Blackheath High School
Address
Map
Vanbrugh Park

Blackheath
,
London
,
SE3 7AG

England
Coordinates51°28′40″N 0°00′56″E / 51.4777°N 0.0155°E / 51.4777; 0.0155
Information
TypeIndependent day school
Motto"Inspiration, curiosity, distinction"
Established1880
FounderPrincess Louise
Local authorityGreenwich
Department for Education URN100756 Tables
HeadmistressNatalie Argile
GenderFemale
Age3 to 18
Enrolment680~
Websitehttp://www.blackheathhighschool.gdst.net/

Blackheath High School is an independent day school for girls in Blackheath Village in southeast London, England. It was founded in 1880 as part of the Girls' Day School Trust; the Senior School occupied a purpose-built site in Wemyss Road for over 110 years.

History

The school was set up in 1880 by the Girls' Public Day School Company. Sarah Allen Olney was the founding head. During her short leadership the school's role grew by a factor of four. Olney resigned in 1886 to found a "more socially exclusive" school with her sister Rebecca.[1]

Having established The Kingsley School, Florence Gadesden was moved by the GPDSC in 1886 from Leamington to Blackheath.[2] The Times would later comment that her appointment was an act of "incalculable wisdom".[3] The school then had 300 girls[2] and Gadesden made a strong positive impression on many of them.[3] She served as head for over thirty years and she retired in 1919.[3]

Location

The Senior Department (Years 7-13) is located in the former Church Army Wilson Carlile Training College (opened in 1965) in Vanbrugh Park after moving from the Wemyss Road site in Blackheath in 1993/4. The school building in Blackheath village then became the Junior department, for girls aged 3-11. The Vanburgh Park site includes the Church Army Chapel, a locally listed building (designed by architect Ernest Trevor Spashett) now used as a music room and dance studio. It was a state-funded direct grant grammar school (also known simply as direct grant schools) from the late 1940s until 1976.

School motto

The school's motto is "Blackheath High School – a place to grow, a place to excel". Previously it had been "Knowledge no more a fountain sealed": a reference to the days when girls had poor access to schooling, as was the case in the early years of the school.

Notable former pupils

See also: Category:People educated at Blackheath High School

Published histories

References

  1. ^ "Olney, Sarah Allen (1842–1915), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52261. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 1 August 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b Sondheimer, Janet (23 September 2004). "Gadesden [Gadsden], Florence Marie Armroid (1853–1934), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48569. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b c Kamm, Josephine (16 October 2013). Indicative Past: A Hundred Years of the Girls' Public Day School Trust. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-53167-7.
  4. ^ Dillon, Jo (4 June 2000). "Lady Jay stands accused of telling lies out of school". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2009.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Margaret Evelyn Popham - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

External links

Schools and colleges in Greenwich
Authority control databases
Categories