James Allen's Girls' School, abbreviated JAGS, is an independent day school situated in Dulwich,

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sut ...

, England. It is the second oldest girls’ independent school in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

Godolphin School Godolphin School is an independent boarding and day school for girls in Salisbury, England, which was founded in 1726 and opened in 1784. The school educates girls between the ages of three and eighteen. History Godolphin was founded by Eliz ...

in Salisbury being the oldest, founded in 1726. It is a registered charity and was originally part of

Edward Alleyn Edward "Ned" Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. Early life Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bishop ...

College of God's Gift The College of God's Gift, often referred to as the Old (Dulwich) College, was a historic charity founded in 1619 by the Elizabethan actor and businessman Edward Alleyn who endowed it with the ancient Manor of Dulwich in south London. In 1857 it ...

charitable foundation, which also included

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...

and

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

. It has a senior school for 11- to 18-year-old girls, a prep school for 7- to 11-year-old girls (James Allen's Preparatory School), and a pre-preparatory school for 4- to 7-year-old girls. It is the sister school of

and

Alleyn's Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...

History

1741: Dulwich Reading School

Dulwich village in the late 19th century, showing The French Horn Inn, previously called The Bricklayer's Arms

In 1604 the hamlet of Dulwich, its name recorded well before the Norman Conquests, was bought by the Elizabethan actor and entrepreneur,

, for £4,900. Fourteen years later, Alleyn invested his fortune establishing the

, buying land for a school, a chapel and the alms houses in Dulwich. In June 1741 James Allen, Master of the College of God's Gift from 1723, founded the original Reading School for poor children, both boys and girls living in Dulwich. The Dulwich Reading School started in two rooms in the Bricklayer’s Arms, later called The French Horn in Dulwich Village. The boys were taught to read as preparation for entry to Dulwich College and the girls to read and sew.

Early 1800s: Dulwich Free School

By the 1800s it was known as the Dulwich Free School. Classes were growing in size and moved into an empty old inn building near the village crossroads and was renamed the Dulwich Free School.

1842: Dulwich Girls’ School

The school continued to grow and when the College was reorganised in the 1840s, the boys were moved, leaving the Free School with improved teaching for the girls from 1842. It was renamed The Dulwich Girls’ School with mostly local girls as pupils. It was housed in the building now inhabited by Dulwich Hamlet School.

1878: James Allen’s Girls’ School

The school became known as James Allen’s Girls’ School in 1878 and finally moved with 141 pupils to its present site in East Dulwich Grove in 1886 with Miss Bettany as its first Headmistress. Botany Gardens were created in the school grounds soon after Dr Lilian Clarke joined the staff in 1895. It was the first such experiment by a school in this country. In 1902 the first school laboratory equipped solely for botanical study was opened. She was a pioneer and influential in science teaching nationally. In 1890 the school roll had grown to 200 and the curriculum expanded.

20th century

In the early 20th century,

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

worked at the school as a singing master, and his friend

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

worked as music teacher at JAGS from 1904 for 16 years. Holst collaborated on Tennyson’s Songs from the Princess while at JAGS. He stopped teaching there in 1920 but maintained a close connection with the school. Choral music and singing developed into a core part of school life. By 1916 a school orchestra emerged for the first time and in 1920 JAGS girls participated in Holst’s 4th Thaxted Festival in Suffolk as a farewell to the composer. A series of stained glass windows was installed in 1969 in the Holst Hall. Sports Mistress Mildred Knott was appointed in 1921; she was an excellent hockey player who became captain of the England hockey team. The school was evacuated at the beginning of the war to

Walthamstow Hall Walthamstow Hall is an independent day school for girls in the centre of Sevenoaks, Kent, England. History Walthamstow Hall was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest all-girl independent schools in the country. It was founded as an inter-d ...

school in Sevenoaks, Kent but in May 1940 returned to Dulwich. In the 1950s and 60s JAGS expanded and community work was popular. Under Miss Prissian a new theatre was opened by Jonathan Miller in 1983; the first girls’ school to have a purpose built theatre. The 1990s saw a great deal of building work in the school, Community Action was developed and links with local state schools were established.

21st century

A new Community Music Centre was officially opened in 2018. The ''Vaughan Williams Auditorium'' was named after the composer who worked at the school.

Notable former pupils

Shani Anderson Shani Anderson was born on 7 August 1975 in St Vincent and was a resident of Catford, London. She competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 4 × 100 m relay and the 100m. Shani now coaches athletics from club to Olympic level and started her ...

(born 1975), GB athlete *

Ella Balinska Ella Balinska (born 4 October 1996) is an English actress. She is known for starring in the action-comedy film ''Charlie's Angels'' (2019) and the Netflix original series ''Resident Evil'' (2022). Early life and education Balinska was born on ...

(born 1996), actress *

Winifred Brenchley Winifred Elsie Brenchley OBE, DSc (Lond), FLS, FRES (1883–1953), an agricultural botanist who worked at the Rothamsted Research Station. Along with Katherine Warington, she demonstrated the role of boron as an essential micronutrient for plant ...

(1883–1953), botanist *

Anita Brookner Anita Brookner (16 July 1928 – 10 March 2016) was an English novelist and art historian. She was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge from 1967 to 1968 and was the first woman to hold this visiting professorship. She ...

(1928–2016), Booker Prize–winning author *

Lucy Boynton Lucy Boynton (born January 17, 1994) is a British-American actress. Raised in London, she made her professional debut as the young Beatrix Potter in ''Miss Potter'' (2006). She starred in television productions ''Ballet Shoes'' (2007), ''Sense a ...

(born 1994), actress *

Dharshini David Dharshini David is a British author, economist and broadcaster. After working at HSBC, BBC News and Tesco, she became a business correspondent and news presenter for Sky News in 2009. She returned to the BBC in 2018. Early life David was b ...

, economist and broadcaster *

Marion Delf-Smith Ellen Marion Delf-Smith FLS (née Delf, 31 January 1883 – 23 February 1980) was a British botanist. Biography Ellen Marion Delf was born to Thomas William Herbert Delf, a secretary, and Catherine Mary Delf (née Bridges) on 31 January 1883 ...

(1883–1980), botanist *

Daisy Haggard Celia Daisy Morna Haggard (born 1978) is a British actress and writer. She is known for her roles in the BBC sitcoms ''Uncle'' and '' Episodes''. Haggard stars in BBC Three’s comedy-drama, '' Back to Life'', which she also created and co-wro ...

(born 1978), actress * Sally Hawkins (born 1976), film actress ('' Happy-Go-Lucky''; ''

Made in Dagenham ''Made in Dagenham'' is a 2010 British comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole and starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays and Richard Schiff. It ...

''), Silver Bear Award and

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

winner, star of TV adverts, numerous radio programmes including '' Ed Reardon's Week'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

Alakina Mann ''The Others'' ( es, Los otros) is a 2001 English-language Spanish gothic supernatural psychological horror film written, directed, and scored by Alejandro Amenábar. It stars Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassi ...

(born 1990), actress *

Charlotte Ritchie Charlotte Anne Ritchie (born 29 August 1989) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Alison in ''Ghosts'', Oregon in Channel 4 comedy '' Fresh Meat'', Hannah in '' Siblings'', Alison in '' Dead Pixels'', Barbara Gilbe ...

(born 1989), member of the classical/pop group

All Angels All Angels were a British classical crossover group formed in 2006, consisting of Daisy Chute, Laura Wright, Rachel Fabri, Melanie Nakhla and actress Charlotte Ritchie. The group's style was classical crossover music and close harmony arr ...

, actress (''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Ha ...

'', '' Fresh Meat'') * Fiona Ross (nurse) (born 1951), nurse and academic * Mary Patricia Shepherd (1933–2003), thoracic surgeon * Lisa St Aubin de Terán (born 1953), author (briefly ) * Alison Stephens (1970–2010), mandolin player/composer * Clare Wigfall (born 1976), writer *

Beth Willis (producer) Beth Willis (born 1978) is a British television producer, although she has worked as a script editor on ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' and ''The Amazing Mrs Pritchard''. She was the producer of the BBC drama series '' Ashes to Ashes'', and was an ...

(born 1977), TV producer

References

External links

JAGS website
* {{authority control Independent girls' schools in London Educational institutions established in 1741 1741 establishments in England Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Independent schools in the London Borough of Southwark Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Dulwich Church of England independent schools in the Diocese of Southwark College of God's Gift