DfE number 205/6291 Phone +44 20 8741 1936 Number of students 754 | Head Mistress Ruth Mercer Gender Girls Founded 1861 | |
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Established 1861 as a boys' school; re-established 1905 as a girls' school Location Iffley RoadHammersmithLondonW6 0PGEngland Motto Francha Leale Toge (Free and Loyal Art Thou) Similar Latymer Upper School, Francis Holland School, Saint Paul's Girls School, Putney High School, Ibstock Place School Profiles | ||
Godolphin and latymer school win the u13 lady taverners indoor competition
The Godolphin and Latymer School is an independent day school for girls in Hammersmith, West London.
Contents
- Godolphin and latymer school win the u13 lady taverners indoor competition
- History
- Notable alumni
- References
The school motto is an ancient Cornish phrase, Francha Leale Toge, which translates as "free and loyal art thou".
The Good Schools Guide called the school a "Very strong academic school with a friendly atmosphere, an outstanding head and a broad range of extra-curricular activities."
History
It was built in 1861 as the Godolphin School, a boarding establishment for boys, set in fields near the River Thames at Hammersmith in west London. In 1905 it became an independent day school for girls, associated with the Latymer Foundation and taking the name of the Godolphin and Latymer School.
From 1906 onwards it received grants from the London County Council and the Local Education Authority for equipment, library books and buildings. In 1939 the whole school was evacuated from London with no forward planning for where the school would stay. In 1951 the school became a state Voluntary aided school under the Education Act 1944, and ceased to charge fees to pupils. After the abolition of the scheme, the school chose to revert to full independent status in 1977 rather than join the state system and turn comprehensive and resumed the charging of fees to pupils.
The Godolphin and Latymer School celebrated its centenary in May 2005 with a service at St. Paul's Cathedral. In the same year the nearby church of St. John the Evangelist, designed by William Butterfield and built in the late 1850s, was closed and acquired by the School on a 125-year lease. It has been converted into the Bishop Arts Centre, named after Dame Joyce Bishop, who was headmistress between 1935 and 1963.
Notable alumni
The poet W. B. Yeats was a pupil at the Godolphin School, before it became a girls' school, between 1877 and 1881.
Notable former pupils of the girls' school, known as Old Dolphins, include: