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James Allen's Girls' School

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James Allen's Girls' School
Location
Map
144 East Dulwich Grove,

Dulwich
,
London

England

51°27′18″N 00°05′08″W / 51.45500°N 0.08556°W / 51.45500; -0.08556
Information
TypePrivate day school
Religious affiliation
Church of England
Established1741; 285 years ago (1741)
FounderJames Allen Warden and later Master of College of God's Gift
100863 Tables
Chair of the Governing Board
Mr David Miller
Headmistress
Mrs Alex Hutchinson
GenderFemale
Age4 to 18
Enrolment1000 (approx.)
ColoursRed and blue    
AffiliationCollege of God's Gift
Websitehttps://www.jags.org.uk/

James Allen's Girls' School, abbreviated JAGS, is a private day school situated in Dulwich, South London, England. Founded in 1741, it is the second oldest girls' independent school in Great Britain, with Godolphin School in Salisbury being the oldest, founded in 1726.[1]

It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation, which also included Alleyn's School and Dulwich College.[2]

It has a senior school for 11- to 18-year-old girls, a prep school for 7- to 11-year-old girls (James Allen's Preparatory School), and a pre-preparatory school for 4- to 7-year-old girls. It is the sister school of Dulwich College and Alleyn's. (Collectively the three are known as “The Dulwich Schools” in the trust deed of the Dulwich Estate and are the main beneficiaries of that charity.)

History

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1741: Dulwich Reading School

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The Bricklayer's Arms, the original site of the Dulwich Reading School

In 1604 the hamlet of Dulwich, its name recorded well before the Norman Conquests, was bought by the Elizabethan actor and entrepreneur, Edward Alleyn, for £4,900. Fourteen years later, Alleyn invested his fortune establishing the College of God's Gift, buying land for a school, a chapel and the alms houses in Dulwich. In June 1741 James Allen, Master of the College of God's Gift from 1723, founded the original Reading School for poor children, both boys and girls living in Dulwich.

The Dulwich Reading School started in two rooms in the Bricklayer's Arms, later called The French Horn in Dulwich Village. The boys were taught to read as preparation for entry to Dulwich College and the girls to read and sew.

Early 1800s: Dulwich Free School

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By the 1800s it was known as the Dulwich Free School. Classes were growing in size and moved into an empty old inn building near the village crossroads and was renamed the Dulwich Free School.

1842: Dulwich Girls' School

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The school continued to grow and when the College was reorganised in the 1840s, the boys were moved, leaving the Free School with improved teaching for the girls from 1842. It was renamed The Dulwich Girls' School with mostly local girls as pupils. It was housed in the building now inhabited by Dulwich Hamlet School.

1878: James Allen's Girls' School

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The school became known as James Allen's Girls' School in 1878 and finally moved with 141 pupils to its present site in East Dulwich Grove in 1886 with Miss Bettany as its first Headmistress.

Botany Gardens were created in the school grounds soon after Dr Lilian Clarke joined the staff in 1895. It was the first such experiment by a school in this country. In 1902 the first school laboratory equipped solely for botanical study was opened. She was a pioneer and influential in science teaching nationally. In 1890 the school roll had grown to 200 and the curriculum expanded.

20th century

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The school in 1922

In the early 20th century, Ralph Vaughan Williams worked at the school as a singing master, and his friend Gustav Holst worked as music teacher at JAGS from 1904 for 16 years. Holst collaborated on Tennyson's Songs from the Princess while at JAGS. He stopped teaching there in 1920 but maintained a close connection with the school. Choral music and singing developed into a core part of school life. By 1916 a school orchestra emerged for the first time and in 1920 JAGS girls participated in Holst's 4th Thaxted Festival in Essex as a farewell to the composer. A series of stained glass windows was installed in 1969 in the Holst Hall.

Sports Mistress Mildred Knott was appointed in 1921; she was an excellent hockey player who became captain of the England hockey team.

The school was evacuated at the beginning of WWII (Sept.1939) to Walthamstow Hall school in Sevenoaks, Kent but in May 1940 returned to Dulwich.

In the 1950s and 60s JAGS expanded and community work was popular. Under Miss Prissian a new theatre was opened by Jonathan Miller in 1983; the first girls' school to have a purpose built theatre.

The 1990s saw a great deal of building work in the school, Community Action was developed and links with local state schools were established.

21st century

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A new Community Music Centre was officially opened in 2018. The Vaughan Williams Auditorium was named after the composer who worked at the school.

Notable former pupils

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References

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  1. ↑ JAGS website, History of School Archived 8 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine: "JAGS is the oldest girls’ independent school in Greater London"
  2. ↑ "Chaplaincy at Alleyn's". Alleyns.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  3. ↑ "Obituary - Ackroyd, Jenny Susan (1950 - 2004)". Royal College of Surgeons of England. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Paul, Pritha (20 July 2021). "Journalist Lola Adesioye says pinching 'The Wire' actor Gbenga Akinnagbe's bum was 'consensual'". meaww. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  5. ↑ British Olympic Association Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine > Athletes > Shani Anderson
  6. ↑ Marks, Olivia (16 November 2019). "High Kicks And High Fashion – Meet Charlie's Angels Ella Balinska, Hollywood's Hottest New Recruit". British Vogue. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Llewellyn Smith, Julia (9 July 2026). "Meet Lucy Boynton: the actress who took on the role of Ruth Ellis, the last woman in the UK to be hanged". Tatler. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  8. ↑ Amanda Thomas "Dr.Winifred Brenchley, O.B.E. (1883–1953)". Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Anita Brookner, novelist - obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  10. ↑ Gritton, Peter (7 January 2017). "Great week for @JAGSschool! Phoebe Campbell on ITV Midsomer Murders (Wed)". JAGS Twitter Harvest Archive. James Allen's Girls' School. Retrieved 6 August 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ Treanor, Jill (26 July 2025). "CMA's Sarah Cardell: We can boost growth but won't bend the rules". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Sarah Corp, television producer – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  13. ↑ Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "JAGSnews - 11th February: Issue 24". James Allen's Girls' School. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Fernanda Helen Perrone. "Smith, (Ellen) Marion Delf-". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/62341. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  16. 1 2 "James Allen's Girls' School". guidetoindependentschools.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  17. ↑ "Aviva announces a new independent non-executive director" (Press release). Aviva. 18 April 2005.
  18. ↑ Lacey, Hester (3 April 2020). "Daisy Haggard: 'Eternal optimism has got me through rather than ambition'". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  19. ↑ Sawer, Patrick (12 January 2014). "Hollywood beckons for former public school pupils". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  20. ↑ "Lara Haworth - Profile". James Allen's Girls' School. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  21. ↑ Hardyment, Christina. "Mary Hoffman - In conversation with Christina Hardyment". The Oxford Muse. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Remembering Pamela Huby (nee Clark)". James Allen's Girls' School. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  23. ↑ Sacha Llewellyn (9 February 2023). "Knights [married name Monnington], Winifred". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.74812. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  24. ↑ "An Interview with Communications Consultant and Celestial Peach Founder Jenny Lau, Class of 2003". To Read & So. October 2022. p. 4. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  25. ↑ Lloyd, Frances (December 2012). Untitled contribution to "Joining the BBC: A report by the BBC Pensioners' Association's Memory Project", n.p.
  26. ↑ "WSDC 1999: London, England Individual Results". Schools Debate. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  27. ↑ Cripps, Charlotte (21 September 2020). "Charlotte Ritchie as Alison in the BBC sitcom 'Ghosts'". The Independent. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  28. ↑ 'ROSS, Prof. Fiona Mary', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 24 Oct 2017
  29. ↑ King, Rachel (8 February 2026). "Meet Brandi Carlile's Wife, Catherine Carlile". Town & Country. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "Obituary - Shepherd, Mary Patricia (1933 - 2003)". Royal College of Surgeons of England. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  31. ↑ Jerwood, Geoff (6 July 2018). "Old School for Katie as sports days give a blast from her past". Herne Hill Harriers. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  32. ↑ "L. Susan Stebbing (1885-1943)". Humanist Heritage. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "Lisa St. Aubin de Terán". Arlindo-correia.org. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  34. ↑ Obituary: Alison Stephens, The Daily Telegraph, 14 October 2010
  35. ↑ "James Allen's Girls' School". BestPeopleDo. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  36. ↑ Davis, A. E. L. (2004). "Yeldham, Florence Annie (1877–1945)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/60254. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
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