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Royal High School Bath
Front view of Royal High School
Address
Lansdown Road Bath, Somerset, BA1 5SZ England
Coordinates	51°23′52″N 2°21′55″W / 51.3977°N 2.3654°W / 51.3977; -2.3654
Information
Former names	The Royal School Bath High School
Type	Private school Boarding and day school
Religious affiliation(s)	Inter-denominational
Established	1998 (merger)
Local authority	Bath and North East Somerset
Trust	Girls' Day School Trust (GDST)
Department for Education URN	109348 Tables
Head teacher	Heidi-Jayne Boyes
Acting Head	Hadrian Briggs
Gender	Girls
Age	3 to 19
Enrolment	607 (2024)
Capacity	940
Houses	Du Pré   Wollstonecraft   Brontë   Austen
Colour(s)
Website	www.royalhighbath.gdst.net

Royal High School Bath is a private day and boarding school for girls located in Bath, Somerset, England. Established in 1998 from the merger of two older schools, the Royal School (founded in 1864) and Bath High School (founded in 1875), it enrols approximately 600 students across Nursery, Prep, Senior, and Sixth Form levels. The school has two campuses, with the Senior School and Sixth Form on Lansdown Road and the Nursery and Prep School at Cranwell House. Sixth Form students have the option to pursue either A-Level or International Baccalaureate qualifications.

Royal High School Bath is a member of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST), the UK's largest network of independent girls' schools, and is the only GDST school offering boarding. Its facilities include extensive arts, sports, and music programmes, including the renowned Steinway Music School.

History

Founding and merger

The school traces its origins to the Bath and Lansdown Proprietary College, a boys' day school founded in 1856 under the patronage of the Duke of Beaufort and the Marquess of Lansdowne, with the Reverend S. H. Widdrington as chairman. In 1864, the school closed and the building was bought, with the support of Queen Victoria, to establish the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army, in order to educate orphaned daughters of Army officers in response to the needs that arose after the Crimean War. The Royal School officially reopened on 24 August 1865, and was modelled after the Royal Naval School for girls, a boarding school founded in 1840. During World War II, the Royal School temporarily relocated to the Longleat Estate, where it remained for eight years.

Bath High School for Girls was founded in September 1875 at Portland Place in Lansdown by the Girls’ Public Day School Company (now the Girls' Day School Trust), the largest network of independent girls’ schools in the UK. Its mission was to provide high-quality, accessible education for girls in Bath and the surrounding area, contributing to the development of girls' education within the region.

In 1998, these two institutions merged to create the Royal High School Bath (RHS). The former Royal School campus became the Senior School, while the former Bath High School site served as the Junior School. Today, Royal High School Bath stands as the only Girls' Day School Trust school that offers boarding facilities.

Buildings

The main building, situated atop Lansdown Road in Bath, was designed by architect James Wilson and completed in 1856, shortly after his design of the Wesleyan College (now Kingswood School). Constructed in the Gothic Revival style, it is designated as a Grade II listed building. The structure houses the Senior School and the Winfield Centre for sixth form students.

Other Grade II listed structures are the entrance arch with royal arms on Lansdown Road (c.1858, also by Wilson); steps and lamp standards at the main building entrance (1858 or 1880s); the former sanatorium in the grounds, now houses (1884); and the school chapel (1939, designed by H.S. Goodhart-Rendel in a stripped Gothic style with Tudor detailing). The Prep School is at Cranwell House, a Grade II listed Victorian mansion in Weston Park.

Academics

Royal High School Bath consistently ranks near the top of league tables for GCSE and A-Level results among Bath schools and is regularly recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the best independent secondary schools in the southwest of England. In 2016, the school received an 'excellent' rating in both academic achievement and personal development from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), with a 2024 inspection confirming full compliance with all required standards.

The school offers a broad range of GCSE subjects, including STEM options such as sciences, computer science, and design technology, as well as language courses in French, German, Italian, Mandarin, and Spanish. All students study Latin from Year 7. In the sixth form, students may choose between A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. A-Level subjects include classical civilisation, economics, Mandarin, music, fine art, psychology, religion and philosophy, and physical education. In 2023, IB students at RHS achieved an average score of 35, surpassing the global average of 30, and RHS was named one of the top 50 boarding schools in the UK.

Facilities and resources

Art and Drama

The Art Department is housed in the Art School, which was inaugurated in November 2008 by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, then Rector of the Royal College of Art and Chairman of the Arts Council, England. It includes four dedicated studios, supporting activities such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, film, and photography. The Drama Department utilises the school's two performance venues: the Memorial Hall, a traditional space with movable seating, and the Sophie Cameron Performing Arts Centre, a versatile area in the former school chapel.

Steinway Music School

In 2020, RHS became one of 250 schools worldwide to achieve the prestigious Steinway School status. The purpose-built Music School comprises a main teaching room, eight sound-proofed practice rooms, a contemporary recital space, 10 Steinway & Sons pianos, two professional-standard recording studios and a control room equipped with an Audient ASP8024 Heritage Edition mixing console. As part of the department's Steinway Music School status, a regular programme of masterclasses and recitals led by leading artists is offered. The Music Department produces 35 concerts during the academic year.

Sports and games

The school's sports facilities on the Lansdown campus include an AstroTurf pitch for hockey and football, two multi-use courts for netball and tennis, and a sports hall equipped for netball, basketball and badminton. The school also has access to the University of Bath's Olympic-standard sports facilities, which support student training and competitions.

Student Life

Houses

Royal High School divides its pupils into four houses: Austen, Brontë, Du Pré and Wollstonecraft. These houses compete in a range of academic and extracurricular activities throughout the year.

Boarding

Boarding options at Royal High School cater to girls aged 11 to 18, with choices between full boarding, weekday-only boarding, and flexible boarding. Students are accommodated in two boarding houses: School House, within the main school building, and Gloucester House, designated for sixth formers, within the senior school grounds.

Royal High Nursery & Prep School

The Royal High Nursery & Prep School is in the Weston area of Bath. Formerly housed in Bath High School on Lansdown Road, it moved in 2014 to Cranwell House, a Grade II listed Victorian mansion. The Nursery is in the adjacent Vine House and Orangery. Hope Hall, behind Cranwell House, has classrooms for Years 5 and 6. The site also features a sports hall and a dance studio. The school enrols around 130 pupils aged 3 to 11 and follows the Reggio Emilia approach to education.

Notable alumnae

The school's notable alumnae include:

• Dawn Austwick – Chief executive of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and CEO of the Big Lottery Fund (Bath High School).
• Dame Mary Berry – Chef and TV presenter (Bath High School).
• Emily Brooke – Trailblazing inventor and entrepreneur, Founder and Director of Beryl (formerly Blaze) Laser Lights for Bikes.
• Molly Scott Cato – MEP for the South West of England.
• Mary Duggan – Cricketer (Royal School).
• Jennie Formby – Senior official in the Unite trade union and General Secretary of the Labour Party (Bath High School).
• Helen Geake – Archaeologist and key member of Channel 4's archaeology series Time Team.
• Sheila Gish – Actress (Royal School).
• Bunny Guinness – Landscape architect, journalist, and radio personality, regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's Gardener's Question Time (Bath High School).
• Nina Hamnett – Welsh artist and writer, expert on sailors' chanteys, known as the Queen of Bohemia.
• Dawn Harper – Media doctor, presenter of 'Embarrassing Bodies,' and contributor to This Morning and other TV shows.
• Joan Heal – Actress (Bath High School).
• Veronica Henry – Writer of bestselling novels, TV scriptwriter, and journalist.
• Baroness Elspeth Howe – Life-long peer and former chair of the Broadcasting Standards Commission (Bath High School).
• Gillian Howell (1927–2000) – Architect (Royal School).
• June Lloyd, Baroness Lloyd of Highbury – Nuffield Professor of Child Health from 1985 to 1992 at the British Postgraduate Medical Federation, Professor of Child Health from 1975 to 1985 at St George's Hospital Medical School, and President from 1988 to 1991 of the British Paediatric Association (Royal School).
• Myrtle Maclagan – Cricketer (Royal School).
• Sonia Melchett (née Graham) – Socialite and writer (Royal School).
• Iris Morley – Historian (Royal School).
• Penny Mountbatten, Lady Ivar Mountbatten – Businesswoman and philanthropist (Royal School).
• Helen Rollason – BBC Sports Presenter.
• Susan Strange – Economist (Royal School).
• Dame Veronica Sutherland – Career diplomat, served as Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland.
• Laura Toogood – managing director of private clients at Digitalis, speaker on journalism, and researcher in cybersecurity.
• Caroline St John-Brookes – Lecturer and education writer, editor of Times Educational Supplement (1997–2000).
• Barbara Wace – Journalist, the first female reporter to report on D-Day.
• Cicely Williams – physician and researcher in maternal and child health, first Director of Mother and Child Health at WHO in 1948 (Bath High School).
• Cecil Woodham-Smith – Historian and biographer (Royal School).

Notes

1. Starting January 2025

References

1. "Royal High School". Royal High School. 5 July 2024.
2. ^ "Royal High School GDST". GOV.UK. 1 January 1909. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
3. "Meet our staff". Royal High School. 21 May 2024.
4. "Royal High School raises nearly £3,000 for Bath hospital charity". Bath Echo. 15 December 2023.
5. "Sixth Form". Royal High School. 20 May 2024.
6. ^ Historic England. "The Royal High School (1394466)". National Heritage List for England.
7. 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.
8. "About". The Royal School Bath.
9. ^ "The Royal High School Bath (GDST), Bath and North East Somerset". isbi Schools. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
10. Davidson, Max (24 November 2008). "Town vs Gown: Royal High School vs Beechen Cliff School in Bath". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
11. ^ "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.
12. Lees-Milne, J.; Ford, D. (1982). Images of Bath. Images of London. Saint Helana Press. ISBN 978-0-906964-08-8.
13. Murray, J. (1859). A handbook for travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire. Murray. p. 168.
14. "Royal School". Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
15. Historic England. "Entrance archway and flanking Walls to the Royal High School (1394468)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
16. Historic England. "Steps and lamp standards at the Royal High School (1394470)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
17. Historic England. "Woodland Cottage, (formerly the Sanatorium) Royal High School (1405721)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
18. Historic England. "Chapel of the Royal High School (1394138)". National Heritage List for England.
19. 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.
20. • McCall, Alastair (3 December 2021). "Best secondary schools in the southwest 2022". The Times & The Sunday Times.
    • McCall, Alastair (24 November 2019). "Best secondary schools in the Southwest 2020". The Times & The Sunday Times.
    • McCall, Alastair (25 November 2018). "Best secondary schools in the Southwest 2019". The Times & The Sunday Times.
    • McCall, Alastair (26 November 2017). "Best secondary schools in the Southwest 2018". The Times & The Sunday Times.
    • "Schools in Bath and North East Somerset". BBC. 19 February 2006.
21. "Sign In to The Times & The Sunday Times". The Times & The Sunday Times.
22. "The Royal High School Bath celebrates 'Excellent' inspection report". The Bath and Wiltshire Parent. 9 February 2017.
23. "Routine Inspections 2024". Royal High School Bath GDST. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
24. "Royal High School Bath (Senior School & Sixth Form) Review". WhichSchoolAdvisor. 1 August 2021.
25. "Results and destinations". Royal High School. 22 May 2024.
26. "A* success for Royal High School Bath A-Level students". The Bath and Wiltshire Parent. 17 August 2023.
27. "Royal High School Bath Review, Rankings, And More". Britannia UK. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
28. ^ "Art and Design". Royal High School. 22 May 2024.
29. "Performance Facilities". Royal High School. 22 May 2024.
30. Time & (3 March 2020). "Royal High School Bath opens state-of-the-art new Steinway Music School". Time & Leisure.
31. "Royal High School Bath- Steinway & Sons". Steinway. 24 June 2021.
32. "A-Level Music Tech Offered After Music School Upgrade". Audient. 21 September 2020.
33. "Inaugural visit to Steinway Hall in London for Royal High School Bath Music Scholars". Girls' Schools Association. 5 April 2022.
34. "Music at Royal High". Royal High School. 22 May 2024.
35. "Sports Facilities". Royal High School. 24 May 2024.
36. "Your daughter's wellbeing". Royal High School. 20 May 2024.
37. "Welcome to Boarding". Royal High School. 20 May 2024.
38. "Notable alumnae". Royal High School. 24 May 2024.

External links

Media related to Royal High School, Bath at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Profile on the Independent Schools Council website

• 1998 establishments in England
• Boarding schools in Somerset
• Educational institutions established in 1998
• Girls' schools in Somerset
• International Baccalaureate schools in England
• Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association
• Private schools in Bath and North East Somerset
• Schools in Bath, Somerset
• Schools of the Girls' Day School Trust