Bedford High School (Bedfordshire)
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| Motto | Alta petens (Latin for Aim High) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1882 |
| Closed | 2012 |
| Type | Independent |
| Founder | Harpur Trust |
| Location |
Bromham Road Bedford Bedfordshire MK40 2BS England |
| Students | 780+ |
| Gender | Girls |
| Ages | 7–18 |
| Houses | Beauchamp, Mowbray, Russell, St John |
| Colours | Blue and green |
| Publication | Aquila |
Bedford High School for Girls was an independent school for pupils aged 7 to 18 in Bedford, England. It was one of a number of schools run by the Harpur Trust. The school was located on its original site in Harpur ward, near the centre of Bedford, until its closure in 2012. In September 2010 the junior department of the school merged with the junior department of Dame Alice Harpur School. From September 2011 to September 2012 the senior schools also merged, the new school is known as Bedford Girls' School.
The school was opened on May 8, 1882. It was built on the site of former Harpur Trust cottage almshouses. There were 43 girls on that first day:
"The young ones with hair in pigtails, wearing pinafores, the elder ones with their hair up, wearing skirts down to the ankles. It was not a uniform as such, but with the strict code of respectability they made a fairly uniform impression. Boaters and gloves were worn in town. They never spoke a word inside the building unless spoken to by staff."
It was the pioneering time of education for girls, and under the early headmistresses Miss Belcher, Miss Collier, Miss Tanner and Dr Westaway the school expanded enormously, encroaching more and more on houses of Adelaide Square and The Crescent, but this was never allowed to intrude on the view of the fine Victorian architecture of the main building which can still be admired from Bromham Road. The original school at first housed both the "High and Modern School for Girls". Each school had its own half of the building, but by the end of the century the Modern School moved to premises of its own in the centre of the town, and in 1938 to its present site near the river where, from 1946, it became known as Dame Alice Harpur School.
The High School underwent many extensions and additions to its buildings. The Junior School acquired a new wing in 1896, and remained there until moving into a building in Adelaide Square in 1985. In the 1890s the Main Hall was extended out towards the road so that it became T shaped. It also obtained a pipe organ built by Norman and Beard of Norwich which was used for daily assemblies. Other notable changes included the gym built in 1931 which became a theatre, the acquisition of the former Trinity Church which was converted into a dining hall with classrooms above in 1981 and, most recently, in 2005, the new sports and performing arts complex with many facilities including a 25 x 13 m swimming pool.
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