James Allen's Girls' School, abbreviated JAGS, is a private day school situated in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, England. Founded in 1741, it is the second oldest girls’ independent school in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, with

Godolphin School Godolphin School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, 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 an ...

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

Edward Alleyn Edward Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an England, 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 Foundation (charity), charity founded in 1619 by the Elizabethan actor and businessman Edward Alleyn who endowed it with the ancient Manor of Dulwich in so ...

charitable foundation, which also included

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, independent, 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 foundatio ...

and

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

. 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.

History

1741: Dulwich Reading School

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 Essex 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 WWII (Sept.1939) to Walthamstow Hall 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 (born 1975), GB athlete *

Ella Balinska Ella Balinska (born 4 October 1996) is an English actress who starred 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 4 October 1996 ...

(born 1996), actress * Winifred Brenchley (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 17 January 1994) is an American-born English actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she made her professional debut as the young Beatrix Potter in ''Miss Potter'' (2006). She appeared in television productions ...

(born 1994), actress *

Claire Coutinho Claire Coryl Julia Coutinho (; born 8 July 1985) is a British politician and former investment banker who has been Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Shadow Minister for Equalities since 2024. A member of the Cons ...

(born 1985), shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero * Dharshini David, economist and BBC 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 Daisy Haggard (born 1978) is an English actress and writer. She gained prominence through her roles in the BBC sitcoms ''Uncle'' (2014–2017) and ''Episodes'' (2011–2017). With Laura Solon, she co-wrote and starred in the BBC Three comedy-d ...

(born 1978), actress *

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress of stage and screen. She began her career on stage and then moved into film, for which she has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominatio ...

(born 1976), film actress ('' Happy-Go-Lucky''; ''

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''), Silver Bear Award and

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winner, star of TV adverts, numerous radio programmes including ''

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'' on

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* Alakina Mann (born 1990), actress * Charlotte Ritchie (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 ar ...

, actress (''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'', '' Fresh Meat'', ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'') * Fiona Ross (nurse) (born 1951), nurse and academic *

Mary Patricia Shepherd Mary Patricia Shepherd (4 July 1933 – 20 October 2003) was a British thoracic surgeon who worked at Harefield Hospital in London. She is known for her research on plombage, Membrane oxygenator, membrane oxygenation, and Diaphragm (anatomy), diaph ...

(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 (born 1977), TV producer

References

External links

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