Saturday, October 26, 2013

Cheltenham Ladies' College

Cheltenham Ladies' College, an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, 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. 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. For those who wished to study further, Miss Beale also founded St Hilda's College, Oxford in 1893 

External examiners were brought into College as early as 1863 and, over time, girls were encouraged to take public examinations, notably the Oxford Senior and the Cambridge Higher Local, which were broadly equivalent to today's GCSE and A Level qualifications. 

Examinations - Secondary School ..

As College grew, its reputation spread both in this country and, eventually, throughout the British Empire. By 1900, the small and initially struggling day school had become a thriving community of over 1,000 pupils, with boarders, day girls and part-time students, studying from Kindergarten to Degree level. Miss Beale also established a teacher training school and by the end of her life in 1906, most of her teaching staff were former CLC pupils, as were 40 Head Teachers of girls' schools in Britain and around the world.

Lilian Faithfull, formerly President of the All-England Women's Hockey Association, was appointed Principal upon Miss Beale’s death. She was tasked with preserving her predecessor's great legacy, while managing the inevitable changes to come as College moved into the 20th century.

Miss Faithfull did much to develop sport in College and introduced the first College uniform. She also had the difficult task of steering College through the First World War. With characteristic energy and pragmatism, she threw College into war work and converted one of the College boarding houses into a Red Cross hospital.

The period between the two wars saw more girls than ever considering careers and it was the task of Miss Faithfull’s successor, Beatrice Sparks (Principal 1922 - 1937), to modernise the curriculum in line with the introduction of the School Certificate and Higher Certificate. In 1935, College's continued success was marked by the granting of a Royal Charter; it was the first girls' school to receive this honour since Queen Anne's reign.

The Second World War, like the First, had a major impact on College life. In September 1939, all College buildings were requisitioned by the War Office and lessons were relocated to army huts and on top of the temporarily boarded over swimming pool! In December 1940, CLC boarding house Bayshill Lawn was bombed, although fortunately it was empty at the time.

With the passing of post-war restrictions and shortages there was renewed scope for development and modernisation in College. The 1950s and 1960s saw refurbishment and the addition of new Science laboratories, along with the introduction of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, work experience and community service. The curriculum continued to develop and in the 1980s Computer Science was also added.

https://www.soglos.com/culture/44091/Interview-with-Cheltenham-Ladies-Colleges-Archivist .



No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

sī vīs pācem, parā bellum

igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum    therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...