City of London School for Girls

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City of London School for Girls
Established	1894
Type	Independent All-female
Headmistress	Dr Yvonne Burne
Grades	Kindergarten-Sixth Form
Location	London, England
Website	City of London School for Girls

City of London School for Girls (CLSG) is a girls' independent school located in the Barbican Estate complex in the City of London, United Kingdom. It is sister school of the City of London School (a boys' school) and the City of London Freemen's School (a co-educational school). The school celebrated its 110th Anniversary in 2004-2005, under the title of 'Women in Leadership'. It celebrated its 111th Anniversary in 2005-2006, under the same title. It celebrated its 112th Anniversary in 2006-2007 under the title of 'International Women in Leadership'. The girls who attend are commonly referred to as 'City girls'.

The school was founded by William Ward in 1894. It was his conviction that girls should be given a broad and liberal education with an emphasis on scholarship and despite having no daughters of his own, he left a third of his fortune to the City of London to fund the foundation of a girls' school, a £20,000 legacy for the Corporation of London. The school now receives financial support from the City Livery Companies as well as banks and other City firms. Links with the City of London remain strong - the City administers the school and the Board of Governors is appointed by the Court of Common Council. The school has strong links with its brother school - the City of London School is just a ten-minute walk away.

1 General
2 Academic
3 Extracurricular
4 Pastoral
5 The House System
6 Future Plans
7 Notable Alumnae
8 External link

[edit] General

The school is for girls aged 7 to 18. Most pupils enter aged 7 ("7+" for the Prep School), 11 ("11+"), or 16 ("16+", for Sixth Form), although casual vacancies arise occasionally. The school's capacity is roughly 680 pupils. As its success rises, applications to the school continue to climb and new classrooms are being continually created, including by moving the school nurse out of her office.

Fees are currently £3,855 a term (2006) for the senior school exclusive of school lunches, and entrance is by examination. (The Prep Department is the same, but includes school lunches). The school remains relatively ethnically and socially diverse, although not as diverse as other leading London schools in both the state and independent sectors.

[edit] Academic

The school has an excellent academic reputation and leading league table results. In 2005, the school came first in The Sunday Times table of Prep Schools, and 2nd and 3rd respectively in many published tables of GCSE and A-level results. The current headmistress (the ninth in "City's" history) who drove the school up the league tables (despite often saying that she does not believe them to be of value) has announced her retirement, with the current academic year being her last.

[edit] Extracurricular

The school's success gives it the reputation of a hot house with special emphasis and pressure being put on all girls taking public examinations. However, the school also encourages extracurricular activities. The arts are popular, appropriately enough for a school located across a lake from the Barbican Arts Centre. Furthermore, teachers are encouraged to go 'beyond the syllabus', exploring wider issues to nurture girls in areas that are not examined. Set within the heart of the City of London, the school is unique, in terms both of its location and its social mix.

Music lessons are available to individuals or groups, and the school has successful Junior and Senior Orchestras, Junior and Senior Choirs, a gospel choir, a barbershop group and a swing band.

In 2005, City held its first ever drama festival; a fortnight of productions and workshops. Sports are another strength at City, with clubs and squads in abundance. The school has a swimming pool, a lecture theatre and an indoor gym with climbing wall. Debating is another popular activity, with participation in public speaking events such as Model United Nations and European Youth Parliament.

Trips and visits are common, and City girls are offered language exchanges to France, Spain, Germany and China, as well as other travelling opportunities through schemes such as World Challenge, which has seen girls go recently to Venezuela. Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions have been confined to the UK since 2001, when student Amelia Ward was killed whilst abseiling on a Duke of Edinburgh trip in South Africa.

[edit] Pastoral

The school is secular, yet has mildly Christian traditions, with twice weekly hymns and an annual Carol Service in the neighbouring St Giles' Church. There is a weekly Jewish assembly, as well as a Not Necessarily Jewish Society, an Asian Society and an African/Afro-caribbean society.

[edit] The House System

City has a relatively new house system which consists of 4 houses. Each girl is allocated a house when they enter the shcool. House competitions range from House Drama, House Music, House Quiz and Sports Day. The 4 houses are: Fleet - after Fleet Street, Tudor, St. Bride - after St.Bride church on Fleet Street, Ward - after William Ward, the founder of the school.

[edit] Future Plans

There are currently plans in the pipeline for a new extension to the school in the form of a Sixth Form Block and an all-weather playing field, as the school continues to grow - the 2000 intake swelled from the usual 60-70 girls per year to 90+.

The current headmistress is Dr Yvonne Burne, who is shortly to retire. The new headmistress will be Miss Diana Vernon, who will join the school in September 2007.