A Brief History of Peterborough High School

The school was founded in 1895, as a girls’ school, by a Miss Hill. It was originally situated in Park Road in Peterborough, close to the King’s School, which was then a boys’ school. There it remained until 1936, when it moved out from the city to “spacious new premises with ample grounds at Westwood House, Thorpe Road.”

At the time of the move, when Miss Somerville was Headmistress, there were just 24 pupils, aged 7 to 14; the preparatory department became co-educational at this time.

Originally, all did not go well so, in the August of 1937, a new Head, Miss Helen Mattock (later Mrs. Belgion) was appointed, with only 7 pupils in the school. Her leadership must have been dynamic because by the end of 1937, there were 33 pupils.

In September 1938, there were 64 pupils and Mrs. Belgion was determined that the school would continue to grow and by 1949 there were 200 pupils, mostly day girls but with some weekly and termly boarders.

The post-war period was very successful. The school was particularly noted for innovation, for example, the Westwood House Mountaineering Club was claimed to be the first ever mountaineering club established in a girls’ school. When Mrs. Belgion retired in 1961, she could look back on a period of great flourishing, seeing her hard work in the early years rewarded.

Mrs. Bowis presided over the school’s gradual growth between 1961 and 1973. In 1968, the school was incorporated into the Woodard Corporation, a group of Church of England schools, of which Lancing College is the most famous. A new boarding house and a science and art block were built and the first storey was added to the West Wing. The old gymnasium in the stables (now the Music block) was made in 1971 into the Chapel of St. Hugh of Lincoln. Miss Audrey Scott was Headmistress from 1973 to 1977.

As the city of Peterborough grew in the 1970’s, the school expanded further, with over 400 pupils, including 130 boarders, at one stage. Miss Angela Brown (later Mrs. Storey), Headmistress from 1977 to 1999, continued the development, particularly of the Sixth Form. Several buildings were added, including the Home Economics block and a house for the Headmistress. This year is the tenth anniversary of the installation of the stained glass window in the chapel, acquired by supporters of the school from Little Gidding Church. The final development of the 90’s was a new building to house the Library and Sixth Form Common Room, adjacent to the boarding house.

The 21^st century sees a similar expansion of Peterborough, particularly with many leading technological companies now based in East Anglia, and the school is in another period of growth. An impressive new suite of ICT rooms was opened in 2000. Recently, parallel classes have been created in the Junior School to accommodate the rising numbers, while at the same time keeping small the set sizes that parents value so highly.

The opportunity to buy 110 Thorpe Road from the Newington family arose a few years ago; it has been converted into a luxuriously appointed Nursery which opened in September 2002.

The school has seen many changes since its Victorian beginnings: Westwoodians can be assured that throughout them all, we aim to “Be valiant” and to continue to provide “education with character”.