City of London School for Girls
The City of London School for Girls (CLSG) is an independent school in the Barbican in the City of London. It is the partner school of the all-boys City of London School and the City of London Freemen's School. All three schools receive funding from the City's Cash. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) and the Girls' Schools Association. History. The school was founded using a bequest by William Ward, a merchant of Brixton, 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, and the Board of Governors is appointed by the Court of Common Council. 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 City of London School, 15 minutes' walk away, which likewise is run by  the Corporation. The school moved to new buildings in the Barbican Estate in 1969. General. The school has an excellent academic reputation. In 2018, it was rated by "The Sunday Times" 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 teams. The Good Schools Guide 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 for the senior school exclusive of school lunches, and entrance is by examination. Approximately 25% of students receive bursary 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 and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 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 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. Duke of Edinburgh Award 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 twice , in 2010 and 2014. Buildings. The school is situated in a Grade II 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, again meeting with strong opposition, and was subsequently abandoned. Notable former pupils. "For a fuller list, see "