(''O Lord Direct us'') , established = 1894 , closed = , type =

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmistress , head = Jenny Brown , r_head_label = , r_head = , founder = William Ward , specialist = , county =

Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe In the Middle ...

London, EC2 , country = United Kingdom , local_authority =

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, dfeno = 201/6005 , urn = 100001 , ofsted = , staff = , enrolment = 707 , gender = Girls , lower_age = 7 , upper_age = 18 , houses = Fleet, Tudor, St. Bride & Ward , colours = Red , publication = , free_label_1 = Former pupils , free_1 = City of London Old Girls' Association , website = http://www.clsg.org.uk The City of London School for Girls (CLSG) is an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

in the

. It is the partner school of the all-boys

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , special ...

and the

City of London Freemen's School , established = 1854 , type = Independent school Day and boarding school , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Surrey#England#United Kingdom , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

. All three schools receive funding from the

City's Cash City's Cash is an endowment fund, overseen by the City of London Corporation, built up over 800 years and passed from generation to generation to fund services that the Corporation claims benefit London and the nation as a whole. It is one of th ...

. It is a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the Un ...

(HMC) and the

Girls' Schools Association The Girls' Schools Association (GSA) is a professional association of the heads of independent girls' schools. It is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council. History The GSA can trace its history back to the Association of Headm ...

History

The school was founded using a bequest by William Ward, a merchant of

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th cent ...

, in 1881 and opened in Carmelite Street in 1894. It was his conviction that girls should be given a broad and liberal education with an emphasis on scholarship; he left a third of his fortune to the City of London to fund the foundation of a girls' school. The school is still administered by the

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Ki ...

, and the Board of Governors is appointed by the

Court of Common Council The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. Elections are held at least every four years. It is largely composed o ...

. The school also receives financial support from the City Livery Companies as well as banks and other City firms. The school has strong links with the all-boys

, 15 minutes' walk away, which likewise is run by the Corporation. The school moved to new buildings in the

Barbican Estate The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, maisonettes, and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and densely populated b ...

in 1969.

General

The school has an excellent academic reputation. In 2018, it was rated by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' as the second-best independent school in the UK, based on GCSE and A-Level results. It has previously topped The Times A-level league table of England's independent schools and its table of prep schools. It has contributed two female participants to UK

International Mathematical Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre- university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, excep ...

teams.

The Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...

describes City as having a "famously diverse mix of pupils and staff as befits the school's situation in the heart of the city". The school has a small prep school taking pupils from the age of 7, although most students join at 11. The school admits some students at 16. The secondary school's capacity is roughly 680 pupils. Fees are currently £6,404 per

term Term may refer to: * Terminology, or term, a noun or compound word used in a specific context, in particular: **Technical term, part of the specialized vocabulary of a particular field, specifically: ***Scientific terminology, terms used by scient ...

for the senior school exclusive of school lunches, and entrance is by examination. Approximately 25% of students receive

bursary A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awa ...

assistance of some kind, including full bursaries. The school is secular, yet has mildly Christian traditions, with an optional annual Carol Service in the neighbouring St Giles' Church. There is a Jewish Society as well as an Asian Society, an Oriental Society and an African-Caribbean Society. City has a house system which consists of four houses. The four houses are Fleet (after Fleet Street), Tudor (after Tudor Street), St. Bride (after St. Bride church on Fleet Street), Ward (after William Ward, the founder of the school). There are a variety of inter-house competitions, including Drama, Debating, Maths, Art, Music, the Inter-House Quiz and at Sports Day, as well as several other sports competitions throughout the year. There have been 12 headmistresses of the school; the headmistress is Jenny Brown.

Extracurricular

The school is adjacent to the

Barbican Arts Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

and the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, and has a strong focus on the arts. The school offers joint music scholarships with the Guildhall Music School. Since 2005, the school has held a drama festival called Moat Fest. The school has a swimming pool, a lecture theatre, two netball/tennis courts, a drama studio, an all weather playing field and an indoor gym with climbing wall, as well as a gym complete with exercise equipment such as treadmills and weights. The school has several times won the national

European Youth Parliament The European Youth Parliament is a politically unbound non-profit organisation, which encourages European youth to actively engage in citizenship and cultural understanding. It involves 50,000 youngsters from all around Europe in its events and ...

competition and has a strong debating program. The school offers 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 Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Duke of Edinburgh Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...

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.They regularly have exchanges from countries such as Australia, China, Germany, France, and Spain. It is the only school to have won the international

Kids' Lit Quiz The Kids' Lit Quiz is an annual literature competition, in which teams of four students, aged 10 to 14, work together to answer wide-ranging literary questions. The winning team from each region competes in the national final. The winner of the n ...

twice, in 2010 and 2014.

Buildings

The school is situated in a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

listed building in the Barbican. The school has attracted controversy with recent expansion plans. In January 2018 plans were advanced to expand prep school for four- to seven-year-olds in an underground car park of an adjoining tower block, Thomas More House. The plans met with significant local opposition. A further plan for expansion was prepared by

Nicholas Hare Architects Nicholas Hare Architects is a UK architectural practice, with a portfolio of award-winning projects. These include schools, higher education, refurbishment, commercial projects, and buildings for the arts. Founded by Nicholas Hare in 1977, the pr ...

, again meeting with strong opposition, and was subsequently abandoned.

Head Mistresses

*1894–1910 Alice BlagraveHistory of CLSG
at clsg.org.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2014 *1910–1927 Ethel Strudwick *1927–1932 Hilda Doris Bugby (died in office) *1932–1937 Julia Elizabeth Turner *1937–1949 E. D. M. Winters *1949–1972

Gladys Colton Gladys Madge Colton FRSA (1909 – 24 April 1986), was an English schoolmistress and educationist. She was head mistress of the City of London School for Girls from 1949 to 1972 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Life The elder daughter of ...

(1909–1986) *1972–1986: Lily M. Mackie *1986–1995: Lady Valerie France *1995-2007: Yvonne Burne *2007–2014: Diana Vernon *2014–2019: Ena Harrop *2019–present: Jenny Brown

Notable former pupils

''For a fuller list, see People educated at the City of London School for Girls'' *

Wilhelmina Hay Abbott Wilhelmina Hay Abbott (; 22 May 1884 – 17 October 1957), also known by the name "Elizabeth Abbott," was a Scottish suffragist, editor, and feminist lecturer, and wife of author George Frederick Abbott. Early life and education Abbott was bo ...

, suffragist * Dido Armstrong, singer *

Anna Blundy Anna Blundy (born 11 April 1970) is an English novelist and journalist. She was born in London and educated at the City of London School for Girls and Westminster School. Her first book was published in 1998: ''Every Time We Say Goodbye'', a me ...

, journalist *

Margaret Boden Margaret Ann Boden (born 26 November 1936) is a Research Professor of Cognitive Science in the Department of Informatics at the University of Sussex, where her work embraces the fields of artificial intelligence, psychology, philosophy, and c ...

, scientist *

Fiona Caldicott Dame Fiona Caldicott, ( Soesan; 12 January 1941 – 15 February 2021) was a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist who also served as Principal of Somerville College, Oxford She was the National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care in ...

, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Principal of Somerville College, Oxford * Hilary Cass, President of the

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, often referred to as the RCPCH, is the professional body for paediatricians (doctors specialising in child health) in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the postgraduate training of paed ...

Daisy Christodoulou Daisy Christodoulou is Director of Education at No More Marking, an online engine which aims to help teachers with comparative-judgement assessment of school work. Before this she was head of education research at the charity Ark, where she co ...

, educationalist * Jean Dawnay, fashion model *

Elizabeth Emanuel Elizabeth Florence Emanuel (née Weiner, born 5 July 1953) is a British fashion designer who is best known for designing, with her former husband David Emanuel, the wedding dress worn by Lady Diana Spencer on her wedding to Prince Charles in ...

, fashion designer *

Romola Garai Romola Sadie Garai (; born 6 August 1982) is a British actress and film director. She appeared in ''Amazing Grace'', ''Atonement'', and '' Glorious 39'', and in the BBC series '' Emma'', '' The Hour'' and ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. I ...

, actress *

Grace Golden Grace Lydia Golden (2 April 1904 – 3 June 1993) was an English illustrator and historian. Raised in London, she began illustrating books in the early 1930s and began painting exhibition pieces after becoming the recipient of a small legacy in ...

, artist * Florence Harmer, historian * Sarah B Hart, mathematician, first female

Gresham Professor of Geometry The Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to ten and in addition the ...

Sahar Hashemi Sahar Hashemi (born 1967) is a British businesswoman, best known as the co-founder of the coffee chain Coffee Republic and confectionery brand Skinny Candy. She recently co-chaired the UK government Scale Up Taskforce shaping government policy ...

, entrepreneur *

Tin-Tin Ho Tin-Tin Ho (born 3 September 1998) is an English table tennis player, born and raised in London. She has won multiple national titles, as well as two Commonwealth silver medals, and appeared at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Career 2014 Commonwealth ...

, table tennis player * Phyllis Margaret Tookey Kerridge, scientist *

Hermione Lee Dame Hermione Lee, (born 29 February 1948) is a British biographer, literary critic and academic. She is a former President of Wolfson College, Oxford, and a former Goldsmiths' Professor of English Literature in the University of Oxford and Pr ...

, professor of English at the University of Oxford, President of Wolfson College, Oxford *

Megan Lloyd George Lady Megan Arvon Lloyd George, (22 April 1902 – 14 May 1966) was a Welsh politician and the first female Member of Parliament (MP) for a Welsh constituency. She also served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, before later becoming a Lab ...

, politician *

Tasmin Lucia Khan Tasmin Lucia-Khan (born 18 July 1980) is a British film producer, television personality, news anchor and entrepreneur. In the UK, she is most known for being the face of BBC Three ''60 Seconds'', hosting ''E24'' on BBC News, and fronting th ...

, ITV news presenter *

Georgina Mace Dame Georgina Mary Mace, One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: (12 July 1953 – 19 September 2020) was a British ecologist and conservation scientist. She was Professor of Biodiver ...

DBE FRS, Conservation scientist * Sara Nathan, journalist *

Mary Nighy Mary Nighy (born 17 July 1984) is an English actress and filmmaker. Early life Nighy was born on 17 July 1984 in London. She is the daughter of actors Bill Nighy and Diana Quick. She was educated at the City of London School for Girls and W ...

, actress * Melinda Camber Porter, artist, journalist, & filmmaker *

Ella Purnell Ella Summer Purnell (born 17 September 1996) is an English actress best known for her roles as Jackie in the Showtime drama series '' Yellowjackets,'' Jinx in the Netflix animated television series ''Arcane'', and Gwyn in the Paramount+/Nickelo ...

, actress * Claire Rayner, journalist *

Dinah Rose Dinah Gwen Lison Rose KC (born 16 July 1965) is a British barrister. She has been President of Magdalen College, Oxford since 2020. A member of Blackstone Chambers, she was named Barrister of the Year in ''The Lawyer'' Awards 2009. In 2016, she ...

, barrister, President of Magdalen College, Oxford * Dorothy Spiers, first female actuary in the UK *

Margaret Stacey Professor Margaret "Meg" Stacey (27 March 1922 – 10 February 2004) was a British sociologist and a leading figure in the establishment of Sociology as an academic discipline. Early life and education She was born Margaret Petrie, in London o ...

, sociologist * Olivia Sudjic, novelist *

Margaret Turner-Warwick Dame Margaret Elizabeth Turner-Warwick (; 19 November 1924 – 21 August 2017) was a British medical doctor and thoracic specialist. She was the first woman president of the Royal College of Physicians (1989–1992) and, later, chairman of t ...

, first female president of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

Alison Weir Alison Weir ( Matthews; born 1951) is a British author and public historian. She primarily writes about the history of English royal women and families, in the form of biographies that explore their historical setting. She has also written nu ...

, historian, writer *

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...

, television presenter *

Sophie Winkleman Sophie Lara Winkleman (born 5 August 1980) is an English actress. She is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince Michael of Kent, a paternal cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Early life Winkleman was born in Primrose Hill, London. He ...

, actress

References

External links

The school's official site

from the independent schools Inspectorate.
League Table results
from

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

.
Preparatory department profile
on Times Online

{{Authority control Independent girls' schools in London Independent schools in the City of London Educational institutions established in 1894 Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Kids' Lit Quiz winners Barbican Estate 1894 establishments in England Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference