Neha Patil (Editor)

Portsmouth High School, Southsea

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Established
  
1882

Headmistress
  
Mrs Jane Prescott

Phone
  
+44 23 9282 6714

Founder
  
Girls' Day School Trust

Type
  
Independent day school

DfE number
  
851/6003

Founded
  
1882

Gender
  
Single-sex education

Portsmouth High School, Southsea

Chairman of Governors
  
Mrs Anne McMeehan Roberts

Location
  
Kent Road Southsea Hampshire PO5 3EQ England

Address
  
25 Kent Rd, Portsmouth, Southsea PO5 3EQ, UK

Profiles

Portsmouth High School is an independent day school for girls in Southsea, a district in the southern coastal city of Portsmouth, England. Founded by the Girls' Public Day School Trust in 1882, it is one of the Trust's smaller schools.

Contents

The Good Schools Guide described the school as "a super no-frills choice: big enough to appeal to almost any girl, but not at the expense of the personal touch".

History

Portsmouth High School was founded by the Girls' Public Day School Trust (now the Girls' Day School Trust) in 1882. The school moved to its present premises on Kent Road in Southsea in 1885, when the building was opened by Princess Louise. Dovercourt, the house built and lived in by the Southsea architect Thomas Ellis Owen, was acquired for the Junior School in 1927. During World War II the school was evacuated to two country houses in Hampshire, Hinton Ampner (Junior Pupils) and Adhurst St Mary (Senior Pupils), and became a boarding school for six years. After the war, the school became a direct grant grammar school under the Education Act 1944 and became independent during the mid-1970s when the scheme was abolished.

In 2011, the school was awarded the ICT Mark by the National Association for Advisors in Computer Education (Naace) and commended for its approach to technology in education as "excellent and reflects the holistic educational approach". In the same year Portsmouth High School accepted the British Council ‘International School Award’ for the school’s involvement in an impressive range of international projects. The school had successfully managed seven international projects over the period of a year involving a cross-curricular approach including pupils and staff across the school. A large focus was working with other local schools in an exciting ‘Connecting Classrooms’ project. The pupils corresponded with children in Africa (Senegal and Ethiopia) in French and in English and worked on a variety of activities including informing Senegalese and Ethiopian schools about environmental issues both locally and nationally. The award runs from 2011-2014. More information here http://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/International-School-Award.

Academics

Portsmouth High has an excellent academic track record in examinations. In 2016 percentage number of A levels graded A or A* was 43% and the number of A Levels graded A* to B was 80%. In GCSEs 68% of all grades were A*/A, 91% were A* – B and 100% were A* – C.

Notable former pupils

  • Samantha Davies, Yachtswoman
  • Kirsty Dillon, actress
  • Nancy Edwards, Professor of Medieval Archaeology
  • Meg (Margaret) Hillier, Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch
  • Rachel Lloyd, sex trafficking abolitionist and founder of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services
  • Sarah McCarthy-Fry, Politician
  • Gemma Spofforth, Olympic swimmer
  • Dr. Frances Saunders, Senior Civil Servant and scientist
  • Dr Jane Collins, Chief Executive, Marie Curie Cancer Care
  • Dr Katharine Vincent, Expert on Sustainability and Climate Change
  • Jane Hill, Author and broadcaster
  • Fleur Emery, Entrepreneur Founder of Grasshopper Foods, Green & Pleasant Drinks and Emery Barnard Design.
  • Charlotte Jackson British journalist and television presenter
  • Margaret Rock, Bletchley Park Codebreaker (1903-1983) http://www.bletchleyparkresearch.co.uk/2012/12/13/margaret-rock-bletchley-park-codebreaker/
  • References

    Portsmouth High School, Southsea Wikipedia