St George's School, Ascot is an independent girls' boarding and

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

Ascot, Berkshire Ascot () is a town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is south of Windsor, east of Bracknell and west of London. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the Royal Ascot meeti ...

, England. It was founded as a boys' school but later became a girls' school.

History

The school was founded in 1877 as a boys' preparatory school. Among its former pupils was the British war-time Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. In 1904, it became a

finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects the fact that it follows ordinary school and is intended to complete a young woman's ...

for girls, opened by Miss Pakenham-Walsh. In 1923, Miss Anne Loveday took over the school. In 1927, the school was recognised by the Department of Education. In 1932, the swimming pool was built, and in 1943, the sports facilities were extended with tennis courts and games field. From 1939 to 1945, the school functioned during the war and air raid shelters were made to give protection.

Facilities

St George’s, Ascot is located off the High Street in Ascot, Berkshire. The school is close to

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of to the south of the town of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, Windsor, Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park ...

and opposite the

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Grade ...

Boarding

Around half the girls are boarders. They are grouped by years and housed in three dormitories: Markham, Knatchbull and Loveday.

Extracurricular activities

The arts

The majority of students learn

musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

. The school has a variety of musical groups including: choirs,

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Ree ...

, strings,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

group and orchestra. Many students are involved in school productions and in house productions.

Athletics

All students must participate in the following

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s and activities:

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

, swimming,

rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a wooden, plastic, or metal bat that has a cylindrical end. The players score b ...

, athletics and squash. Students may choose to participate in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

, fitness,

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, Muscle, muscular strength, and ...

, modern stage, tap and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Notable former pupils

Princess Beatrice of York Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charles ...

* Lady Davina Lewis, older daughter of

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the youngest ...

* Lady Rose Gilman, younger daughter of Prince Richard * Susanna de Vries * Vivienne de Watteville * Manpreet Bambra, actress *Elaine Vagliano,

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, Chevalier; Croix de Guerre avec Palme; Medaille de la Résistance * Rebecca Gethings * Victoria Smurfit * Kimberley Garner, television personality and swimwear designer'' Country Life'', vol. 202 (2008), p. 75 ;Former boys' school; *Sir

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

* Niall Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll * Claud Schuster, 1st Baron Schuster * Harry Graf Kessler

References

External links

School WebsiteProfile
on the ISC website
Profile
on MyDaughter {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's School, Ascot Girls' schools in Berkshire Boarding schools in Berkshire Educational institutions established in 1877 Private schools in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead 1877 establishments in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Church of England private schools in the Diocese of Oxford Sunninghill and Ascot