Wimbledon High School facts for kids

Wimbledon High School is an independent girls' day school in Wimbledon, South West London. It is a Girls' Day School Trust school and is a member of the Girls' Schools Association.

History

Wimbledon High School was founded by the Girls' Public Day School Trust (now known as the Girls' Day School Trust or GDST). It opened on 9 November 1880 at No. 74 (now No. 78) Wimbledon Hill Road with 12 students and Miss Edith Hastings as Headmistress, aged just 29. Over the next decade, the school roll grew to over 200 girls. The first lesson taught was on the subject of the apple. Soon after, the fruit was used as the emblem of the school. Every year on the school's birthday in November, pupils and staff eat apple-green cupcakes in memory of this.

Ethel Gavin became the head in 1908. During World War I, the school endured a difficult time, the head was in Germany at the time and was detained for some weeks. The timetable was suspended for older students as girls and teachers joined the war effort and made respirators for the troops. A fire broke out in 1917 and gutted the main building. The head, Ethel Gavin, who organised the recovery died in early 1918 from cancer. The girls were moved to a temporary location to resume their activities.

The new building was formally opened by old girl, the Duchess of Atholl, in October 1920 and it included a gymnasium and two new laboratories. The facilities have now been much expanded upon.

The school's currents sports fields, at Nursery Road (off Worple Road) were until 1922 the site of the All England Club, before it moved the Wimbledon Tennis Championship to its present location on Church Road. The acquisition of the playing fields was made possible by a successful fundraising campaign that raised £6000 from parents and alumnae.

The school was greatly affected by the Second World War. Pupil numbers fell as London was bombarded during the Battle of Britain. Under the Education Act 1944, the school applied for and was granted "direct grant" status. It chose to become private when the scheme was abolished during the 1970s.

A new junior school building was opened in 2000. New buildings were added such as a design and technology centre, new science labs and the Rutherford Centre for the Performing Arts, named after the actress Margaret Rutherford, an alumna of the school.

In 2022 a 3-year building project completed, known as Project Ex-Humilibus, from the school motto. The development included:

• a STEAM tower
• a Sixth form centre with bespoke spaces for Year 12 and 13
• the relocation of the dining halls
• a brand new assembly hall
• a "Playground in the Sky" - an enclosed play area for junior girls on the rooftop of the Assembly Hall

Academic Results

Wimbledon High School is highly academic. It usually achieves excellent results in A-level and GCSE exams and it's regularly listed extremely high in the league tables. The school is the recipient of several Times Educational Supplement (TES) independent school awards (known as the Oscars of Education) and nominations, including ones for Best Use of Technology, Inclusive School of the Year and Senior School of the Year.

Sports

Wimbledon High School has a longstanding relationship with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the organisers of the Wimbledon Tennis Championship. The school's present sporting grounds at the nearby Nursery Road were the original home of the Wimbledon Championship and the site of the 1908 London Olympics tennis matches. Each year, multiple Wimbledon High School students are selected as ballgirls at the Championship.

Tennis

In 2023 student Hannah Klugman was the youngest ever player to qualify for a W100 tennis event at age 15 years 1 month and 22 days.

Rowing

Rowing is a very popular sport at Wimbledon High School. The school's Boat Club (WHSBC) is headed by British world champion and Olympic silver medalist Gillan Lindsay. They can boast of numerous trophies and prestigious placements, including winning the National Schools' Regatta and qualifying for the Henley Royal Regatta.

House System

Originally there was no house system, but now girls are placed in one of the four houses upon entry. There are inter-house competitions and activities held throughout the year notably: The Big Draw, House Music, Junior Drama, Inter-house sports, Sports Day, Off-Timetable Day, House University Challenge, and House Debating.

Junior School

The junior houses were named after famous women.

Senior School

The houses were named after four of the twelve first students to attend Wimbledon High School: May and Margaret Arnold, Mildred Hastings, Violet Scott-Moncrieff and Sophie Meredith. Each house has its own house committee consisting of a house captain and deputy house captain chosen by staff after an application process, and then Music, Art, Sports and Drama captains and a secretary selected by the house captain. House points are awarded for victory in house competitions and also by teachers in recognition for academic excellence and good conduct, following the PBS system.

Headmistresses

• Miss Edith Hastings (1880–1908)
• Miss Ethel Gavin (1908–1918)
• Miss Mabel Lewis (1918–1939)
• Miss Kathleen Littlewood (1940–1949)
• Miss Marguerite Burke (1949–1962)
• Mrs Anne Piper (1962–1982)
• Mrs Rosemary Smith (1982–1992)
• Mrs Elizabeth Baker (1992–1995)
• Dr Jill Clough (1995–2000)
• Mrs Pamela Wilkes (2001–2008)
• Mrs Heather Hanbury (2008–2014)
• Mrs Jane Lunnon (2014–2020)
• Ms Fionnuala Kennedy (2020–present)

Associated People

Notable former pupils

• Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl (1874–1960)
• Sylvia Payne (1880–1976) – psychoanalyst
• Audrey Blackman, sculptor
• Dame Margaret Rutherford "Peggy" (1892–1972) – actress
• Judith Ledeboer (1901–1990) – architect
• Dame Mary Smieton (born 1902) – civil servant and Secretary to the Ministry of Education
• Sheila May Edmonds (1916–2002) – Mathematician and Lecturer at University of Cambridge
• Jean Aitchison (born 1938) – Professor Emeritus of Language and Communication, University of Oxford
• Professor Dame Louise Johnson (1940–2012) – biochemist and crystallographer
• Ilora Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (born 1949)
• Bridget Rosewell OBE (born 1951) – economist
• Sara Nathan OBE (born 1956) – broadcast journalist & regulator
• Sasha Wass KC (born 1958) – barrister
• Michelle Paver (born 1960) – author famous for Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
• Rosie Millard (born 1965) – journalist & broadcaster
• Samira Ahmed (born 1968) – news presenter
• Lara Croft (born 1968) – fictional video games character, heroine of the Tomb Raider series
• Afua Hirsch (born 1981) – writer & broadcaster
• Lizzy Pattinson (born 1983) – singer
• Amara Karan (born 1984) – actress (St Trinians)
• Georgina Sherrington (born 1985) – actress (The Worst Witch); winner of Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series
• Monica Allanach (died 2013) – actuary
• Rachel Wang - British filmmaker

Notable former teachers

• Nellie Dale was a teacher at Wimbledon who created her own basic reading program that used phonological awareness and phonics.
• Ethel Gavin head here during WW1
• Ada Wallas the socialist writer taught here briefly.