our history
The Girls’ Public Day School Trust (GPTSD) is founded by four pioneering women – Mrs Maria Grey, her sister Miss Emily Shirreff, Lady Stanley of Alderley and Miss Mary Gurney – who strongly believe that girls should be entitled to the same academic education as their brothers. They enshrine the ethos that a GPDST education should be accessible to talented girls whatever their background, and offered scholarships from the outset – a principle which thrives at Blackheath High School to this day.
Rev. E Wilton South, Head Master of the Blackheath Proprietary Schools, calls a community meeting in Blackheath to draw up plans for a new public school – Blackheath High School. The meeting is attended by Mrs Grey and Miss Shirreff, along with Helen Taylor; a prominent suffragist who will eventually become the first governor of Blackheath High.
In the same year that primary education becomes compulsory, Blackheath High School opens its doors as the Girls’ Public Day School Trust’s first purpose-built school, on Wemyss Road. Designed for 300 pupils, the red-brick building offers half an acre of playgrounds, tennis courts and garden terraces, with elegant balustraded staircases still seen today in our Junior School. The school’s motto is "Knowledge no more a fountain sealed"; a reference to a new era of schooling for girls.
On 7 January 1880, HRH Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, formally opens the school, with Miss Sarah Allen-Olney as its first Headmistress. On 19 January, Margaret Robertson's name appears on the register as Blackheath High's first ever pupil. She is joined by 67 other girls studying English, Mathematics, French, Latin, Art, Needlework and Nature Study.
Florence Gadesden is appointed Head Mistress, a position she will hold for 33 years. A pioneering educator and passionate Suffragist, Miss Gadesden transforms Blackheath High – expanding the curriculum, introducing more opportunities for creative and physical expression, and championing the importance of sport for girls (including scandalously short sports skirts!).
Blackheath High Preparatory Department (otherwise knows as 'Stone House') opens at in 15 Montpelier Row. It later houses the Domestic Science Department – a kitchen and dress making room – and, eventually, the Sixth Form.
With the arrival of the Great War, girls are tasked with knitting clothes for servicemen and packing parcels of food. The school’s playing fields are turned into allotments.
Miss Gadesden retires, succeeded by Miss Gale, who builds on her pioneering legacy. Miss Gale oversees the addition of new netball and tennis courts, and the purchase of a Playing Field at Kidbrooke Park Road – an investment we still benefit from to this day as, over a century later, it remains the home of our inspiring floodlit Sports Campus.
Head Mistress Miss Lewis oversees the school’s evacuation to Tunbridge Wells High School, temporarily renamed Blackheath & Tunbridge Wells High School. In September 1940, the Wemyss Road building is taken over by the military – legend has it the special rooming system in the school today is a legacy of the Army’s time there.
Miss McCauley becomes Head and leads the school's return to Blackheath Village. Destruction is widespread but under her careful leadership, the Junior School swiftly reopens at 20 Montpelier Row, followed by the rest of the school back in its home at Wemyss Road. She also introduces the annual Gadesden public speaking competition, which is still in existence today.
Blackheath High becomes a Direct Grant School; a state-funded scheme to make outstanding education accessible to pupils from all backgrounds. Until the scheme’s closure in 1976, a quarter of Blackheath High’s students are on a Direct Grant place, fostering a diverse, ambitious and close-knit community – a spirit that endures today; our modern bursary programme is rooted in the same principles of philanthropy, inclusion and opportunity that have always defined Blackheath High.
Blackheath girls regularly achieve superb academic results. In 1960, one third of those going to university are admitted to Oxford, Cambridge and other leading universities – an extraordinary achievement given that women only began receiving Oxbridge degrees in 1920. This tradition of academic ambition and excellence continues today.
Guided by Head Mistress Miss Wheatley’s focus on the importance of civic duty and philanthropy, parents, staff and alumnae raise an incredible £30,000 to build a new gym. The school also introduces the annual ‘Senior Citizens' Party.
Mrs Williams is appointed Head Mistress and leads the school through its magnificent centenary celebrations two years later. A service of commemoration is held in Southwark Cathedral, and a tapestry is created by students and staff – it still hangs prominently in the school today.
Under the leadership of Miss Musgrave, the Senior School moves from Wemyss Road to a new site on Vanbrugh Park, formerly the Church Army Wilson Carlile Training College (opened in 1965). The Wemyss Road building becomes the exclusive home of our Junior School.
The Vanbrugh Park campus includes the striking Church Army Chapel, a listed modernist building designed by Ernest Trevor Spashett, which now serves as our Dance Studio.
With the new millennium comes a new Head, Lisa Laws. As well as developing and expanding the pastoral and co-curricular provision of the school, she also focuses on creating new facilities, including our purpose-built Theatre at the Senior School, and a floodlit AstroTurf pitch at the Sports Campus.
Overseen by Head Carol Chandler-Thomson, the Senior School completes its major £18m redevelopment, thoughtfully pairing elements of the old building with brand new, state-of-the-art facilities including light and airy Art studios, a new library, and the showstopping Louvre-inspired pyramid. The historic Datchelor stained glass panels, designed in 1896 and gifted by the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers to symbolise the school's heritage of pioneering education for women, are installed.
As part of our 140th anniversary and a year-long project devoted to sustainability and caring for our planet, the Junior School’s iconic stained-glass windows are installed. Entitled 'The Natural World', 'Community, History & Society' and 'She is Fierce' (chosen by pupils in homage to Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’), they powerfully reference our pioneering feminist spirit and re-imagine our historic Hall for a new generation.
Natalie Argile is appointed as Head, bringing with her an ambitious and future-focused vision with exceptional girls’ education at its heart, reflecting the pioneering spirit on which it was founded nearly 150 years ago. A year later, Laura Comerford joins as Head of the Junior School. Together, they are shaping the next chapter of Blackheath High, building on the school’s rich heritage and its bright future.
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