Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School' (TWGGS) is a grammar school in Royal Tunbridge Wells, a town in Kent, England. An 11+ examination must be passed in order to gain entrance PLUS the girl must be located within the catchment zone which was 2 miles in 2007 (she may be outside the catchment zone but only a small number of spaces are reserved for students in this situation). Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... For the topic in theoretical computer science, see Formal grammar Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ... Tunbridge Wells (officially Royal Tunbridge Wells) is a Wealden town in west Kent in England, just north of the border with East Sussex. ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... A grammar school is a school that may, depending on regional usage as exemplified below, provide either secondary education or, a much less common usage, primary education (also known as elementary). Grammar schools trace their origins back to medieval Europe, as schools in which university preparatory subjects, such as Latin... , Royal Tunbridge Wells (often called simply Tunbridge Wells) is a Wealden town in west Kent in England, just north of the border with East Sussex. ... The Kent coat of arms For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

History and Founding of the School

The school was founded in 1902 on different premises to those currently occupied.

Academic Achievement

TWGGS expects high academic achievement from its girls and this is reflected by placing fifth in the county for GCSEs (2007) BBC website of league tables

The Form System

Until 2001 (when the school took more pupils), upon arrival at TWGGS, girls were sorted into one of four forms: 7T, 7W, 7G or 7S each with about 32 girls. They were registered in these forms in the morning and after lunch, had their own form room (usually a hut for the lower years) and attended most classes in this form. This created a strong bond between the students which was enforced by events such as sports day (and inter-form tug-of-war).

Maths was streamed in y8 but all other classes were held within forms. It was preferable practice for the students to have the same form teacher for both years. At the end of year 8, the girls were rearranged into 5 smaller forms in preparation for external exams: 9T, 9W, 9I, 9G, 9S this time with about 28 girls in each (extra intakes from private schools (such as Holmewood House and Kent College, Pembury) via the 13+ were not uncommon) and new form teachers assigned. Again, most year 9 classes were held in form groups.

Year 10 and 11 saw the girls split off into their 'options' classes for their GCSEs and only the core subjects were held within the form. These being English, Science, Religious Studies and Physical Education.

The forms barely changed structure for Sixth Form, although the form teacher and classroom would, but the common rooms for both year levels encouraged inter-form bonding and general friendship.

This system changed in 2001 when the number of new entrants meant an extra class had to be added to year 7 and the forms never got rearranged at y9 (although they did change form rooms and teachers).

Form Elections

Each form elects students for different stations each term:

• Form Captain
• Deputy Form Captain
• Charity Rep
• etc

Duties of Form Captain

Duties of Charity Rep

Each Charity Rep is encouraged to organise at least one fundraising event during their term in office for the school's charity of the year. This usually involved a cake and sweet sale but some more imaginative ideas have included:

• Auctioning off teachers as slaves (7T of 1998 pooled all their money and bought Dr Grayling, giving him money and making him drive out at lunch time to get them all McDonald's)
• 'The Weakest Link' involving teachers
• Wacky hair day

Uniform

Until 1996, a navy blue jumper with a gold striped collar (two stripes) was worn over a plain white blouse and navy blue tie with diagonal gold stripes. This was worn with a short, straight navy blue skirt. A variation would be with a plain blue navy tie. There was (and still is) no uniform for girls in the Sixth Form.

Why Change?

A competition was held in 1995 or 96 to update the uniform after Mrs Angela Daly (the headmistress at the time) fielded complaints that the uniform was too plain. Plus, in an unfortunate incident she often related to the girls, she once mistook girls from the nearby Hillview School for Girls for her own: while walking along the street she noticed the scruffy standard of dress of the uniformed girls in front of her (Hillview's uniform at the time differing only in the colour of the stripes on their jumper - red not gold). As she marched by, in her best headmistress' voice, she instructed the girls to tuck their blouses in, only to discover (to her mortification) that they had no idea who she was and did not go to TWGGS!

The New Uniform

The winning design of this competition (from a Sixth Former) introduced the Gordan Dress tartan to the uniform. The new uniform consists of a pleated short tartan skirt, white blouse, matching tartan tie and navy jumper with a gold TWGGS logo (the same as the school. Photos are available on the stockists (Simmonds) website. This uniform was brought in with year 7 of 1997 being the first class to wear it. A summer uniform was added in the form of a thin, cotton, tartan dress which improved in fabric quality in later years (they were prone to rip in revealing places). Tartan trousers were also available for winter in early runs of the uniform but these failed to be popular and were removed by 2000.

The Blazer

While the majority of the new uniform was not received well by the girls (but the parents loved it), the most commonly hated item was the blazer. Navy blue wool with a tartan collar, costing between £100 - 150, it was expensive and girls complained that it smelled when wet, did not keep them warm and was unfashionable. School uniform rules meant the girls were supposed to wear the blazer regardless, ask teachers if they could remove them in class and, if hot, the jumper was to be removed first. Needless to say these rules were flaunted as much as possible, until it became obvious that the ones wearing the blazers were y7s, the ones carrying the blazers were y8s and the rest of the school either left it at home or brought it to school each day and left it in their locker.

By spring 2002 the situation came to a head and Mrs Linda Wybar (the current headmistress) proposed a ban on jumpers in an effort to make the girls wear their blazers. A protest was organised and, one lunch time, many students marched through the school shouting the slogan Wy-bar jumpers!?!. After consultation with school governors and stockists, the blazer was fazed out over the rest of the school year: y10 and y11 students (who were originally the first to wear the new uniform) were first, with the rest of the years following. By September 2002 it was no longer a compulsory part of the uniform.

NBPA Bags

Bags issued by the National Backpack Association were recommended and sold by Simmonds (the uniform stockists) in 1999. Naturally, most of the new students parents bought the bag (it supported and moulded to your back, plus had fluorescent strips attached so it could be seen in the dark) making the y7s of that year instantly recognisable to the rest of the school. Plus, it created much confusion as so many people had the same bag.

Systems of Merit

TWGGS does not have a 'House Point' system as many other schools do, but in the past 15 years has tried both Commendations and Merits.

Commendations

Given to girls for pieces of outstanding work up until about 2001. Apart from having the teacher sign your planner, there was no other reward for this merit and many girls disregarded them, especially as few teachers awarded them.

Merits

Merits were introduced around 2001. Teachers were encouraged to award merits for good work. Not only was a stamp given in your planner but forms with the most merits at the end of the year were rewarded. The form with the highest number of merits in the school received at trip to the (not so) local Odeon cinema. While merits were offered to all year-groups, those with external exams and study leave at the end of the year (y11 upwards) missed out on any rewards. The Odeon was a building used for musical performance in Athens built in the 5th century BC. Hence, any building in ancient Greece or the ancient Roman Empire was called an odeon. ...

School Traditions

Fridays

TWGGS finishes an hour early every Friday. When the timetable switched from being weekly with 7 40 minute classes each day to fortnightly and only having 5 classes each day, it was calculated that there would be extra time spent in the classroom. To make up for this, school was allowed to finish an hour early, much to the delight of the students. When surrounding schools made similar switches to their timetables, this was not accounted for and TWGGS is the only school in the area (including Tonbridge) which does this.

Muck-up Day

Traditionally celebrated on the last school day before exams by the Upper Sixth (school leavers). Much contention has surrounded this day in recent years but, under Mrs Angela Daly's leadership, students were allowed to arrive early (usually somewhere between 5-6am) to set up their stunt around the school and leave something for the younger students (and teachers) to remember them by.

• Class of 1999: Made a 'spiders web' with wool down by the huts - giving much joy to the younger students who spent the morning clambering through them on the way to class
• Class of 2000: Made the library look like there had been a wild party there the night before (maybe there had...), drew chalk outlines all round the building
• Class of 2001: Turned M2 into a love/romantic area, created a 'traffic jam' during first period in the driveway and loudly honked horns
• Class of 2002: Removed all chairs and placed them on the roof of the Geography wing and the tennis courts (unfortunately it rained which was not so fun)

Students were guaranteed a welcome by water pistols on the morning of muck-up day and teachers cars were not safe. General yelling and screaming could be heard for most of the day. One year managed to fill the staff corridor with balloons which could be heard popping for most of the day.

Sixth Form Christmas Panto

Organised every year by the Lower Sixth. This was much easier before AS levels were introduced. They are performed in front of the entire school on the last day of term and usually involve cameo performances by most teachers.

Past Pantos have been:

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

Collapsed-Timetable Days

Initiated by Mr Lillicrap (head of KS3) in 1999, the intention being to have 3 days at the end of the school year during which the KS3 girls were encouraged to explore non-academic pursuits. To be held every other year. These included:

• Hut painting
• A trip to Chessington theme park
• Gardening
• Kite making
• Glass painting
• Dream catcher making

Unfortunately, it was such a logistical nightmare (and Mr Lillicrap had left the school by 2001) that it was never repeated.

Exchanges Offered

• France
• Germany (With the Clara-Fey-Gymnasium, Bonn)
• India (As part of PEACE - Programme of Educational and Cultural Exchange)
• Egypt (This being the only exchange known of in the world with an Egyptian school)

Plus trips to Ghana were offered through the Ghana Education Project

Assembly

Whole school assembly is held every Monday and Thursday. The whole school can fit into the school hall, the younger students on the balcony and the older on the stage. The Headmistress or deputy usually leads the assembly, beginning with a hymn (despite there being no Christian affiliation to the school) from the golden school hymnbook. This book is presented to new students and, if lost, can be bought at reception for a small fee.

Each Key Stage has assemblies on the other days, KS4 on Tuesday, the Sixth Form on Wednesday and KS3 on Fridays.

The School Song

Green the countryside around her

Grassy meadow, wooded hill

Here past nations found her

Here may school long flourish still

Young we were when first we sought her

Full of wonder, hope and zest

[lalala] brought her

Met her challenge

Give Your Best!

After years of keen endeavour

Work, achievement, sport and fun

Friendships, interests, broadening ever

Comes the day when school is done

[bah dum bum]

Still may we with faith unswerving

As we face life's further tests

[lalala] freely serving

Keep the watchword

Give Your Best!

The School Hymn

He who would valiant be

'gainst all disaster,

Let him in constancy

Follow the Master.

There's no discouragement

Shall make him once relent

His first avowed intent

To be a pilgrim.

Who so beset him round

With dismal stories

Do but themselves confound

His strength the more is.

No foes shall stay his might;

Though he with giants fight,

He will make good his right

To be a pilgrim.

Since, Lord, thou dost defend

Us with thy Spirit,

We know we at the end,

Shall life inherit.

Then fancies flee away!

I'll fear not what men say,

I'll labor night and day

To be a pilgrim.

Sports

"At TWGGS we offer sport activities in the Sixth Form that girls can carry on with in later life. We find that most girls by this stage have had enough of organised team games and are looking to take part in activities which will help promote their own fitness levels and that are sociable." Sarah Clarke, P.E department TWGGS Fit School Testimonials

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Student Christian Union
• Gymnastics Squad
• Trampolining Team (2003)
• Chess Club (1997-1999)

Headmistresses

Mrs Angela Daly ( - 1999)

Mrs Linda Wybar (1999 - )

Head Girls

Appointment Process

Duties

Head Girls of TWGGS

Deputy Head Girls

Prefects

Wings of the School

The Alice Lunn Wing

Named after a headmistress. For History and English.

The Huts

Remnants of WWII, 13 prefabricated huts served as classrooms at TWGGS until 2004. A lack of funding meant a lack of building could be carried out to replace them, despite the fact that most were 60 years old with 2 being 80! As part of the 'collapsed timetable day', students painted the insides of each hut to their own design, making them entertaining and cheerful places to be however this did not stop their tendency to be colder than the outside in winter. When Mrs Wybar became headmistress, she refused to carry out any more maintenance on them and force the government to give a bigger grant to replace them. Building started for their replacements in 2003.

The Bomb Shelter

Created during the Second World War. Became tennis courts for a while. Was revamped in 1999 with brick paving and gravel creating an outdoor chessboard and many walkways. A sundial was added by Mrs Daly on her departure and a memorial to Rhian Fry (d. 2004?) in the form of a fountain. This is along with the memorial of a silver birch tree to another student who died c. 1994.

The main rumour surrounding the bomb shelter is about a supposed passage, linking TWGGS with Skinners school across the road. Apparently it still exists but is not usable because of ventilation problems. Another rumour says that it is fallen in in places but this would have impacts for the surrounding houses and roading.

Notable Alumnae

• Jo Brand, stand-up comedian
• Virginia Wade, tennis player
• Ellie Beaven, Actress

Jo Brand (born Josephine Grace Brand 3 May 1957, Hastings, East Sussex) is an English comedienne. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Sarah Virginia Wade (born July 10, 1945, in Bournemouth, England) is a former tennis player from the United Kingdom. ... Ellie Beaven (born 1980) is an English television and stage actress. ...

See also

• Tunbridge Wells Boys' Grammar School
• The Skinners' School
• Tonbridge Grammar School

Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys (TWGSB), also known as Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar School, is a grammar school in Tunbridge Wells, a town in Kent, England, UK. The school has over 1,200 pupils ranging from 11 to 18 years of age and entrance is selective, with pupils falling... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Tonbridge Grammar School is a state-funded Mathematics and Computing specialist grammar school in Tonbridge, United Kingdom. ...

External links

• Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School's Website
• Ofsted Site
• Results of Latest Ofsted Inspection
• Key Stage 3 Achievement and Attainment Tables 2006
• GCSE Achievement and Attainment Tables 2006
• Ms De La Mare's Drama Website
• Ghana Education Project
• The Clara-Fey-Gymnasium