Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
, near Borehamwood
Borehamwood
-Film industry:Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood"...
, in the county of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. It is often known as "Habs" or "Habs girls", to distinguish it from the neighbouring Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School is a British independent school for boys aged 4–19. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group....
. The school was founded in 1875 by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers is one of the senior Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation, following on from the Mercers' Company, another Livery Company connected with clothing and haberdashery, received a Royal Charter in 1448...
, one of the ancient Livery Companies
Livery Company
The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, by means of the charitable foundation set up in 1690 in the will of Robert Aske
Robert Aske (merchant)
Robert Aske was a merchant in the City of London. He is chiefly remembered from the charitable foundation created from his estate, which operates two schools in Hertfordshire, Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls.Aske was the son of an affluent draper...
, a 17th-century Master of the Company.
The girls' school moved from its original site in Hoxton
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
, east London, to Acton
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
in 1898, and thence, in 1974, to its present location in Elstree. The school is a selective academic day school with its main intakes at the ages of 4, 5, 7, 11 and 16. The current headmistress is Miss Biddie O'Connor. A coach network shared with the neighbouring boys' school transports pupils from a catchment area stretching from St John's Wood
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district of north-west London, England, in the City of Westminster, and at the north-west end of Regent's Park. It is approximately 2.5 miles north-west of Charing Cross. Once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, it was later owned by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Harpenden
Harpenden
Harpenden is a town in Hertfordshire, England.The town's total population is just under 30,000.-Geography and administration:There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural....
and Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
Class names
The school has different names for its classes. In the junior school, year groups are formed as follows:| Year | Class names |
|---|---|
| Rainbow | |
| Year 1 | Red, Green |
| Year 2 | Blue, Yellow |
| Year 3 | Alpha, A |
| Year 4 | Alpha, A |
| Year 5 | Alpha, A |
| Year 6 | Alpha, A |
There are two classes in each year group (except Reception, which has one class), with approximately 25 pupils in each class.
The senior school year groups are classified as follows:
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| Year 7 | Lower Fourth |
| Year 8 | Upper Fourth |
| Year 9 | Lower Fifth |
| Year 10 | Middle Fifth |
| Year 11 | Upper Fifth |
| Year 12 | Lower Sixth |
| Year 13 | Upper Sixth |
There are usually 4 classes in each senior year group up to year 11, called A
A
A is the first letter and a vowel in the basic modern Latin alphabet. It is similar to the Ancient Greek letter Alpha, from which it derives.- Origins :...
, Aesc , Aleph
Aleph
* Aleph or Alef is the first letter of the Semitic abjads descended from Proto-Canaanite, Arabic alphabet, Phoenician alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, Syriac alphabet-People:*Aleph , an Italo disco artist and alias of Dave Rodgers...
and Alpha
Alpha
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Alpha or ALPHA may also refer to:-Science:*Alpha , the highest ranking individuals in a community of social animals...
, after the first letter of the alphabet, the "Æ
Æ
Æ is a grapheme formed from the letters a and e. Originally a ligature representing a Latin diphthong, it has been promoted to the full status of a letter in the alphabets of some languages, including Danish, Faroese, Norwegian and Icelandic...
" grapheme, the first letter of the Arabic
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
and Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
s, and the first letter of the Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
. Occasionally, a fifth form is called Aske after Robert Aske
Robert Aske (merchant)
Robert Aske was a merchant in the City of London. He is chiefly remembered from the charitable foundation created from his estate, which operates two schools in Hertfordshire, Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls.Aske was the son of an affluent draper...
, after whom the school is named and was founded by. The system is used to avoid speculation about one class being more academically capable than another, for instance, A being better than B, which is better than C. Each class has up to 28 pupils (usually about 25), two sixth form prefects, a Form Teacher and a Deputy Form Teacher. Lower and Upper Sixth form classes have about 14 pupils in each class.
Awards
Scholarships and governor's bursaries are awarded. Music scholarships pay for instrumental tuition. The Trotman scholarship is awarded in competition with other North London schools. The school has an excellence book which girls are asked to sign if they have excelled in a subject. These names are announced in assembly. The school also awards Cornflower Awards to some girls who display very good individual or group work. These are given on a more regular basis by the Section Heads.Notable former pupils
- Laura AikmanLaura AikmanLaura Holly Aikman is an English actress who has been appearing in TV and films since childhood. She attended Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls and is best known for her role in The Mysti Show as Mysti...
, actress - Linda BennettLinda BennettLinda Kristin Bennett OBE is an English-Icelandic clothing designer and entrepreneur, best known for setting up fashion retailer L.K.Bennett.-Early life:...
OBE, fashion designer and entrepreneur - BidishaBidishaBidisha is a feminist, critic, broadcaster and writer. She began writing professionally for arts magazines such as i-D, Dazed and Confused and the NME at the age of 15 and published her first novel at 18.-Early life:Bidisha is an only child, her parents are both lecturers in information technology...
, arts critic, broadcaster and author - Vanessa FeltzVanessa FeltzVanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th...
, TV personality - Talulah RileyTalulah RileyTalulah Jane Riley-Milburn is an English actress whose films include Pride and Prejudice, St Trinian's, The Boat That Rocked and St...
, actress - Luciana BergerLuciana BergerLuciana Clare Berger is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree since 2010...
, Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree - Scarlett Stitt, actress
- Caroline Ryder, writer
External links
- http://www.habsgirls.org.uk/