Withington Girls' 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 in

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...

, Manchester, United Kingdom, providing education for girls between the ages of seven and eighteen. Withington is a member of the

Girls' Schools Association The Girls' Schools Association (GSA) is a professional association of the heads of independent girls' schools. It is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council. History The GSA can trace its history back to the Association of Headm ...

and the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the United ...

. The school was founded in 1890 by a number of eminent Mancunians. It was named North West Independent School of the Decade by The Sunday Times in 2021. Withington consistently ranks as one of the top schools in the country for academic results.

History

Withington Girls' School was founded in 1890 by a group of eminent Manchester families who wanted the same educational opportunities for their daughters as were already available for their sons. Among the founders were Mrs Louisa Lejeune, the mother of C. A. Lejeune,

C. P. Scott Charles Prestwich Scott (26 October 1846 – 1 January 1932), usually cited as C. P. Scott, was a British journalist, publisher and politician. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the editor of the ''Manchester Guardian'' (now ''the Guardian'') ...

, Henry and Emily Simon,

Miss Caroline Herford Caroline Herford MBE, later Caroline Herford Blake (1860–1945) was an English educationist.M. E. Sadler, revised by M. C. Curthoys, 'Herford, William Henry', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004. Life Caroline Herford was born on 1 ...

and

Sir Adolphus Ward Sir Adolphus William Ward (2 December 1837 – 19 June 1924) was an English historian and man of letters. Life Ward was born at Hampstead, London, the son of John Ward. He was educated in Germany and at Peterhouse, Cambridge. In 1866, W ...

. There were four pupils in the beginning.

Present day

Over the years, the School has aimed to remain true in essence to the founders' principles. The school suffered a serious arson attack in August 2003, but took this as an opportunity to build new science labs, and has since built a new sixth form common room and additional classrooms.

School song

" Gaudeamus" is the school song and is sung each year at founders' day, accompanied by the school's orchestra.

Academic curriculum

The following subjects are available for all third form (first year/year seven) pupils: *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

Maths Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

*Two of French/German/Spanish *

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

* ICT *Food and Nutrition *History *

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

* Religious Studies *Drama and Theatre Studies *Art *Music As the girls move up the school, other subjects are available, including: *

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

*Classical Civilisation *Computer Science *Politics (

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 ...

only) *Economics (Sixth Form only) *

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

(Sixth Form only) *Philosophy (Sixth Form only)

Extra-curricular activities

Sport

Trampolinist Sasha Carter represented her country at international trampolining competitions. Withington won its first national lacrosse title at the 2022 National Schools competition when its U14 team claimed the top position.

Notable former pupils

Kate Abdo Kate Abdo (; born 8 September 1981, Manchester, England) is an English sports broadcaster who currently hosts UEFA Champions League coverage for CBS Sports and Fox Sports' FIFA World Cup Tonight. Throughout her career she has worked internation ...

, television presenter *

Julia Britton Julia Britton (27 June 1914 - 5 November 2012) was an Australian playwright. Britton was perhaps best known for her literary adaptations and biographical plays. Life Julia Britton was born Hilda Hartt in Romiley, Cheshire in 1914, the daughter ...

, playwright *

Sarah Burton Sarah Jane Burton (née Heard; born 1974) is an English fashion designer, currently creative director of fashion brand Alexander McQueen. She designed the wedding dress of Catherine Middleton for her wedding to Prince William in 2011. In 2012, ...

, creative director of the Alexander McQueen brand and designer of

Catherine Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

's wedding dress *

Judith Chalmers Judith Rosemary Locke Chalmers (born 10 October 1935) is a British television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme '' Wish You Were Here...?'' from 1974 to 2003. Early life Chalmers was born in Gatley, Cheshire. Her ...

, television presenter *

Mildred Creak Eleanor Mildred Creak (1 August 1898 – 25 August 1993) was an English child psychiatrist known for her work on autism and organic mental disorders. She began her career at Maudsley Hospital and later headed the psychiatric department at Grea ...

, child psychiatrist *

Marjorie Deane Marjorie Deane (1914 - 2 October 2008) was a British financial journalist and author, who worked for ''The Economist'' from 1947 to 1989, and has been called "a pathbreaker for female financial journalists" by Paul Volcker, the former chairman ...

(1914-2008), financial journalist *

Sarah Foot Sarah Rosamund Irvine Foot (born 23 February 1961) is an English Anglican priest and early medieval historian, currently serving as Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford. Early life and education Foot was bor ...

, medieval historian *

Jen Hadfield Jen Hadfield (born 1978) is a British poet and visual artist. She has published four poetry collections. Her first collection, ''Almanacs'', won an Eric Gregory Award in 2003. Hadfield is the youngest female poet to be awarded the TS Eliot Pri ...

, poet (Winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize for poetry 2008) * C. A. Lejeune, film critic *

Brenda Milner Brenda Milner (née Langford; July 15, 1918) is a British-Canadian neuropsychologist who has contributed extensively to the research literature on various topics in the field of clinical neuropsychology. Milner is a professor in the Department ...

, Canadian neuropsychologist * Joanna Natasegara, 2017 Oscar winner, documentary film-maker *

Christine Rice Christine Imogen Rice is an English operatic mezzo-soprano. She has performed across Europe at venues including the Royal Opera House, the Bavarian State Opera, the Frankurt Opera, the Teatro Real and the English National Opera. From 2004 to 20 ...

, opera singer, mezzo-soprano *

Stephen Whittle Stephen Thomas Whittle, (born 29 May 1955) is a British legal scholar and activist with the transgender activist group Press for Change. Since 2007, he has been Professor of Equalities Law in the School of Law at Manchester Metropolitan Univer ...

, Professor of Equalities Law, campaigner for transgender rights

References

Girl beats cancer in 2004

Academic success in 2003

Arson on 22 August 2003

External links

School website

Profile
on

{{Coord, 53.439, N, 2.226, W, type:edu, display=title Girls' schools in Greater Manchester Independent schools in Manchester Withington * Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association School buildings in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson Educational institutions established in 1890 1890 establishments in England