Camden School for Girls

Founded in 1871 by the suffragist Frances Mary Buss, who also founded North London Collegiate School, the Camden School for Girls was one of the first girls' schools in England. Although not a fee-paying school by then, girls in the mid-20th century wore a traditional uniform of dark green, with blue and green striped ties. The blazer badge showed a type of ancient sailing ship called a "buss" to commemorate the founder's surname, with the motto 'Onwards and Upwards'. Although no entry exams were held, in its pre-comprehensive era, entrance was by interview.

One of its most formative headmistresses, Doris Burchell, took on the school in the post war years and developed its renowned strengths in both science and music, overseeing a massive amount of new building on the site. The Sir John Cockcroft science wing was built from funds raised by many means, including a series of Celebrity Concerts held at the school and involving many eminent musicians. A grammar school for much of the 20th century, it became comprehensive in 1976, although only year by year. It was not fully comprehensive until 1981. The school was damaged in the war but rebuilt in 1957, the architect being John Eastwick-Field OBE.[2] In 1973 the assembly hall roof collapsed following deterioration of its roof beams due to problems with the high-alumina cement concrete used.[3]

A 1999 Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) report called it "a unique and very effective school in many ways." Another, written in March 2005, said it was an "outstanding school with excellent features," and the most recent report said that it "rightly deserves the outstanding reputation it has among parents and in the community." Its GCSE results are excellent, and its A-level results are the best in the Camden LEA outside the private sector.[4]

The following people were educated at the Camden School for Girls. Some of them only attended the sixth form.

• Sally Beamish (born 1956), composer[5]
• Johnny Borrell (born 1980), musician[6]
• Sarah Brown (born 1963), PR consultant, wife of Gordon Brown[7][8]
• Sara Annie Burstall (1859–1939)[9]
• Julia Cleverdon (born 1950), charity worker[10]
• Charlotte Coleman (1968–2001), actress, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, expelled at age 16[11][12]
• Athene Donald (born 1953), Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge[13]
• Julia Donaldson (born 1948), author[14][15]
• Lily Donaldson (born 1987), model[16]
• Nubya Garcia (born 1991), jazz musician[17]
• Georgia Gould (born 1986), Labour Party politician, leader of Camden London Borough Council[18]
• Eileen Greenwood (1915–2008) artist, printmaker, and art teacher[19]
• Tamsin Greig (born 1967), actress[20]
• Geri Halliwell (born 1972), singer, Spice Girls[8]
• John Hassall (born 1981), musician, The Libertines[21]
• Kate Kellaway (born 1957), journalist for The Observer[22]
• Lucy Kellaway (born 1959), writer and journalist for The Financial Times[22][23]
• Lilian Lindsay (1871–1960), first woman with a British qualification in dentistry, having graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1895[24]
• Jodhi May (born 1975), actress[25]
• Fiona Millar (born 1958) journalist and education campaigner[26]
• Deborah Moggach (born 1948), novelist and screenwriter[27]
• Ellie Rowsell (born 1992) lead singer and guitarist in Wolf Alice[28]
• Anna Shaffer (born 1992), actress
• Marianne Stone (1922–2009), actress, notably in Carry On films[29]
• E. G. R. Taylor (1871–1966), geographer and historian[30]
• Emma Thompson (born 1959), actress[8]
• Sophie Thompson (born 1962), actress
• Lowri Turner (born 1964), presenter & journalist[31]
• Arabella Weir (born 1957), actress, comedian and author[8][32]

• Carol Handley née Taylor - Classics teacher, Headmistress (1971-1985)[33]
• Annie E. Ridley - governor[34]

• Doris Burchell, Miss Buss' Second School, 1971.

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