Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School
Encyclopedia
Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School (KGGS) is a grammar school
for girls in Grantham
, Lincolnshire
, established in 1910.
based on site in the Harrowby House building. The pupils are sorted into six houses within the school, named after famous female writers and poets: Austen
, Brontë
, Browning
, Eliot
, Potter
, and Rossetti
.
The school operates in conjunction with the nearby boys' school, The King's School
and many students take lessons there at A Level. The school holds dual specialist Language College
and Science College
status, as well as being highly credited for its achievement in mathematics.
Year 7 - Ages 11-12
Year 8 - Ages 12-13
Year 9 - Ages 13-14
Year 10 - Ages 14-15
Year 11 - Ages 15-16
Sixth form
Year 12 - Ages 16-17
Year 13 - Ages 17-18
Margaret Thatcher was a pupil at the school. Teen author, Beverley Naidoo
opened the English Department.
, Japan
involves a group of Japanese students visiting Grantham each year.
A group of girls taking Spanish GCSE or A Level were recently invited to take part in a Spanish exchange in conjunction with Carre's Grammar School
, Sleaford.
The House System is maintained and supervised by three Year 13 House Secretaries and one member of staff. This position was held by Hamish Macmillan until his recent retirement; Octavia Mann and Jamiel Gibbs now hold the position.
House events include Sports Day, House Panto, House Choir, House Netball, House Badminton, House debate, Year 7 Rounders, Public Speaking, General Knowledge Quiz, Christmas Cards, Year 8 Dance and Year 7 Sweet-Making. Events such as House Panto and House Choir have an important place in the school's calendar each year. House assemblies are held each term, so the House Captains can inform students of news, plans and ideas surrounding house events, and also to encourage pupils to participate in the activities.
Many teachers hold GCSE, AS or A-level revision sessions at lunchtimes or after school.
The school runs the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme
. There is an occasional magazine. The 6th Form participates in a range of activities during Wednesday afternoons, when most have no lessons.
Musical opportunities are available to students, run by peripatetic teachers, with lessons in various instruments and singing. Music clubs include a school choir, female barber shop quintet, orchestra, wind band, and string group. There is a composing club, and a 'Junk group' in which students make Stomp
-style music using items such as brooms, cardboard boxes and phone books.
KGGS holds classes that are open to the public, such as GCSE
in Statistics and Digital Imaging, and GCE
AS level in Science in Society.
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 girls in Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, established in 1910.
Admissions
It has over 1000 pupils ranging from ages 11–18, with its own sixth formSixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
based on site in the Harrowby House building. The pupils are sorted into six houses within the school, named after famous female writers and poets: Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
, Brontë
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
, Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
, Eliot
George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
, Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
, and Rossetti
Maria Francesca Rossetti
Maria Francesca Rossetti was an English author. She was the sister of artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti as well as William Michael Rossetti and Christina Georgina Rossetti, who dedicated her poem Goblin Market to Maria...
.
The school operates in conjunction with the nearby boys' school, The King's School
The King's School, Grantham
The King's School is a British grammar school located in the market town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England, and one of the oldest schools in the UK.-History:...
and many students take lessons there at A Level. The school holds dual specialist Language College
Language College
Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages...
and Science College
Science College
Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, science and mathematics...
status, as well as being highly credited for its achievement in mathematics.
Year 7 - Ages 11-12
Year 8 - Ages 12-13
Year 9 - Ages 13-14
Year 10 - Ages 14-15
Year 11 - Ages 15-16
Sixth form
Year 12 - Ages 16-17
Year 13 - Ages 17-18
History
It was founded in 1910. Former Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Margaret Thatcher was a pupil at the school. Teen author, Beverley Naidoo
Beverley Naidoo
Beverley Naidoo is a popular South African children's author who has written a number of award-winning novels, mainly about life in South Africa, where she spent her childhood. She graduated from the University of York with a BA in Education in 1968....
opened the English Department.
Activities
The school offers exchange programmes to Germany, France and Japan, with many girls undertaking one of these opportunities each year. The school's connection with Minami High School, FukushimaFukushima, Fukushima
is the capital city of Fukushima Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region of Japan. As of May 2011 the city has an estimated population of 290,064 and an area of 746.43 km².It lies about 250 km north of Tokyo and 80 km south of Sendai.-History:...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
involves a group of Japanese students visiting Grantham each year.
A group of girls taking Spanish GCSE or A Level were recently invited to take part in a Spanish exchange in conjunction with Carre's Grammar School
Carre's Grammar School
Carre's Grammar School is a selective school and specialist Sports and Science College located in the market town of Sleaford, in Lincolnshire, England. It was founded in 1604 by Sir Robert Carre...
, Sleaford.
Organisation
Within each form, there is a form captain (and sometimes a deputy), two school council members and two charity representatives. Charity events ranging from cake-stalls to non-uniform days are organised by forms in order to raise money for good causes. Large amounts of money are raised within the school each year, with the total announced in an assembly at the end of the school year, and a trophy being given to the form who raises the most. The school council discusses matters and act in order to improve the school and its community. Form captains deal with problems and represent the form.The House System and Forms
New students are sorted into houses on their induction day at KGGS, with one form of students representing each house. The houses each have different colours (Austen-Purple, Potter-Green, Rossetti-Red, Bronte-White, Browning-Brown and Eliot-Yellow) and are headed by two Year 13 House Captains and two Year 12 House Deputies.The House System is maintained and supervised by three Year 13 House Secretaries and one member of staff. This position was held by Hamish Macmillan until his recent retirement; Octavia Mann and Jamiel Gibbs now hold the position.
House events include Sports Day, House Panto, House Choir, House Netball, House Badminton, House debate, Year 7 Rounders, Public Speaking, General Knowledge Quiz, Christmas Cards, Year 8 Dance and Year 7 Sweet-Making. Events such as House Panto and House Choir have an important place in the school's calendar each year. House assemblies are held each term, so the House Captains can inform students of news, plans and ideas surrounding house events, and also to encourage pupils to participate in the activities.
Notable former pupils
- Vikki HubbardVikki HubbardVikki Hubbard is an English high jumper.She was born in Grantham. She finished seventh at the 2005 World Youth Championships, and competed at the 2006 World Junior Championships and the 2010 World Indoor Championships without reaching the final.Her personal best jump is 1.92 metres , achieved in...
– high jumper - Margaret Thatcher – British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990
- Claire Tomlinson – Sky SportsSky SportsSky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
presenter
Extra-curricular
KGGS has sports teams and sports-women. Several areas of sport are competed at a national level. Support sessions are held for each subject for students who are struggling.Many teachers hold GCSE, AS or A-level revision sessions at lunchtimes or after school.
The school runs the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....
. There is an occasional magazine. The 6th Form participates in a range of activities during Wednesday afternoons, when most have no lessons.
Musical opportunities are available to students, run by peripatetic teachers, with lessons in various instruments and singing. Music clubs include a school choir, female barber shop quintet, orchestra, wind band, and string group. There is a composing club, and a 'Junk group' in which students make Stomp
Stomp (dance troupe)
Stomp is a percussion group that uses the body and ordinary objects to create a physical theatre performance.-History and performances:...
-style music using items such as brooms, cardboard boxes and phone books.
KGGS holds classes that are open to the public, such as GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
in Statistics and Digital Imaging, and GCE
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
AS level in Science in Society.