("Dare to be Wise") , established = , closed = , type =

Grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

, religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Ian Keary , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Sarah Beeching , founders = Thomas and John Tiffin , address = Richmond Road , city =

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

, county =

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, country =

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 ...

, postcode = KT2 5PL , ofsted = yes , dfeno = 314/4010 , urn = 136615 , staff = 72 , enrolment = approx. 1200 , capacity = 1001 , gender = Girls , lower_age = 11 , upper_age = 18 , houses = Bebbington, Flavell, Nicolle, Orford, Schofield, Watson , colours = Blue and white , publication = , free_label_1 = Former pupils , free_1 = Tiffin Old Girls' / Tiffin Girls' alumnae , free_label_2 = , free_2 = , free_label_3 = , free_3 = , website = http://www.tiffingirls.org/ Tiffin Girls' School is a girls' selective school in

, south-west

, England; it moved from

voluntary aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

status to become an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in 2011.

History

The Tiffin name is borrowed from Thomas and John Tiffin, prosperous brewers in the early seventeenth century, who left money in their wills for the education of the poor. The money was first used for

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

s for one or two boys to attend an existing private school but, thanks to investment and donations from other local benefactors, nearly 100 children were benefiting from the charitable fund by the 1820s. By 1869, when the charity schools had closed and the money was no longer needed by the Public Elementary School, the Trustees proposed to dedicate the Tiffin money exclusively to

Kingston Grammar School Kingston Grammar School is an independent co-educational day school in Kingston upon Thames, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.

. The dispute that ensued went on until 1872 when it was ruled that the Grammar School should not receive more than a quarter of the income from charities. In 1874, plans were drawn up for two new schools, a Tiffins' School for boys and one for girls, each to take 150 pupils. The Tiffin Girls' School was originally called The Tiffin's Girls' School, but the name was changed as it caused some confusion. The single building by "The Fairfield" (now recreational cricket ovals), which housed both schools, was completed in 1879 and opened in 1880. Rhoda Ward Fysh was appointed as the girls' school's first headmistress. After fifty years in a previous building in Richmond Road, the school moved to its present site, also in Richmond Road, in 1987. The building had previously been occupied by The Tudor School which was closed by the local authority in 1986. In 1999, the school benefited from a £500,000

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...

Lottery Fund Grant. This, combined with fundraising from the school, enhanced the sports facilities for both school and community use. Improvements included a floodlit all-weather astro turf for hockey, floodlit netball/tennis courts and refurbished changing facilities as well as a community sports development programme for after school, weekends and holidays. On 15 December 2003, a fire caused by a short circuit due to a leak in the roof burned down a large portion of the main building. The Tiffin Fire Appeal raised a significant amount of money for rebuilding. The new part of the school was completed in 2006. The new wing was named the Holdsworth Wing after the retired Chair of Governors, Sandra Holdsworth. The construction of a new drama studio was completed in 2007. The school raised money for a new music studio, which opened in September 2009. The school became an

on 1 April 2011.

Present day

There are approximately 1,200 pupils aged between 11 and 18, including approximately 300 in the sixth form. They are split into six houses – Bebbington (Red), Flavell (Yellow), Schofield (Blue), Watson (Green), Orford (Orange) and Nicolle (Purple). All are named after former headmistresses of the school. Prior to 2012 pupils were split into house groups according to their forms (i.e. 10A, 11B etc.) until sixth form. From 2012 to 2016, forms were made up of girls of different houses. From 2016, the form system has reverted to girls of the same house. Pupils earn points towards the house competition in events such as the school birthday (last day before February half term) and sports day. The house competition used to run throughout one academic year, but in 2008 was changed to run from Easter to Easter in order to allow the current House Officers to enjoy their victory. The house with the most points wins the Belitha trophy (donated by Edward Belitha).

Curriculum

Pupils in Years 7–9 study Maths, English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Religious Studies, Spanish, French, Latin, Design and Technology, Art, Computing, Music, Geography, History, PE and Drama. There is also one period of PSHE and Citizenship each week. In Years 10 and 11, pupils continue 10 subjects to GCSE level. All GCSEs are sat at the end of Year 11. English Language, English Literature, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths are compulsory. This leaves four options to be chosen, of which one must be a modern language (French or Spanish). Girls also take core PE lessons and have one period a week for PSHE and Citizenship. In Year 12, pupils choose four subjects to begin their A level studies. Subjects follow A Level specifications with the exception of Music which follows the Pre-U course. At the end of Year 12, girls drop one subject, taking forward three subjects to A level.

Admissions

Entry into the school is by academic selection, using a Mathematics and English test and the school prioritises girls from its

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

. Prior to 2012, the tests were both verbal and non-verbal reasoning, with a Mathematics and English test being added that year. From 2015 both rounds of tests were in Mathematics and English and the school added further priority to girls with pupil premium funding from its catchment area. 180 children are admitted to the school each year, this number being increased from 150.

Notable former pupils

Elspeth Attwooll Elspeth Attwooll (born 1 February 1943) is a Scottish retired Liberal Democrat politician. She is a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Scotland. She stood for parliament in Glasgow Maryhill in every general election from Oc ...

, Lib Dem MEP for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Sophie Bray Sophie Charlotte Bray, (born 12 May 1990) is an English international field hockey player who played as a forward for England and Great Britain. She currently plays club hockey in the Investec Women's Hockey League Premier Division for East G ...

, British

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player who competed for

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

at the 2016 Summer Olympics. *

Alison Cooper Alison Jane Cooper (born 31 March 1966) is a British businesswoman. She is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Imperial Brands, the world's fourth-largest tobacco company as measured by market share. In February 2020, it was announced th ...

, businesswoman, chief executive of

Imperial Tobacco Imperial Brands plc (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc), is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Mo ...

Jan Etherington Jan Etherington is a British writer, journalist and producer. Early life She attended Tiffin Girls' School. Career She first came to prominence as creator and writer of '' Second Thoughts'' along with her husband Gavin Petrie. ''Second Thoughts' ...

, writer and producer *

Lisa Faulkner Lisa Tamsin Faulkner (born 19 February 1972) is an actress, presenter and celebrity chef. Early life Faulkner was born in Merton, London, to David Faulkner and Julie (née Day). She lived in Esher and was educated at Tiffin Girls' School in ...

, actress * Barbara C. Freeman, author and illustrator *

Jill Gascoigne Jill Viola Gascoine (11 April 1937 – 28 April 2020) was an English actress and novelist. She portrayed Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the 1980s television series ''The Gentle Touch'' and its spin-off series '' C.A.T.S. Eyes''. In the 1 ...

, actress *

Phyllis Ginger Phyllis Ethel Ginger (19 October 1907 – 3 May 2005) was a British artist and illustrator who, although she had a long career in several different media, is now best known for the topographical watercolours she produced during the Second Worl ...

, artist * Chloe Hayward, fashion model * Amy Hoggart, comedian and actress *

Kim Ismay Kim Ismay is a British actress and singer and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She is perhaps best known for playing the role of Tanya in the London production of the stage musical '' Mamma Mia!'', Madame Morrible in the internati ...

, actress *

Asha Leo Asha Leo (born 5 January 1982) is a British fashion model and television presenter of Welsh and Indian descent. Career She was discovered at the age of 13, which lead her becoming a model. Upon moving to America, Leo hosted ''The Brit List'' o ...

, model/presenter *

Ingrid Oliver Ingrid Oliver (born 25 February 1977) is a British actress and comedian, and one half of the comic double act '' Watson & Oliver''. She is known for playing Petronella Osgood, a supporting character in the BBC television series '' Doctor Who'' ...

, comedian and actress *

Katherine Parkinson Katherine Jane Parkinson (born 9 March 1978) is an English actress. She appeared in Channel 4's '' The IT Crowd'' comedy series as Jen Barber, for which she received a British Comedy Best TV Actress Award in 2009 and 2014, and was nominated twice ...

, actress *

Sophy Ridge Sophy Arabella Ridge (born 17 October 1984) is an English broadcast journalist. She currently works for Sky News and has presented ''Sophy Ridge on Sunday'' since 2017, (and can be accessehere. In 2022, she launched ''The Take with Sophy Ridge' ...

, Sky News Senior Political Correspondent * Rosianna Halse Rojas, Youtuber *

Lynne Truss Lynne Truss (born 31 May 1955) is an English author, journalist, novelist, and radio broadcaster and dramatist. She is arguably best known for her championing of correctness and aesthetics in the English language, which is the subject of her ...

, author *

Lorna Watson Lorna Watson (born 1977) is a British comedian, actress and television presenter. She was one of the presenters of ''Spy School''. Her acting roles include various characters in television sketch shows ''Rush Hour'', ''The Wrong Door'' and '' ...

, comedian and actress *

Sarah Winckless Sarah Katharine Winckless (born 18 October 1973) is a British former rower. She won a bronze medal in Double sculls with her partner Elise Laverick at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and was twice world champion, in 2005 and 2006. Early life an ...

, bronze medal winner at 2004 Olympics in women's double sculls"Newsletter of the Old Tiffinians’ Association"
No. 221, September 2004

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Girls' schools in London Educational institutions established in 1880 Grammar schools in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Academies in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames 1880 establishments in England