Portsmouth High School is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

day school for girls in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

, a district in the southern coastal city of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, England. Founded by the

Girls' Public Day School Trust The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each yea ...

in 1882, it is one of the Trust's smaller schools. The ''

Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and private. The guide's contributors are predominantly parents, but include researchers and former headteachers. It uses a conversational tone. Selection of schools is made ...

'' described the school as "a super no-frills choice: big enough to appeal to almost any girl, but not at the expense of the personal touch".

History

Portsmouth High School was founded by the Girls' Public Day School Trust (now the

Girls' Day School Trust The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each yea ...

) in 1882. The school moved to its present premises on Kent Road in

in 1885, when the building was opened by Princess Louise. Dovercourt, the house built and lived in by the Southsea architect

Thomas Ellis Owen Thomas Ellis Owen (1805–1862) was an English architect and developer responsible for many of the buildings that still exist in Southsea and Gosport. He designed many churches in Hampshire and some of his work that still stands today can be ...

, was acquired for the Junior School in 1927. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the school was evacuated to two country houses in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

Hinton Ampner Hinton Ampner is a village and country house estate with gardens and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bramdean and Hinton Ampner, in the City of Winchester, Winchester district, in the county of Hampshire, England. It is near New Alres ...

(Junior Pupils) and Adhurst St Mary (Senior Pupils), and became a boarding school for six years. After the war, the school became a

direct grant grammar school A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...

under the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Histori ...

and became independent during the mid-1970s when the scheme was abolished.

Academics

In 2021 Portsmouth High School’s A Level 5 year average A* to B was 79%. GCSE 5 year average for A*/A and 9-7 is 69% which is more than double the national average.

Structure

Portsmouth High School is split into 4 principal sections: A Pre-School for 3-4 year olds, a Prep School for 4-11 year olds (reception to year 6), a Senior School for 11-16 year olds (year 7 to year 11) and Sixth Form (year 12-13). The Pre-School and Prep School are based at 36 Kent Road, Southsea while the Senior School and Sixth Form are based at 25 Kent Road, Southsea. Portsmouth High School structured its years into a house system. In the Prep School there are four houses: Dolphin, Warrior, Nelson and Vernon while in the Senior School there were another set of four houses: Gaskell, Austen, Bronte and Eliot. The school organises regular inter-house competitions such as House Music and whole school Sports Days.

Portsmouth Politics Society

After the announced closure of the nearby St John's College in May 2022, it was announced in June 2022 that the long-running St John's Politics Society would be transferring to Portsmouth High School and rebranding itself as the "Portsmouth Politics Society". All meetings originally planned for the rest of 2022 are still scheduled to take place at the High School with their original dates and times and the intention is that future meetings will carry on as they have done. Before transferring to Portsmouth High School, the Politics Society was founded in 1977 at St John's College by Bernard Black (1934-2013) who was Head of Political Studies there from 1977 to 1999. Speakers over the years have included political big names such as former Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

, former Prime Minister

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

, former Archbishop of Canterbury

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet, who served as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012. Previously the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of W ...

Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and ...

, former leader of UKIP and Reform UK

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

, former Foreign Secretary

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

, former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

, former Prime Minister and former Home Secretary

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

, former Lord Chief Justice

Lord Judge Igor Judge, Baron Judge, (19 May 1941 – 7 November 2023), was an English judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the head of the judiciary, from 2008 to 2013. He was previously President of the Queen's Bench Division, ...

, former Director of Liberty

Shami Chakrabarti Sharmishta Chakrabarti, Baroness Chakrabarti (born 16 June 1969) is a British politician, barrister, and human rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, she served as the director of Liberty, a major advocacy group which promotes civil l ...

, US Ambassador to the UK

Matthew Barzun Matthew Winthrop Barzun (born October 23, 1970) is an American businessman, diplomat and political fundraiser who served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He is a business executive who is known for his work with CNET Network ...

and former President of the Supreme Court

Lord Neuberger David Edmond Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury (; born 10 January 1948) is an English judge. He served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2017. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until the House of Lord ...

Notable former pupils

* Lucy Foley, author of '' The Guest List'' and '' The Paris Apartment'' * Samantha Davies, yachtswoman *

Kirsty Dillon Kirsty Dillon (born 1974) is an English actress who works in film, television and theatre. She is perhaps best known for her role as WPC Gail Stephens in the British television drama ''Midsomer Murders''. Early life and education Dillon was bor ...

, actress *

Nancy Edwards Nancy Margaret Edwards, (born 8 January 1954) is a British archaeologist and academic, who specialises in medieval archaeology and ecclesiastical history. From 2008 to 2020, she was Professor of Medieval Archaeology at Bangor University; having ...

, Professor of Medieval Archaeology * Anjana Gadgil, BBC reporter and presenter *

Meg Hillier Dame Margaret Olivia Hillier (born 14 February 1969), known as Meg Hillier, is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney South and Shoreditch since 2005. Hillier was a junior governm ...

, Labour MP for

Hackney South and Shoreditch Hackney South and Shoreditch is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Meg Hillier of Labour Co-op. History ...

* Rachel Lloyd, sex trafficking abolitionist and founder of

Girls Educational and Mentoring Services A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. ''daughter'' or ''girlfriend'' regardless of age, ...

Sarah McCarthy-Fry Sarah Louise McCarthy-Fry (' Macaree; born 4 February 1955) is a British Labour Co-operative politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North from the 2005 general election to 2010. She was Exchequer Secretary to the Treas ...

, politician *

Gemma Spofforth Gemma Mary Spofforth (born 17 November 1987) is an English former competition swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics, FINA world championships and European championships, and England in the Commonwealth Games. Spofforth is the f ...

, Olympic swimmer * Dr. Frances Saunders, Senior Civil Servant and scientist * Jane Collins, chief executive,

Marie Curie Cancer Care Marie Curie is a registered charitable organization, charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides hospice care and support for anyone with an illness they are likely to die from, and those close to them, and campaigns for better su ...

Charlotte Jackson Charlotte Louise Jackson (born 29 June 1978)In the closet with Charlotte Jackson ''Sunday Express'' magazine supplement 23 October 2011, p.33 Accessed 9 January 2015 is an English journalist and television presenter, who was formerly a present ...

British journalist and television presenter * Margaret Rock (1903–1983),

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

codebreaker * Dame Mary Donaldson, the first woman Sheriff of the City of London and then in 1983 was elected Lord Mayor. She was appointed GBE in 1983 Mary Donaldson, Baroness Donaldson of Lymington *

Denise Black Denise Black (born 16 March 1958) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in ''Coronation Street'' and ''Emmerdale''. Early life and career Black was born in Emsworth, Hampshire. After attending Portsmouth High School for Gir ...

, actress

References

* https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/education/portsmouth-high-prep-school-pupils-host-picnic-celebration-for-her-majestys-platinum-jubilee-3716153

External links

*
Profile
on

MyDaughter MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Scho ...

Profile
on the

ISC ISC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Imperial Space Command, a fictional organization in the books by Catherine Asaro * Indian Society of Cinematographers, a non-profit cultural and educational organisation * International Sculpture Center, ...

website * ISI Inspectio
ReportsProfile
on the

GDST The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each yea ...

website {{Schools in Hampshire Girls' schools in Hampshire Educational institutions established in 1882 Schools of the Girls' Day School Trust Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Private schools in Portsmouth Secondary schools in Portsmouth 1882 establishments in England *