City of Portsmouth Girls' School
Encyclopedia
The City of Portsmouth Girls' School is a comprehensive (non-selective) school for girls from the ages of eleven to sixteen in Portsmouth
, Hampshire
. The school achieved specialist Humanities College
status in 2008. The school is located on St Marys Road in the Portsmouth central sub district of Fratton near St Marys Church.
The last Ofsted
inspection was in 2008, the last before that was in 2003. As of 2003 the school had 990 pupils in attendance. The current headteacher is Sharon Watt. The current head of Governors is Neil Davies. The City of Portsmouth Girls' School has a brother school - the City of Portsmouth Boys' School.
The original school building was St Mary's School build circa 1890. It first became a school for girls in 1930 as the Junior Girls Department of the nearby Penhale Road Board School. The building became one of the early casualties of bombing in Portsmouth during World War II
and was subsequently demolished. With post-war reorganisation resulting from the Education Act 1944
, the Kingston Modern School for Girls was created in 1949. This was initially based at the Penhale Road site rather than the St Marys site and had 250 girls on roll. This figure soon increased until it became impossible to accommodate the number of students. By 1954, with numbers still increasing, it became clear that a new building would be necessary at the St Marys site.
The new Kingston Modern School for Girls building opened on its present site in 1957. It cost £105,821 to build and consisted of a main three-story block with 20 classrooms including specialist rooms for science
, art
, craft and domestic science and a library
. There was also a Hall, Stage and a Dining Area (now the foyer), and a gymnasium (now the Dining Hall). The site was much smaller then, being surrounded to the North and West by houses that no longer exist today. Numbers of pupils continued to increase and a new extension which is now the current Science
and Technology
block was completed in the 1960s.
1975
In 1975 education in Portsmouth was again reorganised resulting in the creation of the City of Portsmouth Girls' School as a comprehensive school
for girls between the ages of 12 to 16. As a result the site increased in size again, with a large sports field (which used to be housing), a new sports hall, and another new complex, which is now the Maths block.
1994-2001
In 1994 education was once again reorganised in Portsmouth
and the school became an 11 - 16 comprehensive school, taking girls from age 11. To accommodate additional numbers, another new block for teaching Modern Foreign Languages and Technology
was added, together with the all weather multi-sport pitch, completed in 1998. practice rooms, additional office space and a new changing room for the Dance Studio was completed in February 2001.
In 2006 the 'Training & Learning Centre' was built on the school grounds. This building is used by the school for lessons and other activities and is also open to bookings from the local council as well as private individuals and groups. The centre contains offices, a fully equipped Information Technology
suite, classrooms and conference room.
Building Schools For the Future
The City of Portsmouth Girls' School was chosen to take part in the scheme by Portsmouth City Council to improve a number of school buildings within Portsmouth. CPGS is said to be a 'Phase Three School' and as a result will undergo radical building works from 2013. The school will be completely rebuilt alongside the existing school buildings on the current sports and grass areas. No works are proposed for the Teaching Environment for the Future building which will be retained. The existing school will be demolished with the area which will include a new external sports area, re-landscaped.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. The school achieved specialist Humanities College
Humanities College
Humanities Colleges were introduced in 2004 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, humanities. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Humanities...
status in 2008. The school is located on St Marys Road in the Portsmouth central sub district of Fratton near St Marys Church.
The last Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection was in 2008, the last before that was in 2003. As of 2003 the school had 990 pupils in attendance. The current headteacher is Sharon Watt. The current head of Governors is Neil Davies. The City of Portsmouth Girls' School has a brother school - the City of Portsmouth Boys' School.
History
1890 to 1975The original school building was St Mary's School build circa 1890. It first became a school for girls in 1930 as the Junior Girls Department of the nearby Penhale Road Board School. The building became one of the early casualties of bombing in Portsmouth during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was subsequently demolished. With post-war reorganisation resulting from the Education Act 1944
Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. This Act, commonly named after the Conservative politician R.A...
, the Kingston Modern School for Girls was created in 1949. This was initially based at the Penhale Road site rather than the St Marys site and had 250 girls on roll. This figure soon increased until it became impossible to accommodate the number of students. By 1954, with numbers still increasing, it became clear that a new building would be necessary at the St Marys site.
The new Kingston Modern School for Girls building opened on its present site in 1957. It cost £105,821 to build and consisted of a main three-story block with 20 classrooms including specialist rooms for science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, craft and domestic science and a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
. There was also a Hall, Stage and a Dining Area (now the foyer), and a gymnasium (now the Dining Hall). The site was much smaller then, being surrounded to the North and West by houses that no longer exist today. Numbers of pupils continued to increase and a new extension which is now the current Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
block was completed in the 1960s.
1975
In 1975 education in Portsmouth was again reorganised resulting in the creation of the City of Portsmouth Girls' School as a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
for girls between the ages of 12 to 16. As a result the site increased in size again, with a large sports field (which used to be housing), a new sports hall, and another new complex, which is now the Maths block.
1994-2001
In 1994 education was once again reorganised in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
and the school became an 11 - 16 comprehensive school, taking girls from age 11. To accommodate additional numbers, another new block for teaching Modern Foreign Languages and Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
was added, together with the all weather multi-sport pitch, completed in 1998. practice rooms, additional office space and a new changing room for the Dance Studio was completed in February 2001.
2006 to Present
The TLCIn 2006 the 'Training & Learning Centre' was built on the school grounds. This building is used by the school for lessons and other activities and is also open to bookings from the local council as well as private individuals and groups. The centre contains offices, a fully equipped Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
suite, classrooms and conference room.
Building Schools For the Future
The City of Portsmouth Girls' School was chosen to take part in the scheme by Portsmouth City Council to improve a number of school buildings within Portsmouth. CPGS is said to be a 'Phase Three School' and as a result will undergo radical building works from 2013. The school will be completely rebuilt alongside the existing school buildings on the current sports and grass areas. No works are proposed for the Teaching Environment for the Future building which will be retained. The existing school will be demolished with the area which will include a new external sports area, re-landscaped.