson Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1st Baronet (21 December 1835 – 7 November 1924) was one of the most distinguished British architects of his generation. He is best remembered for his work at Oxford, including the Oxford Military College at Cowl ...

, just south of the location of another Jackson building, the

Acland Nursing Home The Acland Hospital (also previously known as the Acland Nursing Home, Acland Home and the Sarah Acland Home for Nurses) was a private nursing home and hospital in central North Oxford, England, located in a prominent position at the southern en ...

. By this time, the headmistress was

Matilda Ellen Bishop Matilda Ellen Bishop (12 April 1842 in Tichborne, Hampshire – 1 July 1913 in Camberwell, London) was the first Principal of Royal Holloway College, University of London and was responsible for establishing many of the early traditions at the i ...

. Rapid expansion led to the ultimate removal of the school to Belbroughton Road in 1957. It became a direct grant grammar school in 1945 under the Education Act 1944 and chose to become independent in 1976 after the scheme was abolished. The junior section was opened in 1989 and further expanded in the 1990s to meet the growing demand. It absorbed two preparatory schools, Greycotes and The Squirrel, which meant girls could now be educated at Oxford High School from age 3 to

Sixth Form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

Academics

Oxford High School regularly ranks as one of the country's highest achieving independent schools in terms of examination results. The school was ranked first in the

South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

in a '' Sunday Times'' survey based on exam results and "value for money". In the 2011 examinations it was ranked amongst the top 20 independent schools nationwide for GCSE results and the best performing girls' school in the A Levels. In 2006, the school became the first in Oxfordshire to make

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 ...

a compulsory subject. Pupils will study it for at least a year accompanying French and can choose to either continue Mandarin or continue French.

Houses

The girls in the senior school are divided into four houses, each named after an Ancient Greek deity: *

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

(green) * Ares (blue) *

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

(yellow) *

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

(red)

Headteachers

* Ada Benson 1875–1879 *

1879–1887 * Lucy Helen Soulsby 1887–1897 * Edith Marion Leahy 1898–1902 * Rosalind Mabel Brown 1902–1932 *Margaret Gale 1932–1936 * Violet Evelyn Stack 1937–1959 * M.E. Ann Hancock 1959–1966 *

Mary Warnock Helen Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock, (née Wilson; 14 April 1924 – 20 March 2019) was an English philosopher of morality, education, and mind, and a writer on existentialism. She is best known for chairing an inquiry whose report formed the ...

1966–1972 * Elaine Kaye 1972–1981 * Joan Townsend 1981–1996 * Felicity Lusk 1997–2010 * Judith Carlisle 2011–2016 * Philip Hills 2017–2019

Notable former pupils

* Josephine Barnes (1912–1999), first woman President British Medical Association (BMA) *

Ursula Bethell Mary Ursula Bethell (pseudonym, Evelyn Hayes; 6 October 1874 – 15 January 1945), was a New Zealand social worker and poet. She settled at the age of 50 at Rise Cottage on the Cashmere Hills near Christchurch, with her companion Effie Pollen, ...

(1874–1945), New Zealand poet and social worker *

Emma Bridgewater Emma Bridgewater is a British ceramics manufacturing company founded in 1985 which is named after Emma Rice (''née'' Bridgewater). It is run by her and her husband Matthew Rice. Noted for their polka dot design among others, the company "Emma B ...

, potter * Jacintha Buddicom, poet and childhood friend of George Orwell *

Nancy Cadogan Nancy Guinness (born 1979) is a British figurative painter. Her work ranges from still life to landscape and portrait. She was named one of 'Top 20 New British Art Talents' by Tatler magazine in 2008, describing her as "the new Paula Rego". Bas ...

, artist *

Catherine Conybeare Catherine Mary Conybeare (born 1966) is an academic and philologist and an authority on Augustine of Hippo. She is currently Leslie Clark Professor in the Humanities at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.Charithra Chandran Charithra Surya Chandran (; born 17 January 1997) is a British actress. She is known for her roles in the Amazon spy thriller series ''Alex Rider'' (2021) and the Netflix period drama ''Bridgerton'' (2022). Early life and education Chandran w ...

, actress *

Dame Cressida Dick Dame Cressida Rose Dick (born 16 October 1960) is a British retired senior police officer who served as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2017 to 2022. She is both the first female and first openly homosexual officer to lead the Me ...

(b. 1960), former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police *

Sian Edwards Sian Edwards (born 27 August 1959) is an English conductor, best known as music director of English National Opera in the 1990s. Early life Sian Edwards was born in West Chiltington, West Sussex. She studied at the Royal Northern College of Mus ...

, conductor *

Martha Lane Fox Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, (born 10 February 1973) is a British businesswoman, philanthropist, and public servant. She co-founded Last Minute during the dotcom boom of the early 2000s and has subsequently served on public ser ...

, entrepreneur lastminute.com *

Mel Giedroyc Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc (; , born 5 June 1968) is a British actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including ''Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, ''The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC and c ...

, actress/comedian * Lucy Gordon, actress/model *

Emily Gowers Emily Joanna Gowers, ( Thomas; born 27 September 1963) is a British classical scholar. She is Professor of Latin Literature at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. She is an expert on Horace, Augustan li ...

, Professor of Latin literature at the University of Cambridge *

Sophie Grigson Hester Sophia Frances Grigson (born 19 June 1959) is an English cookery writer and celebrity cook. She has followed the same path and career as her mother, Jane Grigson. Her father was the poet and writer Geoffrey Grigson, and her half-brother ...

, cookery TV/writer * Ethel Hatch, British painter * Dame Margaret Hodge, Labour MP and minister *

Florence Pugh Florence Pugh ( ; born 3 January 1996) is an English actress. She made her acting debut in 2014 in the drama film '' The Falling''. Pugh gained recognition in 2016 for her leading role as a young bride in the independent drama ''Lady Macbeth' ...

, actress * Verena Winifred Holmes, engineer *

Harriet Hunt Harriet Vaughan Hunt (born 4 February 1978 in Oxford) is an English chess player and five-time British Women's Chess Champion (which she most recently won in October 2021, 22 years after her fourth win). Having trained as a plant scientist a ...

, chess International Master *

Elizabeth Irving Dorothea Elizabeth Irving, Lady Brunner, OBE, JP (14 April 1904 – 9 January 2003), was a British actress, the daughter of actors H. B. Irving and Dorothea Baird, and the granddaughter of Victorian era stage star Henry Irving. Her older broth ...

, actress and founder of the

Keep Britain Tidy Keep Britain Tidy is a UK-based independent environmental charity. The organisation campaigns to reduce litter, improve local places and prevent waste. It has offices in Wigan and London. History Keep Britain Tidy was originally set up by a conf ...

Campaign * Elizabeth Jennings (1926–2001), poet * Ludmilla Jordanova, Professor of Modern History at the King's College London *

Frances Kirwan Dame Frances Clare Kirwan, (born 21 August 1959) is a British mathematician, currently Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford. Her fields of specialisation are algebraic and symplectic geometry. Education Kirwan was educ ...

mathematician * Susan Lea Professor at the University of Oxford *

Anna Lapwood Anna Lapwood (born 28 July 1995) is an organist, conductor and television and radio presenter, currently Director of Music at and Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. On appointment she was the youngest person to hold the position of Director ...

, Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge and television/radio presenter *

Dame Rose Macaulay Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay, (1 August 1881 – 30 October 1958) was an English writer, most noted for her award-winning novel ''The Towers of Trebizond'', about a small Anglo-Catholic group crossing Turkey by camel. The story is seen as a spiritua ...

, novelist * Serena Mackesy, journalist and author *

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The ...

, (b. 1941), actress *

Ghislaine Maxwell Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell ( ; born 25 December 1961) is a British convicted sex offender and former socialite. In 2021, she was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with the financier and convicted sex o ...

, (junior section, left age 9), socialite and convicted child sex trafficker * Charlotte Mendelson (b. 1972), novelist * Anne Mills ,

health economist Health economics is a branch of economics concerned with issues related to efficiency, effectiveness, value and behavior in the production and consumption of health and healthcare. Health economics is important in determining how to impr ...

* Teresa Morgan, academic *

Eleanor Oldroyd Eleanor Oldroyd (born in Bury, Lancashire, 2 June 1962) is a British sports broadcaster with BBC Radio. Early life Oldroyd was educated at Oxford High School and Girton College at Cambridge University. Broadcasting career Beginning her career ...

, BBC Radio Sport presenter * Ann Pasternak Slater, academic *

Eileen Power Eileen Edna Le Poer Power (9 January 18898 August 1940) was a British economic historian and medievalist. Early life and education Eileen Power was the eldest daughter of a stockbroker and was born at Altrincham, Cheshire (now part of Great ...

(1889–1940), economic historian and medievalist *

Rhoda Power Rhoda Dolores Le Poer Power (29 May 1890 in Altrincham, Cheshire – 9 March 1957 in London), was a pioneer English broadcaster and children's writer. The highly regarded set of stories that make up ''Redcap Runs Away'' (1952) are set in the Mid ...

(1890–1957), broadcaster and children's writer *

Dame Maggie Smith ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zeala ...

, double Oscar-winning actress, seven times BAFTA Film Awards winner, Triple Crown of Acting *

Barbara Strachey Barbara Halpern Strachey (17 July 1912 – 15 October 1999 in Oxford, England) was a British author. Barbara Strachey was born to parents Oliver Strachey, a cryptographer in World War I and World War II, and the feminist politician, writer, and ...

(1912–1999), broadcaster and writer *

Catherine Tucker Catherine Tucker (born May 16, 1977) is the Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management at MIT Sloan, where she is also chair of the PhD program. She is known for her research into the consequences of digital data for electronic privacy, algorit ...

, American economist *

Ayesha Vardag Ayesha Mary Barbara Vardag (born March 1968) is an English solicitor and divorce lawyer. Early life Vardag was raised in Oxfordshire, England and studied Law at Queens' College, Cambridge with Duke of Edinburgh award for membership of the Inn ...

, Founder & President of Vardags, divorce lawyer * Anna Walker, British civil servant

References

External links

School Website

on the school website.
Profile
on the

ISC #REDIRECT ISC {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

website {{Coord, 51, 46, 24, N, 1, 15, 34, W, type:edu_region:GB, display=title Girls' schools in Oxfordshire Educational institutions established in 1875 Schools in Oxford Independent schools in Oxfordshire Schools of the Girls' Day School Trust 1875 establishments in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association