St Mary's School, Worcester (also known as Worcester's Girls' School) was a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
day school for girls aged 0–18 (and boys aged 0–5) in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The school was located at a
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
mansion centered on a 15-acre campus. Following a surprise announcement that the school had become impossible to run partly due to recession, the school ceased operations at the end of the summer term 2014.
History
Building
The building which the school occupied, Battenhall Mount, dates back to the Victorian period and was built during the 1860s. It was taken over by Sir Percy Allsopp who extended the building, modeling it after the
Italianate style popularised by
Prince Albert
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*Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
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Royalty
* Albert I of Belgium ...
. His family business went bankrupt and the house was sold off. It was one of many stately mansions used as a convalescent home-cum-hospital during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
School
In between the wars, the house was put on sale. The Sisters of St Marie Madeleine Postel from
St Joseph's Convent School in
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
bought the property in 1934 and turned it into a school. Among its early pupils was Margaret Elgar, great-grandniece of composer
Sir Edward Elgar.
History
/ref>
The school comprised three divisions: Early Years (3 months – 4 years), the Preparatory School (4 – 11 years) and the Senior School (11 – 18 Years).
Notable former pupils
* Charlotte Jones, playwright and actress
* Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the ''New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''
* Rachel Campbell-Johnston
Rachel Campbell-Johnston (born October 1963) is ''The Times'' newspaper's chief art critic.
Appointed to her post in 2002, she has also been her newspaper's poetry editor, leader writer, deputy comment editor, obituary writer and deputy books ed ...
, art editor of ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''
References
External links
School Website
Profile
on MyDaughter
MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Schoo ...
Profile
on the ISC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's School, Worcester
Defunct schools in Worcestershire
Girls' schools in Worcestershire
Defunct Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham
Schools in Worcester, England
Educational institutions disestablished in 2014
2014 disestablishments in England