Cheltenham Ladies' College
| Cheltenham Ladies' College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
  Cheltenham Ladies' College Show map of Gloucestershire  Cheltenham Ladies' College Show map of England  Cheltenham Ladies' College Show map of the United Kingdom | |
Bayshill Road Cheltenham , Gloucestershire , GL50 3EP England | |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 51°53′52″N 2°4′53″W / 51.89778°N 2.08139°W / 51.89778; -2.08139 |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent school Boarding and day school |
| Motto | Cœlesti Luce Crescat (May she grow in Heavenly light) |
| Established | 1853 |
| Principal | Eve Jardine-Young |
| Staff | 215 |
| Gender | Girls |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 850 |
| Colour(s) | Green |
| Website | cheltladiescollege.org |
Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.
Contents
1 History
2 Structure and academic results
3 Houses
4 Co-curriculars
4.1 Music and Drama
4.2 Sports
5 Uniform
6 Admissions
7 Inspections
8 Notable staff
9 Notable pupils
9.1 The arts
9.2 Politics, law and civil service
9.3 Sciences, technology, engineering
9.4 Journalism and authors
9.5 Sports
9.6 Other
10 References
11 External links
History
The school was founded in 1853 after six individuals, including the Principal and Vice-Principal of Cheltenham College for Boys and four other men, decided to create a girls' school that would be similar to Cheltenham College for Boys. On 13 February 1854, the first 82 pupils began attending the school, with Annie Procter serving as the school's Principal.[1] In 1858, upon Procter resigning from her position, the Principal's post was taken by Dorothea Beale, a prominent suffragist educator who introduced subjects such as maths and science, despite parental opposition, and later founded St Hilda's College, Oxford. She was commemorated by a Cheltenham Civic Society blue plaque in 2017.[2]
The school badge depicts two doves, taken from the Cheltenham town coat of arms, above three stars, which are in turn above a daisy, a school symbol.
Structure and academic results
The school is divided into three divisions, Lower College (KS3), Upper College (KS4) and Sixth Form College (KS5). The school gives pupils a choice in what they study. A range of subject combinations is available to Upper College girls at GCSE, and for Sixth Form girls at A Level or International Baccalaureate (IB). Tutors are full-time academic members of staff and advise girls on matters relating to their academic work and progress, while the Professional Guidance Centre gives advice on career options and university applications.[3] Most pupils go on to continue higher education.
The school's academic results are high, both compared to the national average and within the independent sector. From 2014 to 2017, the school reported that over two thirds of A Level results and approximately 90% of GCSE results were A* or A grades.[4] Since 2015, the school has been the top girls boarding school in the country for IB results for three consecutive years.[5]
Members of an alumnae association of over 9,000 former pupils, across 80 different countries, keep in contact and offer work placements and careers advice.[6]
According to Vicky Tuck, the school's Principal in 2011, the school's pupils succeed in "chemistry, physics, economics and maths".[7]
Houses
Cheltenham Ladies' College
The school is made up of around 80% boarders and 20% day girls. Whether boarders or day girls, pupils are part of a junior or senior house and are supervised by a Housemistress and a team of House Staff.
Girls who board live in one of eleven boarding houses. There are six junior houses for 11- to 16-year-olds, and five senior houses for sixth form girls. The junior houses are Farnley Lodge, Glenlee, Sidney Lodge, St. Austin's, St. Helen's, and St. Margaret's. At Sixth Form, all girls move to a senior house. The senior houses are Beale, Cambray, Elizabeth, Roderic and St. Hilda's.[8] Each house is run by a housemistress and several resident staff. The housemistresses have a lighter teaching load with a full-time commitment supervising their boarders.
Junior day girls have their own base in Eversleigh, where the three junior houses, Bellairs, Glengar and St. Clare, are located. The senior day girl house, Bayshill, is situated in the main college site.[9]
The House system plays a large role in pastoral care. The pupils are also supported by an Academic Tutor and have access to a 24-hour Medical Centre. In 2015, the school also launched a Wellbeing Programme for all pupils.[10]
Co-curriculars
Over 160 co-curricular activities are available.
Music and Drama
The Music and Drama departments offer productions and concerts each year involving all age groups. Over 1,000 individual instrumental lessons take place each week.[11]
In October 2009, Sir Richard Eyre opened the school's new drama building, The Parabola Arts Centre (PAC). The building was built by Foster Wilson Architects and cost over £12.5 million, funded by donations. The school is a major sponsor of the Cheltenham Music, Literature, Jazz and Science Festivals and events are hosted at the centre annually.[12] The PAC building was awarded the RIBA award. In 2010, Sharman Macdonald (Keira Knightley's mother) was commissioned to write the college's play.[13] In 2016, the school also invested in a new recording studio.
Sports
In 2018, the school opened a new Health and Fitness Centre.[14]
Sports facilities include a 25-metre six-lane ozone swimming-pool with no chlorine, eight netball courts, 24 tennis courts, five squash courts, two AstroTurf fields, four lacrosse pitches, a spin studio, two dance studios and two sports halls, which can be used for Football, Netball, Lacrosse, Hockey, Basketball, Badminton, Trampolining, Gymnastics, and Indoor Tennis.[15] A membership is available to any member of the public at a monthly cost.
Over 30 sports are offered, and students are encouraged to maintain their fitness and wellbeing through physical exercise.[16] The main sports are Netball, Lacrosse and Hockey in the winter, and Tennis, Swimming and Athletics in the Summer. The school also has a well-established Rowing Club, and Equestrian and Ski teams.
There are many annual inter-house competitions for sports, music and drama.
Uniform
Girls in the Lower and Upper College wear a kilt, with light blue shirt and dark blue blazer. Sixth formers wear a green tweed jacket and a choice of a dark blue skirt or trousers, with a light blue shirt. There are occasional days when girls are allowed to wear their own choice of clothes in return for a donation to charity. Girls use their own bags.
Admissions
Entrance to Cheltenham Ladies' College is by examination for girls aged 11+, 13+ and 16+ (Sixth Form), as well as occasionally at 12+ and 14+ where only a few students are admitted.[17] A number of academic, art, music and sports scholarships are awarded each year and financial assistance with fees is available. Girls applying to the Sixth Form are required to achieve high grades at GCSE or IGCSE in the subjects they intend to study for A Levels or IB.
Inspections
The school was last inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in October 2014.[18] It achieved the grade 'Excellent' in all areas.
In the Financial Times' secondary school ranking,[19] Cheltenham Ladies College was placed at no. 14 in 2010 and no. 34 in 2011. The college was the top girls boarding school and 6th overall in UK rankings for the International Baccalaureate Diploma in 2017.[20]
The Tatler School Guide 2018 notes that "confident, resilient, clever girls flourish" at the college.[13] The Good Schools Guide described the school as "a top flight school with strong traditional values and a clear sense of purpose. For the bright and energetic all rounder this school offers an exceptional education that is both broad and deep, with endless opportunities for fun and enrichment along the way."[21]
Notable staff
Winifred Lily Boys-Smith (1865–1939)
U. A. Fanthorpe (1929–2009), poet
Charlotte Laurie (1856–1933), botanist
Eleanor Mary Reid (1860–1953), palaeobotanist[22]
Notable pupils
Guild is the association of College's former pupils.
The arts
Florence Farr, actress and mistress of George Bernard Shaw
Bridget Riley, artist
Sophie Solomon, violinist
Kristin Scott Thomas, actress
Katharine Hamnett, fashion designer[citation needed]
Damaris Hayman, actress
Cherry Healey, television presenter
Judith Ledeboer, architect and housing reformer
Leyly Matine-Daftary, modernist painter
Charlotte Reather, comedy writer and actress
Talulah Riley, actress
Amanda Wakeley, fashion designer[23]
Politics, law and civil service
Violet Brooke-Hunt, community organizer and volunteer in Boer War
Elizabeth Gass, Lady Gass, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset since 1998[24]
- Dame Cheryl Gillan, Conservative Member of Parliament and former Secretary of State for Wales
Sally Keeble, Labour Member of Parliament
Rachel Lomax, the first woman Deputy Governor of the Bank of England
Fiona Mactaggart, Labour Member of Parliament
Cicely Mayhew, UK's first female diplomat[25]
Gareth Peirce, defence lawyer
Amber Rudd, Home Secretary (2016-2018)
Sciences, technology, engineering
Mary Archer, scientist and chair of the trustees of the Science Museum Group
Prue Barron, surgeon
Louisa Aldrich-Blake, first female Master of Surgery
Mary Collins, immunologist
Maud Cunnington, archaeologist
Lillias Hamilton, doctor and author
Margaret Lowenfeld, paediatrician and child psychotherapist
Clare Marx, first female President of the Royal College of Surgeons (2014-2017), Chair of the General Medical Council (January 2019)[citation needed]
Helen Mackay, first female Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
Liz Miller, former neurosurgeon and mental health campaigner
Jennie Pryce, quantitative geneticist
Frances Ritchie, nurse
Helena Rosa Wright (née Lowenfeld), doctor and pioneer of family planning
Journalism and authors
Hilary Andersson, journalist and presenter
Phyllis Bentley, novelist and authority on the Bronte family
Rosie Boycott, journalist and former editor of The Independent and the Daily Express
D. K. Broster, novelist
Katharine Burdekin, author
Amy Key Clarke, mystical poet, author and senior teacher at the school, also wrote histories of the school
Janet E. Courtney, writer
Beatrice Harraden, writer and suffragette
Phoebe Hesketh, poet
Lisa Jardine, historian, author and broadcaster
Margaret Kennedy, novelist
Sue Lloyd-Roberts, television journalist
Kate Reardon, journalist
Betty Ridley, journalist
Mira Sethi, journalist
May Sinclair, writer
Caroline Spurgeon, literary critic
Robin Stevens, children's author
Jenny Uglow, biographer
Margaret Winifred Vowles, author
Sarah Wardle, poet
Grace Wyndham Goldie, first Head of BBC News & Current Affairs
Sports
Nina Clarkin, World number one female polo player
Mary Eyre, England hockey player and Wimbledon umpire[citation needed]
Muriel Robb, Wimbledon Champion and only person to win all national UK tennis singles titles
Other
Annette Bear-Crawford, suffragette
Tamara Beckwith, socialite
Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, 11th Duchess of Bedford[26]
Mary Boyce, scholar of Zoroastrianism
Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, Commandant of the Women's Royal Air Force and Chief Controller of the Auxiliary Territorial Service
Jane Ellen Harrison, classical scholar
Hermione Hobhouse, historian
Nicola Horlick, investment fund manager (ran away)
Eve Jardine-Young, Principal of Cheltenham Ladies' College- HRH Princess Raja Zarith Sofiah, consort of the King of Johor, Malaysia (future Queen of Malaysia)
Agnes Royden, preacher and suffragette
Anne Willan, Founder of École de Cuisine La Varenne (Paris, Burgundy & Los Angeles)[citation needed]
References
^ "BBC – Legacies – Work – England – Gloucestershire – Those who can't, teach: Dorothea Beale & Cheltenham Ladies' College – Article Page 2". BBC. Retrieved 7 July 2016..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Jenkins, Robin (2017-09-09). "Blue plaque honours "extraordinary" county woman but who was she?". gloucestershirelive. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
^ "Professional Guidance". Cheltenham Ladies' College. Cheltenham Ladies' College. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ "Exam Results". Cheltenham Ladies' College. Cheltenham Ladies' College. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ "Cheltenham Ladies' College celebrates outstanding IB results". UK Boarding Schools. Metropolis. UK Boarding Schools News. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ "Eve Jardine-Young - Principal's Welcome 2015". CLC Guild. The Incorporated Guild of Cheltenham Ladies' College.
^ Wilby, Peter (1 August 2011). "Cheltenham Ladies' College: 'This isn't a pink, frilly school'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
^ "Boarding » Cheltenham Ladies' College". www.cheltladiescollege.org.
^ "Day Girls » Cheltenham Ladies' College". www.cheltladiescollege.org.
^ "Wellbeing in Schools: Promoting Good Mental Health - School House Magazine". 10 May 2017.
^ "The Arts". Cheltenham Ladies' College. Cheltenham Ladies' College. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ "Partners and supporters". Cheltenham Festivals. Cheltenham Festivals. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ ab "Tatler School Guide - Cheltenham Ladies' College". Tatler School's Guide.
^ SoGlos. "Cheltenham Ladies' College to open new Health and Fitness Centre - SoGlos". SoGlos. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
^ "Facilities". Health and Fitness Centre. CLC Health and Fitness Centre. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ "Interview with Cheltenham Ladies' College's Director of Sports Development". SoGlos. SoGlos. SoGlos Magazine. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ "Admissions Overview". Cheltenham Ladies' College. Cheltenham Ladies' College. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
^ Inspection Report on The Cheltenham Ladies' College Independent Schools Inspectorate, 2014
^ "Financial Times Secondary School Ranking".
^ "Top IB Schools (Large Cohort)".
^ "Cheltenham Ladies' College, Cheltenham | The Good Schools Guide". The Good Schools Guide. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
^ Mary R. S. Creese, 'Reid , Eleanor Mary (1860–1953)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2011 accessed 6 Oct 2015
^ "Amanda Wakeley Spring/Summer 16 - Cerno Capital - Investment Management". cernocapital.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ 'GASS, Elizabeth Periam Acland Hood, (Lady Gass)', in Who's Who 2012 (London: A. & C. Black, 2012)
^ "Lady Mayhew | The Times & The Sunday Times". The Times. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
^ Buxton, M (2010). "The High Flying Duchess" Archived 6 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Woodperry Books. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
External links
Cheltenham Ladies' College Official website.
Cheltenham Ladies' College Guild Official website.
Cheltenham Ladies' College profile at the Good Schools Guide.
Cheltenham Ladies' College page at SchoolsGuideBook.co.uk.
Profile on the Independent Schools Council website
Profile at MyDaughter
