Ely High School for Girls was a secondary school for girls which opened in 1905 at Bedford House, St.Mary's Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...

. Bedford House was purchased for the school by the Isle of Ely County Council.

History

The school opened in May 1905 with thirty girl students under the supervision of the first Headmistress, Miss E.E.Fletcher. It was recognised formally as a public secondary school by the Board of Education in 1907.

In 1957 the school was moved to a purpose built new building in Downham Road, Ely where the school operated until it was merged with Soham Grammar School Sixth Form to form the new City of Ely Sixth Form College in 1972. The new site provided for a two-form entry secondary girls' grammar school

Grammar school

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...

 for 300 students aged 11–16 years and 60 sixth formers. Students travelled to the school from across the Isle of Ely

Isle of Ely

The Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...

 following selection through the Eleven plus exam. Boys went to Soham Grammar School.

School Motto and Song

Motto: Fortiter ad Fastigium (Bravely to the Top)

Song: 'O God, whose light glows in the golden sunshine'

Headteachers

There were four Headmistresses of Ely High School.

Miss E.E. Fletcher 1905-1929
Miss E.M.Verini, M.A. 1929-1936
Miss B. Tilly, M.A., Ph.D. 1936-1966
Miss E.Moody, B.A. 1966-1972.

School houses

In March 1928 school houses were introduced with House Mistresses in charge of each one. The four houses were Knut, Hereward, Etheldreda and Alan named after local historical figures: Canute the Great

Canute the Great

Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...

, Hereward the Wake

Hereward the Wake

Hereward the Wake , known in his own times as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile, was an 11th-century leader of local resistance to the Norman conquest of England....

, Aethelthryth (Saint Etheldreda) and Alan of Walsingham

Alan of Walsingham

Alan of Walsingham , also known as Alan de Walsingham, was an English architect, first heard of in 1314 as a junior monk at Ely, distinguished by his skill in goldsmith's work, and for his acquaintance with the principles of mechanics....

. House activities included sport, drama and music.

Closing the School

Ely High School became part of Ely Community College

Ely Community College

Ely College is a fully comprehensive community secondary school, located in Ely, Cambridgeshire. - History :In 1962, St Audrey's School and Ely High School were moved out of the centre of Ely to an extensive site on Downham Road...

 in September 1972 and the Downham Road building became the City of Ely Sixth Form Centre. A centenary celebration was held in the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral

Ely Cathedral

Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...

on 7 May 2005.