Malvern St James is an independent school for girls in

Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and ...

, Worcestershire, England. Founded in 1893 as Malvern Girls' College, it was renamed Malvern St James following a merger in 2006 with St James's School in West Malvern. It continues to occupy the same campus as the former college, which includes as its main building the former Imperial Hotel, taken over for use as a school by Malvern Girls' College in 1919. The school comprises three sections: a Prep Department for girls aged 4–11, a Senior School for girls aged 11–16, and a

Sixth Form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for ...

for girls aged 16-18.

History

Two schools

Malvern Girls' College was founded in 1893 by Miss Greenslade and Miss Poulton, and was first located in College Road. In 1919 they acquired the Imperial Hotel and in 1934, a major extension including an assembly hall was built. Further extensions included the Hatfield building in the 1960s, the Edinburgh Dome in 1977 and The Science Education Centre in 1998. St James's School was founded in the south of England by twin sisters Alice and Katrine Baird in 1896 and moved to the large mansion of Lord Howard de Walden in West Malvern in 1902. The Abbey School was founded in

Blockley Blockley is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an exclave of Worcestershire. The civil and ecclesiastical par ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

and moved to Malvern in 1897 and to

Malvern Wells Malvern Wells is a village and civil parish south of Great Malvern in the Malvern Hills district of Worcestershire, England. The parish, once known as South Malvern, was formed in 1894 from parts of the civil parishes of Hanley Castle, Welland, ...

in 1908. Two of the Baird sisters, Diana and Alice, ran the two houses for students: the Junior House, for the girls aged 11–14, and the Senior House for girls above 14. "The Miss Bairds were remarkable: five spinster sisters all over six feet tall and all to be Head Mistresses." The girls wore a simple uniform: white cotton shirts, navy blue coats and skirts. "There were no 'O Levels' or 'A Levels' in those days, and exams were not taken seriously. 'Citizenship' was what the Miss Bairds were most anxious to instill; it must be admitted with considerable success--many girls were later notable for lives of public service."

The merger

In 1979 the two schools merged on the West Malvern campus of St James and the resulting school was named St James's & The Abbey. In 1994 Lawnside School, which was founded around 1856, merged with St James's & The Abbey School and the school was renamed St James's. In 2006, Malvern Girls' College merged with St James's School and was refounded as Malvern St James (MSJ).

Teaching

On 16 May 2019, it emerged that staff had been teaching the wrong book for one of their English Literature

International GCSE The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attain ...

papers, after students opened the exam and found no questions relating to the book ''Spies'' by

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the M ...

, which they had been studying for two years. One parent said, “It has been a complete utter waste of time for two years.” The school apologised and launched an investigation into the incident, and begged the exam board

Cambridge International Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

for 'special consideration'. Malvern St James received the highest rating of 'Excellent' in the

independent schools Inspectorate The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect independent schools in England. These schools are members of associations ...

Educational Quality Inspection, published in May 2017.ISI
. Retrieved 12 May 2017

Structure and academic results

The school is divided into four areas MSJ Pre-Prep (Reception to Year 2), MSJ Prep (Year 3 to Year 6), MSJ Seniors (Year 7 to Year 11) and MSJ Sixth Form (Year 12 & Year 13). A-level results 2021: Students achieved 43% of grades at A*, 75% at A*-A, 90% at A*-B and 98% at A*-C. GCSE results 2021: 32% of the entries were graded 9; 54% 9-8; and 74% 9-7. A-level results 2020: Students achieved 31% of grades at A*, 67% at A*-A, 87% at A*-B and 97% at A*-C. GCSE results 2020: 57% of entries scored a 9-8 or A* grades; 77% of entries scored 9-7/A*-A grades and 99.5% of entries scored 9-4 or A*-C. 41% of girls gained a clean sweep in grades 9-7 or A*-A. A-level results 2019: 44% of grades were at A* and A, and more than one in six students achieved a clean sweep of A* and A grades. GCSE results 2019: 38% of entries scored a 9-8 or A* grades; and 55% of entries scored 9-7/A*-A grades.

Boarding houses

The school offers full, weekly or flexi boarding. All girls whether they are boarders or day girls are a part of the boarding community. There are five boarding houses each dedicated to caring for a specific age group: Batsford, Benhams, Mount, Poulton and Greenslade.

Architecture

The Imperial Hotel

250px, Main building – the former Imperial Hotel Following the collapse of the spa industry, many of the hotels were acquired for use as private boarding schools, and education became the basis of Malvern's economy; the Imperial Hotel was purchased by the school in 1919. The former hotel is directly opposite Great Malvern railway station, with its dedicated (now derelict) tunnel to the basement of the building, which is clearly visible from both platforms of the station. The red brick and stone Imperial Hotel, which had been the largest in Malvern during the town's heyday as a spa in the second half of the 19th century, is still one of the largest buildings in Malvern and was built in 1860 by the architect E. W. Elmslie. He also designed the Great Malvern railway station, the Council House and The Grove in Avenue Road in 1867, originally to be his private residence, which in 1927 became part of the Lawnside School. The Imperial was the first hotel to be lit by incandescent gas. It was equipped with all types of baths and brine was brought specially by rail from Droitwich. In 1934 the building was extended with the addition of the York Hall, officially opened by

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was th ...

The Edinburgh Dome

The school campus has a listed sports hall – The Edinburgh Dome, so named as it was unveiled by the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...

. It consists of a round, green, balloon-shaped building, containing squash courts, a gym area and a games area, surrounded by a moat. Based on an innovative roof construction by Dante Bini, the

Binishell Binishells are reinforced concrete thin-shell structures that are lifted and shaped by air pressure. They were invented in the 1960s by Dante Bini, who built 1,600 of them in 23 countries. The Binishell method needs expensive and sophisticat ...

(or Parashell), it was built in 1977 by architect Michael Godwin and consultant engineer John Faber. It was opened in 1978. On the advice of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

it has been designated a

Grade II listed building 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 Ir ...

Fees

As of the 2021-22 academic year, fees at the school range from £2,550 to £13,470 per term.

Alumnae

Malvern St James Girls' School

* Hon. Beryl Cozens Hardy OBE (1911-2011) first British woman to chair the committee of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from 1972-1975 *

Jennifer Kirby Jennifer Ann Kirby (born 18 August 1988) is an English television and stage actress. She is best known for her role as Nurse Valerie Dyer on the BBC One period drama ''Call the Midwife''. She joined the show in series six and played Valerie unti ...

, television and stage actress *

Iskra Lawrence Iskra Arabella Lawrence (born 11 September 1990) is a British model. Early life and education Lawrence was born in Wolverhampton and grew up in Kidderminster, Worcestershire from the age of 6 weeks. Lawrence attended Holy Trinity School, Kidder ...

, model, activist, and one of the BBC's 100 Women

Malvern Girls' College

Mary Hayley Bell Mary Hayley Bell, Lady Mills (22 January 1911 – 1 December 2005) was an English actress and writer, married for 64 years to actor Sir John Mills. Her novel '' Whistle Down the Wind'' was adapted as a film, starring her teenaged daughter, ...

(1911-2005), playwright and author of '' Whistle Down the Wind'' *

Barbara Cartland Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) published as Barbara Cartland was an English writer, known as the Queen of Romance, who published both contemporary and historical romance novels, the latter set primarily duri ...

(1901-2000), novelist * Jane Davidson, minister for environment and sustainability in Wales from 2007 to 2011 * Melanie Dawes, economist and civil servant *

Imogen Edwards-Jones Imogen Edwards-Jones (born June 1968, in Birmingham), is a British writer, author and journalist, who blogs for doyoutravel.com and Get the Gloss. Biography Edwards-Jones was educated at Malvern Girls' College, a boarding independent school i ...

, author of 'Hotel Babylon' *

Manya Harari Manya Harari (née Manya Benenson) (8 April 1905 – 24 September 1969)P. J. V. Rolo"Harari , Manya (1905–1969)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2011. was a British translator of ...

(1905 – 1969)P. J. V. Rolo
"Harari , Manya (1905–1969)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2011. Russian born British translator of

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed. By the ...

and the co-founder of

Harvill Press Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

* Peggy Jay (1913-2008), politician and campaigner, attended briefly * Anna Kavan (1901-1968), novelist, author and painter * Dorothy King, archaeologist and author *

Elizabeth Lane Dame Elizabeth Kathleen Lane, DBE (née Coulborn; 9 August 1905 – 17 June 1988) was an English barrister and judge. She was the first woman appointed as a judge in the County Court, the first female High Court judge in England, and the fi ...

(1905-1988), first female high court judge *

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who has twice led the Green Party of England and Wales and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election. She was re-elect ...

, MP, leader of the Green Party 2008–2010 * Frances Lynn, English journalist *

Sara Murray Sara Elizabeth Murray (born November 1968) is a British entrepreneur and businesswoman who developed buddi, a miniaturised tracking device for vulnerable people. She is member of the British Government’s Technology Strategy Board and Seedca ...

, British entrepreneur and businesswoman * Donna Ong, Singapore-based artist *

Joanna Van Gyseghem Joanna Van Gyseghem (born 4 September 1941) is a British actress. She was educated at Malvern Girls' College and Trinity College, Dublin. Her father André van Gyseghem was an actor and director, and her mother Jean Forbes-Robertson an actre ...

, actress *

Tania Long Tania Long (April 29, 1913 – September 4, 1998) was an American journalist and war correspondent during World War II. Biography Early life Tania Long was the only child of Irish journalist Robert Edward Crozier Long and his Russian w ...

(1913-1998), German-born Canadian/American WWII journalist

Lawnside

* Phyllida Lloyd, Director of " Mamma Mia"

St James’s, West Malvern

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, (born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; 25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004) was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the moth ...

(1901-2004) * Penelope Lyttelton, Viscountess Cobham, businesswoman * Dame Clara Furse, Chief Executive (retired) of the London Stock Exchange *

Penelope Leach Penelope Jane Leach (née Balchin; born 19 November 1937) is a British psychologist who researches and writes extensively on parenting issues from a child development perspective. Leach is best known for her book ''Your Baby and Child: From B ...

, childcare expert

The Abbey School

* Professor Ursula Martin, computer scientist

Notable staff

* Rear Admiral Rodney Sturdee, bursar of Malvern Girls' College, 1972–1985Rear Admiral Rodney Sturdee: Flag Officer Gibraltar 1969 72
(obituary) in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

, 5 November 2009, accessed 17 April 2020

References

External links

Malvern St James official website
*
Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)Malvern St James Girls' School
profile at The Good Schools Guide