# Epsom Girls' Grammar School

Epsom Girls Grammar School is a state secondary school for girls ranging from years 9 to 13 in Auckland, New Zealand. It has a roll of 2,200 as of 2024, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand.
The principal is Brenda McNaughton, the 12th principal, who succeeded Lorraine Pound in 2024. She succeeds a long line of distinguished educators such as Margaret Bendall and Marjory Adams.

## History

Epsom Girls' Grammar School was established through an endowment of land in 1850 and officially opened on 12 February 1917 with 174 students. Establishing Epsom Girls' was described as a "struggle", as "despite a clear need for a second girls’ school in Auckland, education administrators continued to prioritise boys’ education. Eventually EGGS emerged as an old, adapted Villa and a handful of classrooms on the Silver Road site. When the doors opened in 1917 the School had already exceeded capacity."
Boarding facilities are provided on-site at Epsom House, providing full accommodation for 150 students from overseas and rural New Zealand.
The Old Girls Association was established in 1921, and holds a number of events each year for alumnae.
In 2021, Metro (magazine) reported that Epsom Girls Grammar School was the top performing non-religious state school in Auckland over the last five years (based on Ministry of Education data of the five-year average of university entrance attainment).
Property prices in the Epsom Girls Grammar School and Auckland Grammar School school zones (known as the "double Grammar zone") are particularly high - Epsom Girls is the second most expensive school zone to buy in within Auckland (with the first being Auckland Grammar School). The zone covers large swathes of four of the city’s highest value suburbs – Remuera, Epsom, Parnell and Mount Eden. Real estate agents have commented that being in the "double Grammar zone" could add up to $500,000 to the value of a family home.

## Enrolment

As of November 2024, Epsom Girls' Grammar School has a roll of 2,241 students, of which 242 (10.8%) identify as Māori.
As of 2024, the school has an Equity Index of 398, placing it amongst schools whose students have the fewest socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 9 and 10 under the former socio-economic decile system).

## Principals

* Annie Christina Morrison 1917–1929
* Agnes L. Laudon 1930–1947
* Margaret G. Johnston 1948–1952
* Marjory F.E. Adams 1953–1970
* Alisa M. Blakey 1970–1979
* Gaewyn E. Griffiths 1979–1988
* Verna E. Dowdle 1988–1996
* Margaret A. Bendall 1996–2004
* Annette Sharp 2005–2008
* Madeline J. Gunn 2008–2016
* Lorraine Pound 2016–2023
* Brenda McNaughton 2024–present

## Notable alumnae

* Petra Bagust – television presenter
* Joan Chapple – first New Zealand female plastic surgeon
* Helen Clark – 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand and former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
* Miriam Dell – President, National Council of Women
* Jeanette Fitzsimons – politician and former co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
* Taylor Flavell – professional squash player
* Kate Hawkesby – television presenter and radio broadcaster
* Hayley Holt – television presenter
* Rowena Jackson MBE – ballerina and later artistic director of the New Zealand Ballet Company
* Dorothy Jelicich – Member of Parliament for Hamilton West (1972–1975)
* Maggie Jenkins – New Zealand representative footballer
* Annalie Longo – International and professional footballer
* Marya Martin – flautist
* Moana Manley – swimmer and Miss New Zealand winner
* Joan Metge – anthropologist
* Ingrun Helgard Moeckel – German model and Miss Germany winner
* Hannah O'Neill – principal ballerina at the Paris Opera Ballet
* Susan Moller Okin – feminist philosopher
* Charlotte Piho – Cook Islands photographer
* Judith Potter – former High Court judge
* Suzanne Sinclair – Member of Parliament for Titirangi (1993–1996)
* Wilma Smith – lead violinist in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
* Jean Spencer – Olympic gymnast
* Freda Stark – dancer
* Chlöe Swarbrick – politician and co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
* Rima Te Wiata – comedian and actress
* Olivia Tennet – actress, dancer
* Karen Walker – fashion designer
* Augusta Wallace – first woman appointed to the judiciary in New Zealand
* Lois White – artist