2008 - A new co-educational Sixth Form
In September 2008, the first cohort of 35 Lower Sixth Form girls joined Shrewsbury School, thus ending 450 years of exclusively boys’ education.
A new House, Mary Sidney Hall (designed by local architects Baart, Harries, Newall), for both boarding and day girls, was formally opened by Lady Moody Stuart on Sunday 28th September 2008. The first Housemistress was Sara Hankin, who had formerly been in charge of Port Hill, one of the Day Boy houses.
The House was named after Mary Sidney (who became Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke), sister to Sir Philip Sidney, one of the School’s most famous former pupils. Sir Philip was a celebrated a courtier, statesman, soldier and poet during the reign of Elizabeth I. Mary was reputed to be an accomplished poet in her own right and was known as a lively patroness of the arts.
[Link to article on Mary Sidney written by former Head of History Laura Whittle.]
Photos: Opening of Mary Sidney Hall [to be sourced]
In 2009, a further 35 girls joined the Sixth Form and Mary Sidney Hall. In 2011, in response to the increased demand for places, a second girls’ house was opened. Emma Darwin Hall was named after Emma (née Wedgwood) Darwin, the wife of Charles Darwin. The first Housemistress was Kait Weston.
The following article was published in The Salopian magazine in November 2008.
In the annals of Shrewsbury School, September 2008 will of course be recorded as a momentous turning-point. The arrival of 35 girls in the Lower Sixth saw the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.
Photo: The new co-ed Sixth Form [to be sourced]
As might be expected, the first few days of the term saw a small flurry of press excitement and there was perhaps initially a certain ‘edge’ to the atmosphere around the Site, as a long-anticipated event finally happened.
And yet the girls themselves had far more pressing matters to think about than the mere fact that they were making history. Timetables, fasti, locating classrooms, learning names, making friends, choosing options — and work, deadlines, Top Schools, games practice, music practice, drama. As everyone who has ever arrived for their first term at Shrewsbury has found, it is a tremendous and initially somewhat overwhelming experience.
In common with most new entrants at the School, the girls have settled in extremely quickly, rapidly gelling together as a close-knit group within their House but also fitting smoothly and easily into the life and general fabric of the School as a whole. “Everyone has gone out of their way to make us feel welcome,” they enthuse. “We’re kept busy the whole time and we’re included in everything — music, drama, debating, sport. There is so much going on at Shrewsbury, so much opportunity. We’re determined to make the best out of being here and having so much available to us.”
Many have enjoyed taking part in activities they’ve never had a chance to try before — rowing, scuba diving, fives, to name but a few — and all have relished the wealth of activities available to them on a daily basis.
When within their first three weeks, the newly-formed hockey team won their first-ever match 4-0, it seemed to say it all.
“From day one they have shown themselves to be a very special group,” says Sara Hankin, Housemistress of Mary Sidney Hall. “These are bright, energetic, dignified young women, who take great pride in being part of Shrewsbury School. They will have a go at everything, are prepared to be brave and, in the true spirit of Salopia, are amongst the friendliest people you could hope to meet.”
Among the boys, too, there is general agreement that the arrival of the girls has been ‘a good thing’. “Beyond school all of us will study and work alongside girls,” they comment. “It’s definitely a good thing to get used to that while we’re at school.”
For many of the 35 new entrant Sixth Form boys (who could be forgiven for perhaps feeling somewhat overlooked this term), co-education is already the norm. “Being in a classroom with girls is completely normal for me,” said one. “I’ve always had girls in my class. So it’s odd for me to see any anxiety about it.” A rather far cry from the Fourth Former who was heard to exclaim on seeing a group of Salopian girls emerging from the gym — to the amusement of the girls in question - “Wow! I never knew girls could sweat!”
“But,” as one of the Sixth Form boys remarked, “it won’t take very long for there to be no boys in the School who’ve ever known it without girls.”
Photo of Quod [to be sourced]
In short, it’s business as usual at Shrewsbury School. “We’re just all getting on with it,” is the general comment from both girls and boys. The major news from the new-look co-ed Sixth Form — apart, of course, from their exciting new Common Room, ‘Quod’ — is not that the Sixth Form is new and different. It is instead a familiar story: a list of academic achievements and triumphs on the sports field, the concert platform, the stage and the debating chamber — only with events such as ‘netball’ and girls’ names in the Brown Book (blue these days) as new additions. Plus a request from the boys for fair and equal treatment: “We’d like massage chairs in our houses too, please.”