Merchant Taylors' Girls' School
Encyclopedia
Merchant Taylors' Girls' School, Crosby (also known as Merchant Taylors' School for Girls, Crosby) is a British
selective independent girls' school
, located in Great Crosby
on Merseyside
. As of 2007, it had around 620 pupils, ranging in age from 11 to 18. The school also has an associated prep school
, Stanfield Mixed Infants and Junior Girls' School, which takes both boys aged 4–7 and girls aged 4 to 11. After attending the mixed infants, the boys go on to the Junior section of Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby
, less than a mile down the road. The current headmistress is Mrs Louise Robinson.
The school is one of nine with links to the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
, including boys' school Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
and Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby
. The school's motto is that of the Worshipful Company: Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt. (Small things grow in harmony.)
It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association
.
In 2007, the school came top in Sefton for GCSE results and second to the boys' school for A levels.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/06/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/343_alevel_lea.stm
, that the girls' school was started. At the School's opening all of the female staff were graduates, a fact that is very impressive considering that at the time only four universities were granting degrees to women! In June 1888 twelve pupils attended the school, by the 1920s this figure had grown to 300 and now has more than doubled to around 600. The continuing increase in pupil numbers enabled the purchase in 1911 of the adjoining house, 'The Mulberries' which doubled the existing space and still adds to the charm of the school. The jewel of the buildings, the now grade II listed 1620's building (currently housing the library), has always dominated the surrounding area and new buildings. Two generous donations from a former headmistress ensured further development of facilities forming the basis of the network of buildings we now possess.
The prefect system from the early days was abolished in 1972 and the more democratic system of Sixth Form committees, that replaced it, still flourishes today. In 2008, was the House System reintroduced and the four houses are now: Minerva, Thalia, Gaia and Selene. The houses will compete in the same way that they have done since 1917 in points, academia, and sports.
The first curriculum was based on a limited version of the boys', with little Mathematics or Latin in case they taxed the female brain, and plenty of 'feminine' subjects such as singing and needlework to placate worries of producing only 'bluestockings' and thus almost guaranteed spinsterhood! The curriculum today, offering so much opportunity and variety, would have been hugely envied by the early girls. Sport has always flourished ranging from hockey, played in long skirts, through hill rambling in the 1930s, to rowing and sailing and 'self defence' today.
Links with the local community have always been important. In 1911 the school adopted a 'waif' from the local children's home and formed a link which continued beyond the 1940s. A huge war effort was also undertanken during WW2, making camouflage netting, scrubbing floors at local hospitals and raising money for 'Warships Week'. Today's Sixth Formers continue this tradition by helping local schools, charity shops and nursing homes.
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...
selective independent girls' 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...
, located in Great Crosby
Great Crosby
Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England.-Location:In 1907, the Victoria County History described Great Crosby's location thus: 'The ancient township of Great Crosby, which includes Waterloo, lies on the northern shore of the estuary...
on Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
. As of 2007, it had around 620 pupils, ranging in age from 11 to 18. The school also has an associated prep school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
, Stanfield Mixed Infants and Junior Girls' School, which takes both boys aged 4–7 and girls aged 4 to 11. After attending the mixed infants, the boys go on to the Junior section of Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby
Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby
Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby is a British independent school for day pupils, located in Great Crosby on Merseyside....
, less than a mile down the road. The current headmistress is Mrs Louise Robinson.
The school is one of nine with links to the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London.The Company, originally known as the Guild and Fraternity of St...
, including boys' school Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
and Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby
Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby
Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby is a British independent school for day pupils, located in Great Crosby on Merseyside....
. The school's motto is that of the Worshipful Company: Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt. (Small things grow in harmony.)
It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association
Girls' Schools Association
The Girls' Schools Association is the professional association of the heads of independent girls' schools in the UK and overseas and is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council .-History:...
.
In 2007, the school came top in Sefton for GCSE results and second to the boys' school for A levels.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/06/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/343_alevel_lea.stm
School history
The Merchant Taylors' School for Girls came about in 1888, having inherited the buildings from the boys' school that had moved 'up the road' in 1874. The then governing body was dilatory in providing for the 'new' school and it was due to the insistence of James Fenning, the Master of the Worshipful Company of Merchant TaylorsWorshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London.The Company, originally known as the Guild and Fraternity of St...
, that the girls' school was started. At the School's opening all of the female staff were graduates, a fact that is very impressive considering that at the time only four universities were granting degrees to women! In June 1888 twelve pupils attended the school, by the 1920s this figure had grown to 300 and now has more than doubled to around 600. The continuing increase in pupil numbers enabled the purchase in 1911 of the adjoining house, 'The Mulberries' which doubled the existing space and still adds to the charm of the school. The jewel of the buildings, the now grade II listed 1620's building (currently housing the library), has always dominated the surrounding area and new buildings. Two generous donations from a former headmistress ensured further development of facilities forming the basis of the network of buildings we now possess.
The prefect system from the early days was abolished in 1972 and the more democratic system of Sixth Form committees, that replaced it, still flourishes today. In 2008, was the House System reintroduced and the four houses are now: Minerva, Thalia, Gaia and Selene. The houses will compete in the same way that they have done since 1917 in points, academia, and sports.
The first curriculum was based on a limited version of the boys', with little Mathematics or Latin in case they taxed the female brain, and plenty of 'feminine' subjects such as singing and needlework to placate worries of producing only 'bluestockings' and thus almost guaranteed spinsterhood! The curriculum today, offering so much opportunity and variety, would have been hugely envied by the early girls. Sport has always flourished ranging from hockey, played in long skirts, through hill rambling in the 1930s, to rowing and sailing and 'self defence' today.
Links with the local community have always been important. In 1911 the school adopted a 'waif' from the local children's home and formed a link which continued beyond the 1940s. A huge war effort was also undertanken during WW2, making camouflage netting, scrubbing floors at local hospitals and raising money for 'Warships Week'. Today's Sixth Formers continue this tradition by helping local schools, charity shops and nursing homes.
Notable former pupils
- Beryl BainbridgeBeryl BainbridgeDame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE was an English author from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her psychological novels, often set amongst the English working classes. Bainbridge won the Whitbread Awards prize for best novel in 1977 and 1996; she was nominated five times for the Booker...
, novelist, was expelled. - Janet FinchJanet FinchDame Janet Valerie Finch DBE, DL, AcSS is a British sociologist and academic administrator. She was Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Social Relations at Keele University, and has held a number of other public appointments in the UK...
sociologist and Vice Chancellor of Keele UniversityKeele UniversityKeele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
. - Jane GarveyJane Garvey (broadcaster)Jane Susan Garvey is a British radio presenter, currently a presenter of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.-Education:Garvey was educated at Merchant Taylors' Girls' School in Crosby, Merseyside and is a graduate of the University of Birmingham.-Work:She was employed as a medical records clerk in a...
, BBC radio presenter.