In 1690, Robert Aske gave the Haberdashers' Company £20,000 to set up a hospital and home for 20 elderly men and a school for 20 boys at Hoxton, just north of the City of London. The school came decidedly second to the home for elderly men. There were no new boys between 1714 and 1739 because the foundation was short of funds. The hospital was rebuilt during 1824–26 and the foundation was reorganised in 1873 when four schools were established: two at Hoxton, and two at Hatcham, New Cross in south-east London. Boys and girls were taught separately at each site. All four schools opened in 1875, the Hoxton schools offered a basic English education and the Hatcham schools covered a wider syllabus. In 1891, Hatcham Girls moved to new premises half a mile away, designed by Henry Stock, while Hatcham boys took over the Girls’ buildings.
Early in the 20th century, new sites for the Hoxton schools were purchased in Cricklewood (always referred to as Hampstead) for the Boys and Acton for the Girls. Both these schools became Direct Grant in 1946 and then fully independent, day, fee-paying schools in 1976. The need for expansion saw the Boys’ School move again to Elstree, Hertfordshire in 1961, followed by the Girls in 1974.[3]
In March 2021, The Spectator reported that the school's governing body would be undertaking a review of their founder, Robert Aske's, legacy, including his ties to slavery.[5] In September 2021, various news reports confirmed that the Aske's name would be dropped from both the names of the Boys' and the Girls' schools, and that they would be henceforth called Haberdashers' Girls' School and Haberdashers' Boys' School.[6][7][8] although the name Aske would be retained by their governing body. [6][7][8]
The School
Academic achievement
97% of girls achieve grades A* to B at A Level,[9] and over 99% achieve A* - B at GCSE.[9]
Headmistresses
The current headmistress is Hazel Bagworth-Mann, PhD
Former pupils are referred to as Old Girls. Their alumni association is called Haberdashers' Old Girls' Club which was created on 6 May 1904 by Headmistress, Miss Margaret Gilliland. In 2014, they celebrated their 110th anniversary at St Martin-in-the-Fields.
In April 2021, an article in the Daily Telegraph claimed that students at the school were "subjected to forced sex" and faced "sexism" from pupils at Haberdashers' Boys' School. Some pupils claimed that cases were reported to the school but were "downplayed".[18]
^Barber, Lynn (7 June 2009). "Educating Lynn: take one". London: The Observer (8 June 2008). Retrieved 23 November 2009. "Amanda asked if I'd like to watch some of the filming, and said I should come to the Japanese School, Acton, to watch one of the classroom scenes." and "But no - the Japanese school was there and in fact turned out to be the old Haberdashers' Girls' School which we used to play at lacrosse."
