Redmaids' High School

Last updated

Redmaids' High School
The Read Maids' School coa.png
Address
Redmaids' High School
Westbury Road

Bristol
,
BS9 3AW

England
Coordinates 51°29′24″N2°36′50″W / 51.4901°N 2.6140°W / 51.4901; -2.6140
Information
Type Independent
Established1634;390 years ago (1634)
Founder John Whitson, Revd Rose and Urijah Thomas
Department for Education URN 109371 Tables
HeadPaul Dwyer
GenderGirls
Age7to 18
HousesMaryflower, Seabreake, Discoverer, Speedwell
Colour(s)    
Red, Green, Yellow, Blue
Publication1634
Website www.redmaidshigh.co.uk

Redmaids' High School is an independent school for girls in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England. The school is a member of the Girls' Schools Association and the Head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). [1]

Contents

The school was established under its present name in September 2017, following a merger between Redland High School for Girls (founded 1882) and The Red Maids' School (founded 1634). [2]

History

Red Maids' school was founded in 1634 from the bequest of John Whitson, [3] Mayor of Bristol 1603–4 and 1615–16 and in November 1605 he was returned to parliament for Bristol at a by-election, subsequently representing the town in the assemblies of 1614, 1621, 1625, and 1626, making it the oldest surviving girls' school in England. [4] His original Red Maids' Hospital, on Denmark Street in the centre of Bristol, was founded to provide a secure home for the orphaned or destitute daughters of freemen or burgesses of the City of Bristol, where they were taught to read and sew. The site was irreparably damaged and had to be completely rebuilt in the 1840s. The new school building was designed in 1844 by the architect James Foster.

The entrance lodge of the existing site in Westbury-on-Trym dates from 1830 and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. [5] During the First World War, Red Maids' School was moved to Manor House, which is now part of the University of Bristol, while the school buildings in Westbury were used as a Red Cross hospital. [6]

Redland High School was founded in 1882. The senior school was housed in an old manor-house known as Redland Court which dates from 1732 to 1735. It was built by John Strachan for John Cossins and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building, [7] which has undergone many extensions. In October 2006, a building previously belonging to the Junior School was converted into the Music School, expanding the senior school once again. Governors of Redland's school included Agnes Beddoe, Elizabeth and Emily Sturge, who were leading suffragists and campaigners for women's higher education in Victorian times. There are blue plaques to remind students of their achievements. [8] In September 2020, Paul Dwyer took over as Headteacher on the retirement of Isabel Tobias. [9]

Archives

Numerous collections of records of Red Maids' School and John Whitson are held at Bristol Archives, including (Ref. 33041/BMC/6) (online catalogue) and (Ref. 20193) (online catalogue). There are also a number of records for the former Redland High School for Girls and Red Maids' School on site in the archive room at Redmaids' High School in Westbury-on-Trym.[ citation needed ]

Founders' Commemoration Day

John Whitson, founder of Red Maids' School John Whitson.jpg
John Whitson, founder of Red Maids' School

Redmaids' High School Founders' Commemoration Day is the annual celebration of the life and vision of the founder, John Whitson, and also a day to remember the founders of Redland High School for Girls, Reverend Rose [10] and Urijah Thomas. The event is timed to commemorate the attempted murder of Whitson on 7 November 1626, when Christopher Callowhill stabbed him in the face with a dagger. Whitson survived for two years after this attack before dying after falling from a horse.

On Founders' Commemoration Day all the girls march through Bristol City centre accompanied by police and a rolling road closure, from Welsh Back to the cathedral, where a service takes place. The girls are then allowed the afternoon off. [11]

Facilities and campus

The Junior School and Senior School are separate, but located close together, allowing the junior school full use of the secondary school's facilities.

The senior school, set in extensive grounds, consists of three main buildings: Burfield House, the 300 Building (opened in 1934) and Redland Hall — a high-spec performance space — which was opened in September 2017. There is also a music block, which houses a Mac suite, and a sports hall which contains a dance studio and large indoor sports space. Attached to Redland Hall is the Sixth Form Centre, which has recently undergone refurbishment. There are also three computer laboratories in the school and extensive textiles and artwork facilities. The junior school site is a house on Grange Court Road. It was extended in 2015 and again in 2017 which included the creation of a brand new adventure playground.

There is an artificial turf (AstroTurf), opened in 2005, an indoor sports hall and two additional netball/tennis courts. Within the grounds of the Senior School there are two former air raid shelters used during World War II [12] which attract visits from local schools as part of their history studies. In 2017 it was announced that the school had purchased a new sports site: The Lawns at Cribbs Causeway. The site is less than 10 minutes' drive from the School. The 16.7-acre (6.8 ha) plot includes four full-size grass football pitches, four tennis courts, a 3G all-weather AstroTurf pitch, a large carpark, together with extensive changing and social facilities. The school will be investing in further development to the site over the coming years.

School life

The school is divided into three sections: the junior school (7–11), the senior school (11–16), and the sixth form (16–18).

Houses

The school has a house system with competitions in activities such as dance, music, hockey, netball and drama. The four houses are named after four of John Whitson's major ships:

Ethos

Each year the school hosts a careers conference for girls from across the south-west of the UK and beyond. In 2017 the theme was #WomenInMedicine and for 2018 the theme was #WomenInSTEM.

Uniform

The core uniform consists of a red and green checked kilt and red jumper with green piping, with a white blouse. In the Senior School, girls also wear a red blazer. In the Junior School, the girls wear a red showerproof coat. In the summer, the juniors wear a red and white summer dress. [13]

In the Sixth Form, the students wear their own clothes within a published dress code that encourages them to dress for a modern work place in smart, work-ready attire.

International Baccalaureate

From 2009 Red Maids' sixth formers could study for A-levels or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma in the Sixth Form. The School was the first independent school in Bristol to offer the IB.

Notable former pupils

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Grammar School</span> Private day school in Bristol, England

Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, private day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorne who made their money through the work and trade of enslaved Africans. The school flourished in the early 20th century under headmaster Sir Cyril Norwood (1906–1916), embodying "the ideals and experiences of a leading public school". Norwood went on to serve as the master at Marlborough College and Harrow, and as president of St John's College, Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol West (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

Bristol West is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Thangam Debbonaire of the Labour Party. It mostly covers the central and western parts of Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southmead</span> Human settlement in England

Southmead is a northern suburb and council ward of Bristol, in the south west of England, bordered by Filton in South Gloucestershire and Monks Park, Horfield, Henleaze and Westbury on Trym.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol North West (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Constituency represented in the House of Commons

Bristol North West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Darren Jones of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redland, Bristol</span> Human settlement in England

Redland is a neighbourhood in Bristol, England. The neighbourhood is situated between Clifton, Cotham, Bishopston and Westbury Park. The boundaries of the district are not precisely defined, but are generally taken to be Whiteladies Road in the west, the Severn Beach railway line in the south and Cranbrook Road in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henleaze</span> Suburb of Bristol, England

Henleaze is a northern suburb of the city of Bristol in South West England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth's Hospital</span> School in Bristol, England

Queen Elizabeth's Hospital is a 7–18 independent boys day school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1586. QEH is named after its original patron, Queen Elizabeth I. Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Elizabeth's Hospital was founded by the will of affluent soap merchant John Carr in 1586, gaining its first royal charter in 1590.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Ursula's School</span> School in Henleze, Bristol, England

St Ursula's School was a private school in Henleaze, Bristol, England. It consisted of a Junior Department, providing education for pupils up to age 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westbury-on-Trym</span> Human settlement in England

Westbury on Trym is a suburb and council ward in the north of the City of Bristol, near the suburbs of Stoke Bishop, Westbury Park, Henleaze, Southmead and Henbury, in the southwest of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Trym</span> Short river in the United Kingdom

The River Trym is a short river, some 4.5 miles (7.2 km) in length, which rises in Filton, South Gloucestershire, England. The upper reaches are culverted, some underground, through mostly urban landscapes, but once it emerges into the open it flows through a nature reserve and city parks before joining the tidal River Avon at Sea Mills. 18th-century water mills near the mouth gave the area its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redland High School for Girls</span> All-through private school in Bristol, England

Redland High School for Girls was a selective and independent, non-denominational girls' school in the suburb of Redland, Bristol, England. The school merged with The Red Maids' School in May 2016, with the new merged school named Redmaids' High School and based at the Red Maids' site from September 2017 in Westbury-on-Trym.

Westbury Park is a suburb of the city of Bristol, United Kingdom. It lies to the east of Durdham Down between the districts of Redland and Henleaze. The area is very similar in character to nearby Redland and comprises mainly Victorian and early twentieth-century architecture, along with a selection of Georgian buildings. Many of these buildings still have their original house names and many Victorian artifacts have been found in the gardens of Westbury Park.

Bristol is the largest city in South West England, and as such is a centre for culture, research and higher education in the region. The city is home to a prestigious "red brick university" and a high-ranking "new university". The city is also noted for its investment in the sciences and engineering, particularly its ties to the aerospace industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redland Chapel</span> Church in Bristol, England

Redland Parish Church is a Georgian church, built in 1742, in the Redland suburb of Bristol, England. It is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, Westbury on Trym</span> Church in Bristol, England

Holy Trinity Church is a Church of England parish church in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Free School</span> Free school in Bristol, England

Bristol Free School (BFS) is a Secondary Academy which opened in Southmead, Bristol, England, in September 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Old Lodge, Bristol</span>

The Old Lodge, also known as the Thatched Cottage and 166 Henleaze Road, is a notable landmark in Henleaze in Bristol, England. According to Reece Winstone, writing in 1970, this is the only privately owned thatched house in Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Sturge</span> British womens education activist (1847–1892)

Emily Sturge was a British campaigner for women's education. She was secretary of the west of England branch of the National Society for Women's Suffrage.

References

  1. ↑ "Redmaids' High School Profile on HMC". Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference website. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  2. ↑ "Bristol private schools to merge". BBC News. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Bristol Education" (PDF). The Great Reading Adventure. Bristol Cultural Development Partnership (BCDP). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
  4. ↑ Thrush, Andrew. John Whitson.Oxford Dictionary of National Biopgraphy. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/29322
  5. ↑ Historic England. "No.145 Entrance lodge to Red Maids School (1202684)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 17 May 2007.
  6. ↑ "Manor Hall & Sinclair House". University of Bristol. 23 November 2000. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
  7. ↑ Historic England. "Redland Court (Redland High School) (1291739)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 13 March 2007.
  8. ↑ "Redmaids' salutes suffragist governors". Henleaze and Westbury Voice. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Season of the new starter: an interview with headteacher Paul Dwyer". The Bristol Magazine. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  10. ↑ "Redland High School: the proud history". BishopstonVoice. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Stories of Bristol Archived 21 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ The Henleaze Book. Redcliffe Press Ltd. 1991. ISBN   9780955356704 . Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Redmaids' High Uniform items" . Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Red Maids' alumnae". The Red Maids' School. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "Anita Mason Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  16. ↑ "'Special Places' in Bristol Secondary Schools. Names of Sucessful[sic?] Scholars. Red Maids' School" . Western Daily Press . Bristol. 2 June 1934. p. 12. OCLC   949912923 . Retrieved 17 November 2022– via British Newspaper Archive.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.