# Notting Hill and Ealing High School

Notting Hill and Ealing High School is a private day school for girls aged 4 – 18 in Ealing, London. Founded in 1873, it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust. It has a Junior Department of 310 girls (ages 4–11) and a Senior Department of 600 girls (ages 11–18). The current Headmaster is Mr Matthew Shoults. Ms Bevan is Head of the Junior School.

## History

Since being founded in 1873, the school has changed both its location and its name. When the Girls' Day School Trust, then the Girls' Public Day School Trust, was formed in 1872, it established its first two schools in West London. In January 1873, the Trust opened Chelsea High School (a predecessor of Kensington Preparatory School) to serve the area immediately to the west of the centre of the city and nine months later, Notting Hill High School which was to serve families in the area to the north of Hyde Park. Harriet Morant Jones was the founding head who looked after ten pupils assisted by her sister. Harriet Jones retired in 1900. Controversially, Ethel Gavin was appointed instead of an internal heir apparent and resignations followed. Gavin was a "capable and experienced headmistress" until 1908 when she moved to the GPDST school at Wimbledon.
The school originally occupied premises in Norland Square but outgrew these and moved to Ealing in 1931 when it became known as Notting Hill and Ealing High School for Girls. Following the Education Act 1944 it became a direct grant grammar school in 1946. When the direct grant scheme was abolished in 1976, it became an independent school.

## Present day

The school numbers 910 girls in 2018/19. Entry to the school is by assessment normally at ages 4+, 7+, 11+ or 16+. The school has a strong academic tradition. In 2018, 91.65% of grades at GCSE were A*/A and 98.84% were A*-B. At A Level 65% of grades were A*/A and 94% were A*-B.
In the 2019 Times School League Tables, NHEHS featured in the Top 20 for both GCSE and A-Levels and is one of only 10 schools in the country to achieve this accolade.
In 2017 the Junior School was awarded "Independent Prep School of the Year" by the Sunday Times' Parent Power Guide, observing that the school "proves you can have both outstanding academic success and a relaxed, happy school where girls are encouraged to be individuals and to express themselves".
And in their last report, the ISI inspectors reported, "pupils' achievement in curricular and extra-curricular activities and their learning is exceptional as is their attainment in national tests at age 11 and at A Level".
Former pupils keep in touch with each other through the Old Girls' Association.

## School fees

In 2018/19 fees are £4,771 per term (Junior School) and £6,187 per term (Senior School). Academic and Music Scholarships are awarded at 11+ and 16+ and there are further scholarships at 16+.

## Notable former pupils

* Achieng Ajulu-Bushell (b. 1994), Kenyan and British swimmer
* Margaret Alexander, Countess Alexander of Tunis (1905–1977), Viceregal consort of Canada, Châtelaine of Rideau Hall & Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
* Professor Polly Arnold (b. 1972) Professor of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh
* Ava Alice Muriel Astor (1902-1956), American heiress and socialite
* Barbara Ayrton-Gould (1886–1950), Labour politician and suffragist
* Sarah Badel (b. 1943), actress
* Angellica Bell (b. 1976), television presenter
* Frances Blogg (1869–1938), author and poet
* Mabel Haynes Bode (1864–1922), academic
* Dame Harriette Chick (1875–1977), protein scientist and nutritionist
* Diana Churchill (1909–1963), daughter of Sir Winston Churchill
* Sarah Churchill, Baroness Audley (1914–1982), actress
* Mary Collin (1860–1955), suffragist
* Agnes de Selincourt (1872–1917), missionary and educator
* Astra Desmond (1893–1973), contralto
* Frances Hermia Durham (1873–1948), civil servant
* Kathleen Mary Easmon Simango (1892-1924), Sierra Leonean missionary and artist
* Professor Beatrice Edgell (1871–1948), psychologist
* Katharine Esdaile (1881–1950), art historian
* Pippa Evans (b. 1982), comedian
* Margaret Fairweather (1901–1944), aviator
* Kathryn Flett (b. 1964), TV critic
* Alice Franklin (1885–1964), feminist
* Lynne Frederick (1954–1994), actress
* Abi Fry (b. 1981), violist with the band British Sea Power
* Jamila Gavin (b. 1941), author
* Rose Graham (1875–1963), historian
* Virginia Graham (1910–1993), writer, poet and translator
* Olivia Hallinan (b. 1985), actress
* Emily Hamilton (b. 1971), actress
* Bettany Hughes (b. 1968), historian
* Violet Hunt (1862-1942), author and literary hostess
* Konnie Huq (b. 1975), television presenter
* Rupa Huq (b. 1972), Labour Party Member of Parliament
* Aeta Lamb (1886–1928), suffragist
* Karolina Laskowska (b. 1992), fashion designer
* Nona Liddell (1927–2017), violinist
* Rebecca Lowe (b. 1980), sports broadcaster
* Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda (1883–1958), suffragist
* Betty Miller (1910-1965), author
* Ernestine Mills (1871–1959), artist, writer & suffragist
* Jane Alice Morris (1861–1935), embroiderer
* May Morris (1862–1938), artist & editor
* Irene Petrie (1864–1897), missionary
* Rosalind Pitt-Rivers (1907–1990), biochemist
* Ruth Plant (1912–1988) architect & academic
* Eleanor Purdie (1872–1929), philologist
* Clara Rackham (1875–1966), suffragist
* Hannah Reid (b. 1989), musician with the band London Grammar
* Dame Angela Rumbold (1932–2010), Member of Parliament & Government Minister
* Hilda Runciman, Viscountess Runciman of Doxford (1869–1956), Liberal politician
* Dame Nancy Salmon (1906–1999), Women's Royal Air Force leader
* Dame Louise Samuel (1870–1925), suffragist & charity worker
* Professor Caroline Skeel (1872–1951), historian
* GB Stern (1890–1973), novelist
* Hannah Sullivan (b. 1979), poet
* Helena Swanwick (1864–1939), suffragist & pacifist
* Penny Vincenzi (1939–2018), novelist
* Nina Wadia (b. 1968), actress
* Emily Watson (b. 1967), actress
* Reverend Alison White (b. 1956), bishop
* Elizabeth Wiskemann (1899–1971), journalist & historian
* Professor Helen Wodehouse (1880–1964), philosopher & academic
* Frances Wood (1883–1919), chemist & statistician

## Notable former staff

* Edith Aitken, teacher
* Hertha Ayrton, engineer, mathematician, physicist and inventor
* Alice Cooper, teacher
* Ella Mary Edghill, translator
* Ethel Gavin head 1900-1908
* Harriet Morant Jones was the founding head
* Jane Ellen Harrison, classical scholar
* Winifred Holtby, journalist and novelist
* Katharine Jex-Blake, classical scholar
* Margaret Meyer, mathematician
* Marie Shedlock, story teller
* Katharine Wallas, politician
* Emily Ward, pioneer of childcare education