Stamford High School, founded in 1877, was an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for girls in Stamford,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England. It was a sister school to the boys' Stamford School. In 2023, the two schools were merged to form one co-educational Stamford School.

Education

Stamford High School provided education for students aged 11 (year 7) to 18 (year 13). From 2000 until 2023, sixth-form teaching was carried out jointly with Stamford School. The school belonged to the Stamford Endowed Schools, a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...

History

The school was formally opened on 6 December 1877 by the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

Richard Cross Richard Cross is the name of: Politicians *Richard Cross (died c. 1438), MP for Reading (UK Parliament constituency) *R. A. Cross, 1st Viscount Cross (1823–1914), British statesman and Conservative politician Others *Richard Cross (actor) (fl. ...

and called Browne’s Middle School for Girls. Also in attendance were the Marquess and Marchioness of Exeter, the Mayor of Stamford, the MP for Stamford, and the Bishop of Peterborough. The school stood on its original site on High Street, St Martin's, in the part of the town of Stamford south of the River Welland. The building was erected on the site of the old Daniel Lambert Inn. The funds for the foundation of the high school were appropriated from the endowment of Browne's Hospital by Act of Parliament in 1871, from a trust by William Browne for the relief of poverty. William Browne (1410–1489) had been a wealthy wool merchant and alderman of the town of Stamford. In 1888, the school's name was changed to Stamford High School for Girls on Browne’s Foundation.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 117 girls from the coeducational Mundella Grammar School were evacuated to Stamford. They arrived by train on 5 September 1939 and returned on 12 March 1940. In September 1939, 352 girls from the Camden School for Girls were evacuated to

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

in Rutland but this did not work out and, in October 1939, the Camden girls were subsequently moved to the market town of

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

to be educated at Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School. After 5 terms in Grantham, the Camden girls were relocated to Stamford in March 1941. The girls stayed in Stamford for seven additional terms, leaving the school in summer 1943. Stamford girls were unaccustomed to the city dwellers and Camden girls' distinctive green school uniform stood out in the town.

Merger

In recent years, Stamford High School and the boys' Stamford School were united under the leadership of a single principal as the Stamford Endowed Schools, with sixth-form teaching carried out jointly between Stamford School and Stamford High School. Stamford Endowed Schools as an organisation also included Stamford Junior School, a co-educational establishment for pupils aged between 2 and 11 years (the two other school taught pupils aged 11–18). Stamford Endowed Schools became co-educational from September 2023 and fully co-educational in every year group from 2024. The old Stamford High School site is now used as a bespoke sixth-form campus, named 'St Martin's'.

School traditions

The school had a

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...

for all students with houses named after famous heroines: Cavell, Beale, Anderson and Eliot. When the school merged with Stamford School, the houses from both schools were also merged with Beale and Anderson becoming years 7–9 houses and Eliot and Cavell becoming years 10–13 houses.

Notable former pupils

Former pupils of the school include: * Izzy Bizu, singer-songwriter * Sarah Cawood * Lucy Cohu, actress * Paule Constable, stage lighting designer * Rae Earl * Anita Ganeri, children's author * Daphne Ledward, '' Gardeners' Question Time'' panellist * Claire Lomas * Sarah Outen, first woman to row solo across the Indian Ocean

References

External links

Official website

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stamford High School, Lincolnshire Educational institutions established in 1877 Private schools in Lincolnshire Girls' schools in Lincolnshire Buildings and structures in Stamford, Lincolnshire Education in Stamford, Lincolnshire Boarding schools in Lincolnshire 1877 establishments in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association * Diamond schools