GIRLS’ DAY SCHOOL TRUST (GDST): PIONEERING EDUCATION FOR YOUNG GIRLS AND WOMEN

The Girls’ Day School Trust is an operator and network of independent girls-only day schools across the United Kingdom. The organisation operates a number of the best-performing schools in the country with extremely high academic results at A-Level, International Baccalaureate and GCSE as well as a very successful track record of placing girls with the Oxbridge Universities.

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ABOUT

The Girls’ Day School Trust was founded in 1872 as the Girls’ Public Day School Trust in response to a number of government inquiries into the provision of education in England (the Clarendon Commission and the Taunton Commission in particular). The Schools Inquiry Commission (better known as the Taunton Commission) had been tasked with investigating the state of endowed schools and general education provision in the United Kingdom in advance of the establishment of the Endowed Schools Act. The Commission found that a significant lack of provision for girls’ education existed and a number of schools were established to cater for girls in the same way that the great public schools did so for boys.

A number of these schools became the female counterparts of those famous public schools, often being established in close proximity and catering to the sisters of attending boys. As such, places at these schools were often costly and available only to the daughters of landed families, the aristocracy, military officers, senior civil servants and the professional and business classes. Typically, these schools operated on a boarding basis.

In order to cater to demand, particularly amongst urban middle classes, for more affordable day school options, the GDST was established as a beacon in the field of female education with the launch of their first school in Chelsea, London (now Kensington Prep). Norwich High School was established shortly afterwards and by the early 1900s the GDST operated nearly 40 schools across England. The favoured approach being to establish a girls’ school close to a corresponding endowed boys’ school (especially endowed grammar schools). These schools were called High Schools which, in the English custom is a term used to refer to girls’ day senior schools.

With various structural changes to the education sector in England over the years since the GDST’s foundation, some of these schools have left the trust to become state-maintained schools or to go co-educational. Today, the trust operates some 25 schools with the vast majority being in and around South London. Girls’ Day Schools Trust member schools tend to be all-through schools catering for 3 – 18 year olds (with preparatory and secondary divisions) and have become nationally regarded academic powerhouses. Many GDST schools have also decorated themselves in glory in sports including rowing and hockey where they have established long pedigrees.

The GDST is a member of the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) and, by extension, the trust’s schools are also members of the GSA. The trust played a significant role in the foundation of the GSA and it’s predecessor, the Association of Headmistresses (AHM). The GDST is also a founding member of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS). As a schools management trust and female education charity the GDST performs a dual role assisting member schools with management and administrative duties and strategic development whilst also acting as a think tank within the girls’ schools sector.

The schools listed below are current GDST schools.

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MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES

CHOOSE LIST VIEW FOR A SIMPLE LIST OF ALL LISTED SCHOOLS. ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN SELECT SCHOOLS USING THE MAP BELOW.

FORMER OR LAPSED MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES