Camden School for Girls


The Camden School for Girls is a comprehensive secondary school for girls, with a co-educational sixth form, in the London Borough of Camden in north London. It has about one thousand students of ages eleven to eighteen, and specialist-school status as a Music College. The school has long been associated with the advancement of women's education.

History

Founded in 1871 by the suffragist Frances Mary Buss, who also founded North London Collegiate School, the Camden School for Girls was one of the first girls' schools in England. Although not a fee-paying school by then, girls in the mid-20th century wore a traditional uniform of dark green, with blue and green striped ties. The blazer badge showed a type of ancient sailing ship called a "buss" to commemorate the founder's surname, with the motto 'Onwards and Upwards'. Although no entry exams were held, in its pre-comprehensive era, entrance was by interview.
One of its most formative headmistresses, Doris Burchell, took on the school in the post war years and developed its renowned strengths in both science and music, overseeing a massive amount of new building on the site. The Sir John Cockcroft science wing was built from funds raised by many means, including a series of Celebrity Concerts held at the school and involving many eminent musicians. A grammar school for much of the 20th century, it became comprehensive in 1976, although only year by year. It was not fully comprehensive until 1981. The school was damaged in the war but rebuilt in 1957, the architect being John Eastwick-Field OBE. In 1973 the assembly hall roof collapsed following deterioration of its roof beams due to problems with the high-alumina cement concrete used.

Academic performance

A 1999 Office for Standards in Education report called it "a unique and very effective school in many ways." Another, written in March 2005, said it was an "outstanding school with excellent features," and the most recent report said that it "rightly deserves the outstanding
reputation it has among parents and in the community." Its GCSE results are excellent, and its A-level results are the best in the Camden LEA outside the private sector.

Notable former pupils

The following people were educated at the Camden School for Girls. Some of them only attended the sixth form.