Portsmouth High School (Southsea)

Portsmouth High School is an independent, selective, fee-paying day school for girls founded in 1882, one of the 26 sister schools of the Girls' Day School Trust.

History

The Trust, of which the high school is a member, was founded in the nineteenth century with the aim of ensuring that girls were offered a good education, similar to that offered to boys. Portsmouth High School itself opened in 1882, with 32 pupils, and in 2007 celebrated its 125th anniversary. The school moved to its present premises on Kent Road in Southsea in 1885, when the building was opened by Princess Louise. Dovercourt, the house built and lived in by the Southsea architect Thomas Ellis Owen, was acquired for the Junior School in 1927. During World War II the school was evacuated to two country houses in Hampshire, Hinton Ampner (Junior Pupils) and Adhurst St Mary (Senior Pupils), and became a boarding school for six years. The school became fully independent in the mid-1970s when the direct grant scheme was discontinued.

Present day

As of 2006, Portsmouth High School has around 630 pupils, ranging from three-year-olds in the nursery at Dovercourt, to the sixth-formers, whose centre is another building ascribed to Owen. All Upper Sixth passed three or more A-levels in 2005. The school has recently acquired a new Headmistress, Mrs J Clough, whose philosophy is to "recognise and value each child's individuality, nurturing their own personality as they develop into confident informed young women." [ [http://www.schoolsguidebook.co.uk/schools/Portsmouth_High_School_GDST.html Schools Guidebook] (accessed 17 May 2006)]

Notable Alumnae

*Sarah McCarthy-Fry, politician
*Margaret Hillier, politician

References

External links

* [http://www.gdst.net/portsmouthhigh/ Portsmouth High School webpage]