Page 34 - WGHS: Wakefield Girls' High School Prospectus

History of WGHS and Alumnae
Over 130 years of educating girls
WGHS has a long and distinguished history of providing an exceptional education for girls, with the school motto “Each for All and All for God” encapsulating the spirit and ethos of the school.
In 1864, The Taunton Commission, set up to investigate secondary schools (for girls in particular) recommended that some endowments, which had previously been used exclusively for boys’ education, should now be allotted to girls. This was at a time when overriding public opinion was that women should ‘remain at home, sit still, keep house and bring up children’.
Governors at the already-established QEGS agreed to pursue this movement so that girls, as well as boys, could bene t. As a result, Wake eld Girls’ High School opened its doors to 58 girls aged 8—17 on September 16, 1878. The school was located at Wentworth House (its current location), former home of wool manufacturer Elias Holt.
The Junior School opened in 1881 for pupils from 5 years of age, relocating to its own premises
(St. John’s House) in 1967.
WGHS became an independent fee-paying school in 1982, following the government’s removal of the Direct Grant Status.
Be part of something bigger
Friendships developed at WGHS extend well beyond the Benson Gates and Cobbled Yard and long into later life.
Old Girls were asked recently to describe, in one word, what they had gained from WGHS. Their top ve responses were con dence, ful lment, inspiration, opportunity and respect.
As girls prepare to take the next steps in their personal journey, they are welcomed into the WGHS In Touch community — an alumnae network of over 3,500 ‘Old Girls’, around the world.
They work in nearly every profession imaginable and are ready to advise and support those who share in the rich heritage and traditions of a High School education.
Old Girls are regular contributors to school life, giving lectures and sharing careers advice with those that follow them at the High School.
Through In Touch they meet for regular events
in Yorkshire, London and beyond. This life-long connection with the High School starts as a pupil and goes on throughout their lives, and gives rise to the Old Girl motto “Once a High School girl, always a High School girl”.