Norwich High School for Girls is an independent day school for girls aged 3 to 18 in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
, England. The school was founded in 1875 by the
Girls’ Public Day School Company (now the
Girls' Day School Trust
The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each yea ...
), which aimed to establish schools for girls of all classes by providing a high standard of academic, moral and religious education. The school is a member of the
Girls’ Schools Association and the
Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference. The school consistently has one of the best academic results in East Anglia.
Entry into the school is selective at 4+, 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+.
History and location
Norwich High School for Girls was founded in 1875 as the first
GPDST school outside London. Originally situated at the
Assembly House, Norwich, the school moved to its present location Eaton Grove, 95 Newmarket Road in 1933. Eaton Grove is Grade II listed. The school occupies several buildings, all of which were originally private houses; Stafford House (preparatory school), Eaton Grove (senior school) and Lanchester House (sixth form).
Year naming
Norwich High School uses its own nomenclature for the year groups.
Stafford House
*Nursery (ages 3–4)
*Reception (ages 4–5)
*Kindergarten (aged 5–6)
*Lower I (ages 6–7)
*Upper I (ages 7–8)
*Lower II (ages 8–9)
*Upper II (ages 9–10)
*Lower III (ages 10–11)
Eaton Grove
*Upper III (ages 11–12)
*Lower IV (ages 12–13)
*Upper IV (ages 13–14)
*Lower V (ages 14–15)
*Upper V (ages 15–16)
Lanchester House
*Lower VI - Sixth Form (ages 16–17)
*Upper VI - Sixth Form (ages 17–18)
School Life
In Upper III (Year 7) and below all pupils study a broad curriculum including Latin and two modern languages. Pupils are required to take at least nine General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and IGCSE subjects in Lower V (Year 10) and Upper V (Year 11). In the sixth form, pupils usually study four or five AS-Level subjects for one year and most continue with three subjects to A-Level. Many students take the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). In total, there are 24 subjects offered at A-Level. Academically, the school is one of the highest performing independent schools in East Anglia.
Facilities
The school's facilities include a sports hall, performing arts studio, main hall (including stage), junior school hall, rowing gym, outdoor theatre, lecture theatre, boardroom, 25-metre swimming pool, 13 acres of playing fields, fitness suite, 8 tennis courts and 1 astro turf.
Scholarships
Academic scholarships and means-tested bursaries are offered upon entry to Upper III and Lower VI. The scholarships offered in Upper III are music scholarships based on the performance of the candidate in an audition and academic scholarships on their performance in the transfer or entrance to the senior school examination, whereas the scholarships offered in Lower VI are based on the performance in an optional examination based on English, Mathematics, Science and a foreign language of the candidate's choice from French, German or Spanish.
Notable former pupils
Academia
* Prof
Jane Shaw
Jane Alison Shaw (born 1963) is Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford, Professor of the History of Religion, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford. Previously she was Professor of Religious Studies and Dean of Religiou ...
(born 1963) – Principal of
Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of t ...
, Professor of the History of Religion, and Pro-Vice Chancellor at
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
*
Joyce Lambert
Joyce Mildred Lambert (23 June 1916 – 4 May 2005) was a British botanist and ecologist. She is credited with proving that the Norfolk Broads were man-made.
Early life
Joyce Lambert was born on 23 June 1916 at 50 Oakbank Grove, Herne Hill, ...
(1916–2005) – botanist
*
Dr Jennifer Moyle - scientist
* Dame Prof
Shirley Pearce
Dame Shirley Anne Pearce (born February 1954) is a British academic and psychologist. She is Chair of Court and Council at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a member of the Higher Education Quality Assurance Panel for the ...
(born 1954) – former Vice-Chancellor of
Loughborough University
Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when ...
and former professor at
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
Literature
*
Pat Barr (writer)
Pat Barr (25 April 1934 – 20 March 2018) was a British novelist, writer of social history and journalist. She was born in Norwich, attended Norwich High School for Girls and studied English at the University of Birmingham. She worked as a t ...
(1934-2018) - author
*
Raffaella Barker
Raffaella Flora Barker (born 24 November 1964) is an English author. Born in London, she moved when she was three and was brought up in the Norfolk countryside. She is the one of the poet George Barker's fifteen children, the eldest of the five h ...
(born 1964) - author and journalist
*
Nina Bawden (1925–2012) – novelist and writer of children's books
*
Jane Hissey (born 1952) – illustrator and author
*
Stella Tillyard
Stella Tillyard FRSL (born 1957) is an English author and historian, educated at Oxford and Harvard Universities and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 1999 her bestselling book ''Aristocrats'' was made into a six-part series for ...
(born 1957) - author
Music
*
Diana Burrell
Diana Elizabeth Jane Burrell (born 25 October 1948) is an English composer and viola player.
Life and career
Burrell was born on 25 October 1948 in Norwich, England. Her parents were Bernard Burrell, a schoolteacher by profession who served as ...
(born 1948) – composer
*
Jane Manning
Jane Marian Manning OBE (20 September 193831 March 2021) was an English concert and opera soprano, writer on music, and visiting professor at the Royal College of Music. A specialist in contemporary classical music, she was described by one crit ...
(1938–2021) – opera singer
*
Elizabeth Watts
Elizabeth Watts (born 1979) is an English operatic soprano.
Watts was born in Norwich and attended Norwich High School for Girls. She studied archaeology at Sheffield University and graduated with first class honours. Beginning in 2002, she stud ...
(born 1979) - soprano
Media
*
Becky Mantin
Rebecca Mantin (born 18 October 1980 in Norwich, Norfolk) is an English TV presenter and weather presenter and forecaster for ITV Weather. (born 1980) – television presenter
*
Anne Weale
Jay Blakeney (20 June 1929 – 24 October 2007) was a British writer and newspaper reporter, well known as a romance novelist under the pen names Anne Weale and Andrea Blake. She wrote over 88 books for Mills & Boon from 1955 to 2002. She died ...
(born 1929) - novelist and reporter
Performing Arts
*
Olivia Colman
Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. Known for her comedic and dramatic roles in film and television, she has received various accolades, including an Academy A ...
(born 1974) – actress
*
Hannah Waterman (born 1975) – actress
Politics
*
Dorothy Jewson
Dorothea Jewson (17 August 1884 – 29 February 1964), better known as Dorothy Jewson, was a British teacher, trade union organiser, Labour Party politician, and one of her party's first female Members of Parliament. Whilst at Girton College, Ca ...
(1884–1964) – Labour politician
*
Alice Walpole (born 1963) - United Nations Assistant Secretary General
Sports
*
Sophie Hemming
Sophie Alexandra Hemming (born 20 June 1980) was an English rugby union player with 71 caps. She represented at the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup and was also named in the squad to the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup. She also won the RFU Linda ...
(born 1980) - England rugby union player
*
Emma Pooley (born 1982) – cyclist who won a silver medal at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
*
Victoria Williamson (born 1993) – track cyclist
World War One
*
Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Be ...
(born 1865) – nurse, executed by Germans in 1915
Headteachers
*Miss
Ada Benson (1875)
*Miss Wills (from 1875)
*Miss A. M. Tapson (early 1880s)
*Miss Lizzie Gadesden (1884 to 1907, previously head of Newton Abbot High School, died 1918)
*Miss Gertrude Mary Wise
JP (1907 to 1928, previously head of
Shrewsbury High School, died January 1935)
*Miss Elsie Pringle Jameson (1928 to 1946, born 1880, died 1958)
*Miss Prunella Riviere Bodington (1946 to 1953, later head of
South Hampstead High School, born 1907, died 1984)
*Miss Dorothy Bartholomew (to December 1976, died September 2011)
*Miss Rhoda H. M. Standeven (January 1976 to September 1985)
[''The Times'', 17 April 1985, Issue 62114, p. 16, col. C]
*Mrs Valerie Bidwell (from September 1985 to July 2010)
[
*Mr Jason Morrow (First Male Headteacher; September 2010 to 2015)
*Mrs Kirsty von Malaisé (from September 2015 to August 2020)
*Miss Alison Sefton (September 2020 to present)
]
Controversy
In July 2017, Robin Malton, who taught at the school in 2000–2016, was given an indefinite prohibition order by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) for sending inappropriate messages to young vulnerable students.
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*Bodington, Miss P. R., ''Norwich High school 1875–1950'' (Norwich High School, 1950)
*Brodie, Alan, ''Memories, Milestones and Miscellanies: 125 years of Norwich High School for Girls'' (Norwich High School for Girls, 2003)
External links
School Website
*ISI
ISI or Isi may refer to:
Organizations
* Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students
* Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks
* Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...
Inspectio
Reports
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1875
Schools in Norwich
Independent schools in Norfolk
Girls' schools in Norfolk
Schools of the Girls' Day School Trust
Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association
1875 establishments in England