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Royal High School, Bath

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Coordinates: 51°23′52″N 2°21′55″W / 51.39774°N 2.36535°W / 51.39774; -2.36535
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"Bath High School" redirects here. For the school in Ohio, see Bath High School (Ohio).

Royal High School Bath
Front view of Royal High School
Address
Map
Lansdown Road

Bath
,
Somerset
,
BA1 5SZ

England
Coordinates51°23′52″N 2°21′55″W / 51.39774°N 2.36535°W / 51.39774; -2.36535
Information
Former namesRoyal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army, Bath and Lansdown Proprietary College
TypePublic school
Independent boarding school
Religious affiliation(s)Inter-denominational
Established1998 (merger)
Local authorityBath and North East Somerset
TrustGirls' Day School Trust (GDST)
Department for Education URN109348 Tables
Acting HeadHadrian Briggs[1][2]
GenderGirls
Age3 to 19
Enrolment607 (2024)[1]
Capacity940[1]
Houses  Du Pré
  Wollstonecraft
  Brontë
  Austen
Colour(s)     
Websitewww.royalhighbath.gdst.net

Royal High School Bath is an independent day and boarding school for girls in Bath, Somerset, England.[3] Formed in 1998 by the merger of the Bath High School and the Royal School (established in 1864), it enrolls about 650 pupils age 3 to 19 and offers boarding for approximately 150 girls. In the Sixth Form, students can choose between the International Baccalaureate and A-Level qualifications.[4] The school is a member of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST).

History

Further information: Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army

Foundation and merger

The school was founded as the Bath and Lansdown Proprietary College, a boy's day school under the patronage of the Duke of Beaufort and the Marquess of Lansdowne with the Reverend S. H. Widdrington as chairman (the coats of arms of all three are still on the building).[5] In 1864, it was purchased with the patronage of Queen Victoria, to educate orphaned daughters of Army officers, after the Crimean War.[6] On 24 August 1865, it opened as the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army, modelled after the Royal Naval School for girls, a boarding school founded in 1840.[5]

In 1998, the Royal School amalgamated with the Bath High School for Girls, which was established by the Girls Public Day School Company in September 1875 at Portland Place in Lansdown, to form the Royal Bath High School (RHS).[7] The former Royal School premises became the Senior School, while the former Bath High School became the Junior School.[8] RHS is the sole member of the Girls' Day School Trust, the UK’s largest network of girls’ independent schools, with boarding facilities.[9]

Buildings

Designed by architect James Wilson at the top of Lansdown Road in Bath, the main building was completed in 1856, a few year after Wilson had designed the Wesleyan College (now Kingswood School).[10][11] Built in Gothic Revival style, the building is a Grade II listed building,[12] it comprised the Senior School and the Winfield centre for sixth form students – both on Lansdown Road. The Chapel of the Royal High School built in 1939 and designed by H.S. Goodhart-Rendel in stripped Gothic style with Tudor detailing, is also a Grade II listed building.[13]

The Prep School is located at Cranwell House, a Grade II listed Victorian mansion in Weston Park.[14]

Academics

It regularly comes near the top of league tables for Bath schools for GCSE and A-Level results.[15] The school provides Modern Languages including GCSE French, which girls start to learn in reception class. German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic, and Japanese are also available. The school also provides the IB Programme, where it had an average score of 37 points in 2019 with nearly half the cohort achieving 40+ points.[citation needed]

The school is currently one of the top 50 boarding school in UK.[16]

Facilities

There is an Art School; a Sixth Form café; a fitness suite, a separate Sixth Form building and newly refurbished boarding houses; two Performing Arts Theatres (The Sophie Cameron Performing Arts Centre and The Memorial Hall); The Hudson Centre for lectures and meetings; a sports hall complex, netball and tennis courts, an astroturf; a library, a Media Centre, and a new music school and state of the art recording studio.[17] The boarding houses are situated in Lansdown Road. The Senior school has a medical centre.

Art

Aerial view of Royal High School

The art school was opened by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling – Rector of the Royal College of Art and Chairman of the Arts Council, England – in November 2008. There are four studios for activities such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, film and photography. In 2006 it received an award from the 'Good Schools Guide' for gaining the best A level results in the country over a three-year period.[citation needed] Degree choices vary from Fine Art and Fashion through to Architecture and Photography.

The building was designed by Textus architectural practice to replicate other professional art schools, like the Royal Academy Schools and the Prince's Drawing School, which can be transformed from working studios into exhibition spaces. There are studio spaces for drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and three-dimensional work.

In 2011 a History of Art A-level began to be offered.

Music

The Music Department (Steinway School Status from January 2020)[citation needed] is housed in a purpose-built Music School and consists of a 60-seat Recital Room with a Model B Steinway grand piano, state of the art, soundproofed recording studios with two Model AS Steinway grand pianos, 10 soundproofed practice rooms each containing upright Steinway pianos, Apple Mac suite, main teaching room, Green Room, reception area, offices and instrument storage facilities.

Ensembles consist of Vocalise (Year 7–9 choir), V20 (Show and Pop choir), Chamber Choir, The Sixth Sense (6th Form Choir), Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Brass Ensemble, Sax Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Pop & Rock Bands.

The department produces 35-40 concerts during the academic year, both internally and externally, and a whole-school production every Summer Term. International tours take place every two years and there are opportunities for all students to learn any musical instrument, provided by professional visiting instrumental staff.

As part of the department's Steinway Music School status, there is a regular programme of masterclasses and recitals led by leading artists who work closely with the students.

Drama

The Drama department has use of the school's two performance venues; the Memorial Hall is a traditional 'end on' performance space and has movable raked seating, the Sophie Cameron Performing Arts is a converted chapel with almost limitless performance possibilities. There is an annual Summer musical, open to all students. Previous productions include, 'Guys & Dolls', 'Annie', 'Oliver!' and 'Stepping Out'.

There is an annual Lower School play for students in Years 7–8 and an upper school play open to Year 9 and upwards. Previous KS3 productions include, 'Cold Comfort Farm', 'Pride & Prejudice', 'The Wind in the Willows', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', and at KS4; 'The Crucible', 'Antigone', and 'Numbers'. The Year 13 Theatre Studies students run the weekly Year 7 Drama Club and the drama scholars regularly produce their own evening of performances throughout the school year. Students can participate in Speech & Drama lessons, and the school also participates in the National Theatre Connections Festival biannually.Students at the Prep school put on plays too.

PE and sports

The sports facilities at Royal High School Bath are situated on its Lansdown site. Girls play a wide range of sports with elite performers in equestrian, gymnastics, swimming, netball, biathlon, fencing, and martial arts. Royal High School competes with a range of state and independent schools, participates in national leagues and competitions, and accesses high-performance facilities at the University of Bath Olympic Sports Training Village.

On-site facilities include:

  • All-weather Astroturf for hockey
  • Tennis courts
  • Netball courts
  • Outdoor swimming pool
  • Football field
  • Rounders pitches
  • Indoor sports hall
  • Gym suite
  • Dance studio
  • Gymnastic equipment
  • Cricket pitches
  • Off-site, an equestrian team trains at local equestrian centres.

Sporting achievements within the school are awarded by the presentation of "Colours" annually for commitment to clubs and extra-curricular activities.

Houses

Royal High School divides its pupils into four Houses: Austen, Bronte, Du Pre and Wollstonecraft. Each House competes against the others throughout the year.[18]

Prep School

Prep School Cranwell House

Girls can start in the Nursery School one and a half months before they are three years old. The Prep School will take pupils in the September after their fourth birthday. The Prep School has around 200 full-time pupils from Reception to Year 6, and around 20 part-time pupils in the Nursery.

Notable alumni

Royal School

Bath High School

References

  1. ^ a b c "Royal High School GDST". GOV.UK. 1 January 1909. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Meet our staff". Royal High School. 21 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Royal High School raises nearly £3,000 for Bath hospital charity". Bath Echo. 15 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Sixth Form". Royal High School. 20 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b "THE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL, Non Civil Parish". Historic England. 12 May 1951.
  6. ^ The Original Bath Guide: Historical and Descriptive : Containing Walks and Drives Round Bath, the Medicinal Uses of the Mineral Waters, the Geology of the Neighbourhood. Lewis & Tyte. 1885. p. 107.
  7. ^ Davidson, Max (24 November 2008). "Town vs Gown: Royal High School vs Beechen Cliff School in Bath". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  8. ^ "Royal High Prep School, GDST: in the Muddy Stilettos Best School Guide". Royal High Prep School, GDST: in the Muddy Stilettos Best School Guide. 10 May 2022.
  9. ^ "The Royal High School Bath (GDST), Bath and North East Somerset". isbi Schools. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  10. ^ Lees-Milne, J.; Ford, D. (1982). Images of Bath. Images of London. Saint Helana Press. ISBN 978-0-906964-08-8.
  11. ^ Murray, J. (1859). A handbook for travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire. Murray. p. 168.
  12. ^ "Royal School". Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  13. ^ "CHAPEL OF THE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL, Non Civil Parish". Historic England. 12 May 1951.
  14. ^ Mag, Bath (14 February 2014). "Royal High School Move to Cranwell House". The Bath Magazine. Bath. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Schools in Bath and North East Somerset". BBC. 19 February 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  16. ^ "Royal High School Bath Review, Rankings, And More". Britannia UK. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Royal High School Facilities". RHSB Facilities. RHSB.
  18. ^ "Your daugther's wellbeing". Royal High School. 20 May 2024.
  19. ^ Richards, J. M. "Gillian Margaret [Jill] Howell (1927–2000), architect". ONDB. OUP. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
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