Cheltenham Ladies' College

Cheltenham Ladies' College
Motto Cœlesti Luce Crescat (May she grow in Heavenly light)
Established 1853
Type Independent school
Boarding and day school
Principal Eve Jardine-Young
Location Bayshill Road
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL50 3EP
England
Staff 215
Students 850
Gender Girls
Ages 11–18
Colours Green
Website cheltladiescollege.org

Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.

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 students 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 students 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 2014-17, 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 students 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, students 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

Notable pupils

Guild is the association of College's former pupils.

The arts

Politics, law and civil service

Sciences, technology, engineering

Journalism and authors

Sports

Other

References

  1. ↑ "BBC – Legacies – Work – England – Gloucestershire – Those who can't, teach: Dorothea Beale & Cheltenham Ladies' College – Article Page 2". BBC. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Jenkins, Robin (2017-09-09). "Blue plaque honours "extraordinary" county woman but who was she?". gloucestershirelive. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  3. ↑ "Professional Guidance". Cheltenham Ladies' College. Cheltenham Ladies' College. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "Exam Results". Cheltenham Ladies' College. Cheltenham Ladies' College. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Cheltenham Ladies' College celebrates outstanding IB results". UK Boarding Schools. Metropolis. UK Boarding Schools News. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Eve Jardine-Young - Principal's Welcome 2015". CLC Guild. The Incorporated Guild of Cheltenham Ladies' College.
  7. ↑ Wilby, Peter (1 August 2011). "Cheltenham Ladies' College: 'This isn't a pink, frilly school'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  8. ↑ https://www.cheltladiescollege.org/life-at-clc/boarding/
  9. ↑ https://www.cheltladiescollege.org/life-at-clc/day-girls/
  10. ↑ https://www.schoolhousemagazine.co.uk/education/mental-wellbeing/
  11. ↑ "The Arts". Cheltenham Ladies' College. Cheltenham Ladies' College. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "Partners and supporters". Cheltenham Festivals. Cheltenham Festivals. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Tatler School Guide - Cheltenham Ladies' College". Tatler School's Guide.
  14. ↑ SoGlos. "Cheltenham Ladies' College to open new Health and Fitness Centre - SoGlos". SoGlos. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  15. ↑ "Facilities". Health and Fitness Centre. CLC Health and Fitness Centre. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Interview with Cheltenham Ladies' College's Director of Sports Development". SoGlos. SoGlos. SoGlos Magazine. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  17. ↑ "Admissions Overview". Cheltenham Ladies' College. Cheltenham Ladies' College. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  18. ↑ Inspection Report on The Cheltenham Ladies' College Independent Schools Inspectorate, 2014
  19. ↑ "Financial Times Secondary School Ranking".
  20. ↑ "Top IB Schools (Large Cohort)".
  21. ↑ "Cheltenham Ladies' College, Cheltenham | The Good Schools Guide". The Good Schools Guide. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  22. ↑ 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
  23. ↑ "Amanda Wakeley Spring/Summer 16 - Cerno Capital - Investment Management". cernocapital.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  24. ↑ 'GASS, Elizabeth Periam Acland Hood, (Lady Gass)', in Who's Who 2012 (London: A. & C. Black, 2012)
  25. ↑ "Lady Mayhew | The Times & The Sunday Times". The Times. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  26. ↑ Buxton, M (2010). "The High Flying Duchess" Archived 6 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine., Woodperry Books. Retrieved 14 June 2010.

Coordinates: 51°53′52″N 2°4′53″W / 51.89778°N 2.08139°W / 51.89778; -2.08139

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