Birkenhead High School Academy

Birkenhead High School Academy is an all-ability state funded girls' Academy in Birkenhead, Wirral.

Birkenhead High School Academy
Address
86 Devonshire Place

Oxton
,
Wirral
,
CH43 1TY

England
Coordinates53°23′18″N 3°03′01″W
Information
TypeAcademy
Established1884 (2009 as an academy)
FounderGirls' Day School Trust
Local authorityWirral
Department for Education URN135877 Tables
OfstedReports
Head teacherMrs Rebecca Mahony
GenderGirls
Age3 to 19
Enrolment1,092
Colour(s)Black and White
Predecessor schoolBirkenhead High School for Girls (until 2009)
WebsiteSchool Website

Introduction

Birkenhead High School was the main Wirral private girls' school, but in 2010 became a non-fee paying Academy. It remains a member of the Girls' Day School Trust, a national educational charity based in London. The school has sports facilities with a number of tennis courts, all-weather pitches, gymnasium and swimming pool. In addition to a wide academic curriculum, aided by IT facilities, there is a music and drama scene and a range of after school clubs.

It is situated[1] on Devonshire Place[2] just north of Trinity with Palm Grove Church. The school lies within the parish of Christ Church, Birkenhead[3] although the tennis courts[4] are in the parish of St Saviour's,[5] and the playing fields are in the parish of St. James, Birkenhead.[6]

History

The High Schools Company opened Birkenhead High School for Girls in 1884 in a building on Village Road in Oxton, Birkenhead. In 1901 it was purchased by the Girls' Public Day School Company (GPDSC). The school moved into 86 Devonshire Place in September 1905. In 1918 the school acquired 31 Devonshire Place to be the home of the junior school. During World War Two the girls were evacuated to Shrewsbury High School.[7] [8]

Headmistresses
  • 1917–1923: Edith Mabel Lucy Lees, (1878–1956)[9]
  • 1923–1930: Jessie Margaret Hunter McCaig (d. 1965)[10]
  • 1930–1952: H N Stephen (1891–1984)[11]
  • 1952–1963: Phyllis Edith Winter[12]
  • 1964–1970: Irene Hindmarsh, afterwards Principal of St Aidan's College, Durham University, 1970–1988
  • 1971–1986: Freda Kellett[13]
  • 1986–c.1997: Kathleen Irving[14]
  • Present: Rebecca Mahony

Transition to Academy

Parents of pupils at the school were informed in September 2007 that the school was to become an Academy, with the GDST (Girls' Day School Trust) as the founding sponsor, so that the benefits of the schools might reach a wider cross-section of the community. Since then the facilities have been improved with a £12million building project.

As part of the state-funded system the Academy no longer charges fees. Fair banding is used to ensure a comprehensive intake of the full range of academic ability. Sixth Form admission is six GCSE passes at Grade B or above, including English and mathematics.[15] The school's particular specialisms are Music and Mathematics.[16]

  • Senior school
  • New junior school building

Local response to Academy decision

In response to the school's decision to become a state-funded all-ability Academy, and the consequent abandonment of the planned merger between the schools which had been actually initiated by Birkenhead High School, the neighbouring Birkenhead School became fully co-educational in September 2008, stating that it had "the desire to play our role in providing a selective and independent choice for all children on Wirral, whether boys or girls". Subsequently, it has completed a £2m investment to support its co-educational future and deal with increased numbers.[17] Currently around 28% of its pupils are female with its initial intake primarily from Birkenhead High School Academy.

Academic Performance and the Impact of Academy Status

In 2009, the last year of Birkenhead High School as an independent selective school, it achieved the best A level results in Wirral, measured as points per entry, together with Birkenhead School, a co-educational independent selective school.[18]

In 2011, Birkenhead High School Academy received national recognition for the proportion of top grades achieved by its pupils in the GCSE examinations. It qualified as one of the top 10% of non-selective schools in England, where at least 19% of students gained 5A*-A grades, including English and Maths, proving itself to be one of the best schools in the country.[19]

Notable former pupils

References
  1. "Entrance to Birkenhead High School GDST: OS grid SJ3088". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  2. "Bridge across Devonshire Place: OS grid SJ3088". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  3. "Christ Church Birkenhead: OS grid SJ3087". Geograph.org.uk. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  4. "Birkenhead Lawn Tennis Club: OS grid SJ3088". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  5. "St. Saviour's Church, Oxton: OS grid SJ3087". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  6. "Sports field for Birkenhead High School GDST: OS grid SJ3088". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  7. Magnus, Laurie (1923). The Jubilee Book of the Girls' Public Day School Trust, 1873–1923. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 166–167.
  8. Girls' Public Day School Trust (1972). The Girls' Public Day School Trust 1872–1972. pp. 33–36.
  9. Institute of Education Archives, From File 'Miss Edith Mabel Lucy Lees' Ref: GDS/15/3/47, Records of the Girls' Day School Trust, retrieved 1 August 2010
  10. Institute of Education Archives, From File 'Miss Jessie Margaret Hunter McCaig' Ref: GDS/15/3/58, Records of the Girls' Day School Trust, retrieved 1 August 2010
  11. Institute of Education Archives, From File 'Miss Stephen' Ref: GDS/15/3/66, Records of the Girls' Day School Trust, retrieved 1 August 2010
  12. Institute of Education Archives, From File 'Miss Winter' Ref: GDS/15/3/93, Records of the Girls' Day School Trust, retrieved 1 August 2010
  13. Institute of Education Archives, From File 'Miss F Kellett' Ref: GDS/15/3/120, Records of the Girls' Day School Trust, retrieved 1 August 2010
  14. "From File 'Mrs K R Irving' Ref: GDS/15/3/147, Records of the Girls' Day School Trust". Institute of Education Archives. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  15. Birkenhead High School Academy (November 2008). "Admissions". GDST. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  16. Birkenhead High School Academy (November 2008). "Our specialisms". GDST. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  17. Birkenhead School (2 May 2008). "Co-educational School". Birkenhead School. Archived from the original on 28 April 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  18. Daily Telegraph (8 April 2010). "2009 A Level league table". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  19. SSAT:Wirral Globe (4 July 2011). "Adademy's GCSE results top class". London: Wirral Globe. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  20. Halstead, Richard (19 January 1997). "I learnt I could beat the boys". The Independent. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  21. "The Times". The Times. London. 16 December 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  22. "Patricia Routledge". British Musical Theatre. Archived from the original on 26 January 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  23. "Shribman, Dr Sheila". National Health Service. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  24. https://web.archive.org/web/20071028044034/http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=47. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. Trapp, J. B. (2004). "Yates, Dame Frances Amelia (1899–1981)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
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