Lady Margaret School

Lady Margaret School an all-girls' Church of England secondary school in Parsons Green, Fulham, London. It was awarded specialist school status (a government funding scheme defunct since 2010) as a Mathematics & Computing College in September 2003,[1] and became an academy in September 2012. In September 2017 it celebrated its 100th anniversary. Princess Alexandra is Patron of the Centenary having previously opened the new Assembly Hall in 1965. Princess Alexandra attended a Service to celebrate the Centenary of Lady Margaret School at Westminster Abbey (the resting place of Lady Margaret Beaufort) on Tuesday 17 October 2017. The service was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall.

Lady Margaret School
Lady Margaret School, 2016
Location
Parsons Green
,
London
,
SW6 4UN

England
Coordinates51.474°N 0.199°W / 51.474; -0.199
Information
TypeAcademy
MottoI have a goodly heritage (Psalm 16.6)
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
EstablishedSeptember 1917 (1917-09)
FounderEnid Moberly Bell
Department for Education URN138607 Tables
OfstedReports
ChairPhilip Bladen
HeadteacherElisabeth Stevenson
GenderGirls
Age11 to 18
Enrolment742
Sixth form students175
Houses
  • Carver
  • Chirol
  • Kensington
  • Lyttleton
  • Marshall
  • Moberly-Bell
Colour(s)Black and Red strips
Websitewww.ladymargaret.lbhf.sch.uk

Now

The school has approximately 742 girls aged between 11 and 18 years, about 175 of whom are in the Sixth Form. The majority of girls stay on into the Sixth Form. A number of students from other schools are given places in the Sixth Form following its expansion with the opening of the purpose-built Olivier Centre in 2010.

The headteacher is Mrs Elisabeth Stevenson, following the retirement of Mrs Sally Whyte in July 2015.

Today Lady Margaret School is a successful Church of England academy in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003 the school achieved specialist status in Mathematics and Computing. In 2007 the school was described by Ofsted as 'good with outstanding features' and by the Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools as 'outstanding'.

In 2010, the school opened a new building named 'The Olivier Centre', named after the former headmistress, Joan Olivier. The auditorium there was named after Colin Busby, a deputy head who also retired in 2006.

It was reviewed again in 2011, with Ofsted describing the school as 'outstanding'. Having been designated a 'high performing specialist school' following the successful Ofsted inspection, the school was awarded a second specialism in Music.

In December 2012 the school was given the go-ahead by Hammersmith & Fulham Council to expand to permanently admit four forms of entry in Year 7 following the success of two earlier 'bulge' years. From September 2014 the school admitted four forms (120 pupils) in Year 7.

In December 2016, the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (AKA SIAMS) conducted an inspection to evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of the school as a church school. The report judged the school to be ‘Outstanding’ in all categories.

History

Lady Margaret School has its origins in Whitelands College School, founded in 1842, a year after the creation of Whitelands College, one of the oldest higher education institutions in England. The latter was founded by the Church of England's National Society as a teacher training college for women. The college was named after its first home, a Georgian building, Whitelands House, on King's Road in Chelsea, London.

In 1917, Whitelands School was threatened with closure, and it was only by the strenuous efforts of Enid Moberly Bell and her staff that a substantial number of the pupils were "rescued", forming Lady Margaret School that September. Records in The National Archives suggest that Enid Moberly Bell was its founding headmistress.[2] The School was named after the Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, founder of St John's and Christ's Colleges, Cambridge, and a benefactress of education.

The school began life in the oldest of the three houses facing Parsons Green which now form the present school: Belfield House. In 1937, the second house, Elm House, was purchased through the generosity of Anne Lupton (died 1967) and was renamed Lupton House.[3][4]

The school was for many decades a fee-paying school.[5] However, with the passing in 1944 of the "Butler Act", which introduced free secondary education in the UK, the school's Kindergarten and Junior School were phased out and Lady Margaret became a two-form entry grammar school. In April 1951 its relationship to the Church of England was regularised when it became a voluntary aided school. It became a comprehensive school on its 60th Anniversary in September 1977.

Houses

There are six houses in the school: Moberly Bell and Marshall joined the four original houses in 2001/02. Three of the six houses are named after women and the other three are after men. They are as follows: Moberly-Bell, (named after Enid Moberly-Bell, first Headmistress of LMS) (pink), Lyttelton (after Dr. Edward Lytelton, a benefactor of the school) (blue), Carver (named after an early benefactor of the school, Miss Gertrude Carver, who was also a close family friend of Enid Moberly Bell) (green),Marshall (Florence Marshall, a previous headmistress)(purple), Chirol (Sir Valentine Chirol, a benefactor of the school) (red) and Kensington (The Bishop of Kensington) (yellow).

Notable former pupils

Grammar school
  • Nadine Baylis (1940-2017), stage and costume designer[11]
  • Betty Birch, England cricketer (1951-1958), pupil and PE teacher at the school[12]
  • Barbara Boxall, Editor from 1964–74 of Woman, and from 1962–64 of Woman's Realm[13]
  • Diana Garnham, Board member Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), Chief Executive 2006 – October 2015 of the Science Council, and from 1991–2005 of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)[14]
  • Margaret Glentworth – District Judge North Eastern Circuit 2001-2017
  • Kelly Hunter – actress
  • Nigella Lawson (briefly) and her sister Horatia
  • Kathy Polge, married Laurie Lee
  • Joanna Simons CBE Chair, Experience Oxfordshire, Chief Executive 2005-10 of Oxfordshire County Council, and from 2001-05 of Sutton London Borough Council
  • Julia Simpson, former journalist, Director of Communications from 2002–06 at the Home Office
  • Janet Street-Porter — Editor-at-large at the Independent newspapers[15]

References
  1. "Specialist Schools Home". Department for Children, Schools and Families. Archived from the original on 3 August 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  2. "Records of Whitelands College Girls' School Old Girls' Association". The National Archives. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  3. "London Gardens". London Parks and Gardens Trust. Retrieved 21 November 2018. In 1937 the school moved out and Elm House was acquired by Lady Margaret School. The building was refurbished, and renamed Lupton House, in honour of Anne Lupton, who had been instrumental in acquiring the building for the school.
  4. Owen, Brian. "Lady Margaret School". Lady Margaret School Ltd. – 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015. In 1937, the second house, Elm House, was purchased through the generosity of Miss Anne Lupton.
  5. Black, A. and C. (1962). "The Girls' School Year Book - Public Schools". Adam and Charles Black. Retrieved 21 November 2018. LADY MARGARET SCHOOL A CHURCH OF ENGLAND GRAMMAR SCHOOL FOR GIRLS PARSON'S GREEN, S.W. 6 (Aided by London County Council) School Motto. — " I have a goodly heritage." • This School is a ...... Originally a fee-paying independent school, it is now a Voluntary Aided Secondary Grammar Day School. The London Diocesan Board of Education is Trustee....
  6. "Centenary of Lady Margaret School celebrated at Westminster Abbey - London Diocesan Board for Schools". ldbs.co.uk. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  7. "Laura Barnett 'Greatest Hits' Q&A at Nomad Books, London - Thursday 13 July, 7.30pm - Laura Barnett: Author and Journalist". laura-barnett.co.uk. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  8. "Little wonder: meet author Jessie Burton". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  9. "Meet the Sloane strangers: Made in Chelsea returns with fresh faces". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  10. Bindel, Julie (9 January 2017). "Jill Saward obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  11. Pritchard, Jane (5 August 2018). "Nadine Baylis obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  12. "Betty Birch". Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  13. "Barbara Boxall". 6 April 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  14. pt91. "University of Leicester to honour gold medal-winning Paralympic athlete and science campaigner — University of Leicester". www2.le.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  15. "Top schools face legal action for grabbing the brightest pupils". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
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