Portsmouth High School, Southsea

Portsmouth High School is a private day school for girls in Southsea, a district in the southern coastal city of Portsmouth, England. Founded by the Girls' Public Day School Trust in 1882, it is one of the Trust's smaller schools.

Portsmouth High School
Entrance to the school
Address
Kent Road

Southsea
,
Hampshire
,
PO5 3EQ

England
Coordinates50.788°N 1.094°W / 50.788; -1.094
Information
TypePrivate day school
Established1882
FounderGirls' Public Day School Trust
Chairman of GovernorsKrysia Butwilowska
HeadmistressJane Prescott
GenderGirls
Age4 to 18
Enrolment~500[1]
HousesDolphin, Warrior, Nelson, Vernon at Prep School. Gaskell, Austen, Bronte, Eliot at Senior School.
Colour(s)Maroon and gold
AffiliationGirls' Day School Trust
Former Students' AssociationGDST Alumnae via the School
Websitehttp://www.portsmouthhigh.co.uk/

The Good Schools Guide 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".[2]

History

Portsmouth High School was founded by the Girls' Public Day School Trust (now the Girls' Day School Trust) in 1882. The school moved to its present premises on Kent Road in Southsea in 1885, when the building was opened by Princess Louise. Dovercourt, the house built and lived in by the Southsea architect Thomas Ellis Owen, was acquired for the Junior School in 1927. During World War II the school was evacuated to two country houses in Hampshire, Hinton Ampner (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 under the Education Act 1944 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).[3] 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.[4]

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, former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Tony Benn, former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Douglas Hurd, former leader of UKIP and Reform UK Nigel Farage, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales Caroline Lucas, former Prime Minister and former Home Secretary Theresa May, former Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, former Director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti, US Ambassador to the UK Matthew Barzun and former President of the Supreme Court Lord Neuberger.[5]

Notable former pupils

References
  1. http://www.isc.co.uk/schools/england/hampshire/southsea/portsmouth-high-school-gdst, Portsmouth High School GDST on the independent schools Council website.
  2. "Portsmouth High School, Southsea - The Good Schools Guide". The Good Schools Guide. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  3. "School fees".
  4. "Sport is back in all its glory". 11 June 2021.
  5. "Politics Society".
  6. "Midsomer Murders star is proud of her Pompey roots". The News. 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  7. "BBC Presenter tells girls 'choice is a luxury; say 'yes' to as many opportunities as you can.' - Portsmouth High School". portsmouthhigh.co.uk. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  8. "Alumnae - Portsmouth High School". portsmouthhigh.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  9. "'I did believe I could win. So although losing was not a surprise it was disappointing". The News. 29 May 2010.
  10. "Margaret Rock - Bletchley Park Codebreaker - Bletchley Park Research". 29 October 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
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