The Mount School
The Mount School York
Address
Dalton Terrace

York
,
North Yorkshire
,
YO24 4DD

England
Coordinates53°57′08″N 1°05′52″W / 53.95235°N 1.09771°W / 53.95235; -1.09771
Information
Former namesTrinity Lane (York) Quaker Girls' School
TypePrivate day and boarding school
MottoLatin: Fidelis in Parvo
(Faithfulness in small things)
Religious affiliation(s)Religious Society of Friends
(Quaker)
Established1785
FoundersQuakers
Department for Education URN121726 Tables
PrincipalDavid Griffiths
GenderGirls
Age3 to 18
Enrolment290~
Houses
Affiliations
Websitewww.mountschoolyork.co.uk

The Mount School is a private Quaker day and boarding school for girls ages 3 –18, located in York, England. The school was founded in 1785 and the current principal is David Griffiths. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The Mount offers full boarding, weekly and flexible boarding and in 2020 became the first girls' school in the North of England to become an All Steinway School.[2] The school is also a member of the Girls' Schools Association and the Independent Schools Council.[3] The Mount School has been acknowledged as one of the top private girls' schools in the United Kingdom. In The Times League Table, the school is ranked 2nd by A-level results in the York area. In the Yorkshire Post, the school was ranked top of an A-level results table for Yorkshire in 2012.[4]

History

The school under the name Trinity Lane (or York) Quaker Girls' School was founded in 1785 by Yorkshire Quaker, Esther Tuke, wife of William Tuke.[5][6]

In 1831 Esther and William's grandson Samuel Tuke along with William Alexander, Thomas Backhouse and Joseph Rowntree moved the school to Castlegate House with Hannah Brady as superintendent (1831–42.[5] She was followed by Elizabeth Brady (1842–47), Eliza Stringer (1847–1853), and Rachel Tregelles (1853–1862).[7] Lydia Rous returned from helping in the American Civil War to become head. Rous retired in 1879.[8] In 1856 it moved to its present premises, The Mount. From 1890 to 1902 the Headmistress was Lucy Harrison. From 1946 to 1966 Margery Willoughby was the head teacher.[9]

Traditions

The Mount School has many long-standing traditions throughout the school year, including a game event Games in the Dark at Bonfire Night, where Year 11 students arrange a treasure hunt challenge for the younger students to take part in. College girls present two events to the school, one at the end of each term, respectively, the College I Pantomime and the Leavers' Play at Leaver's Supper, at which the new head girls present the old head girls with flowers and College II present the school with a gift, typically, an award in memory of a teacher and a digital photo frame of student trips.[10][11]

The school holds an end of term meeting both at Christmas and in the summer.

Between these meetings is Family Day. This event is typically held around mid-May and is the main fundraising event of the year. The school body selects two charities to support: one based in the U.K. and one overseas. The students and staff speak about potential charities and all students vote for which charities to support. Family Day is an opportunity for every year to run a stall to raise money, whilst music and drama group offer entertainment. Other activity groups run stalls to raise awareness for the work of organisations such as Amnesty International and Eco-Schools Eco Committee, which in 2011 won the Green Flag Award for the school. This represents the highest achievement for an eco-friendly school.

The Foundation Meeting (or Speech Day) summarises the year and introduces the new head girl team. Awards and scholarships are presented to students from every year group, including Grade 8 Music and Drama awards. Each leaver in College II writes a few sentences about their time at The Mount and their future plans, these are read out as they receive a necklace of the Mount Rose as a leaving gift.

Other traditions include such events as the Carols on the Stairs, which takes place at Christmas, and Tea Party with the Elderly.

Curriculum

Academically the school maintains traditional values and has developed ‘pillars of excellence’ in several subject areas: sciences, maths, history,[12] music, sports, art, drama and foreign languages.

Sports

The Mount has many sporting activities for every year group like orienteering and fencing, netball, hockey and swimming in the winter and rounders, tennis and athletics in the summer. College girls are able to choose from a wider variety of sports including lacrosse and using the fitness suite.[13]

The school has a team for hockey, netball, tennis, rounders, swimming athletics and cross country. These teams compete with other schools in the area.

Creative Arts

The Mount is an All Steinway School [14] and holds annual concerts. Musical opportunities include Senior and Junior Orchestra, Senior and Junior Choir, a Wind group and Swing Band for woodwind and brass instruments.

The Mount follows the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) syllabus and there is usually a school and College Play every year. Previous years have performed Alice, The History Boys and Accrington Pals. The Drama department present I See A Voice every year.

Peace Studies

In 2012, the school became the first in England to introduce the PeaceJam Foundation's Ambassadors programme into the school curriculum, as opposed to as an after school club or extra curricular activity.[15]

Notable alumnae

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Mount School: A Day in the Life of the Mount School Headgirl's Team". Living North Magazine, Late Winter / Early Spring 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Mount in York becomes North Yorkshire's first all-Steinway school". York Press. Newsquest International. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "Girls' Schools Association". Girls' Schools Association. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Roberts, John (25 August 2012). "Praise as private school tops table on A-levels". Yorkshire Post.
  5. 1 2 "History & Heritage". The Mount School. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Tuke, William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27810. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  7. ↑ Biographical Catalogue: Being an Account of the Lives of Friends and Others Whose Portraits are in the London Friends' Institute. Friends Institute. 1888. pp. 827–829. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Rous, Lydia (1819–1896), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48673. Retrieved 8 October 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  9. ↑ "Headmistress held in great respect". York Press. 14 June 2001. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Living North, Spring 2013
  11. ↑ "A Day in the Life of The Mount Headgirls". Living North (Spring 2013).
  12. ↑ "Quality Mark Case Study" Historical Association
  13. ↑ "Mount School York". Sports Facilities UK. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  14. ↑ "The Mount is North Yorkshire's First All Steinway School". Attain. Pressburst. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  15. ↑ Hayward, Jo (28 August 2012). "Teaching peace in the classroom". The Guardian.
  16. ↑ Lewis, Haydn (24 August 2021). "York Mount School's Jocelyn Bell Burnell gets Copley Medal". York Press. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  17. 1 2 Kastan, David Scott, ed. (2006). The Oxford encyclopedia of British literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 351. ISBN 978-0195169218. When she [Byatt] was thirteen, she and her younger sister—the novelist Margaret Drabble—were sent to Mount School, a Quaker boarding school in York.
  18. ↑ "Audrey 90th Birthday Event Video". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  19. ↑ "Professor Ruth Finnegan, FBA, Social and Cultural Anthropology, other branches, Elected 1996". Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  20. ↑ Reid, Ellie (2020). "Gretton [née Sturge; first married name Henderson], Mary Gertrude Sturge (1871–1961), historian and magistrate". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.59036. ISBN 9780198614128. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  21. ↑ Coveney, Michael (9 January 2004). "Helen Osborne". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  22. ↑ Conlan, Tara (9 December 2012). "Cheryl Taylor interview: CBBC 'is where we want the BBC journey to begin". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

Further reading

  • Sturge, H. W. & Clark, T. The Mount School. York, 1785 to 1931. (Pub. 1931).
  • Smith, M. F. & Waller, E. A. The Mount School. York, 1857 to 1957. (Pub. 1957).
  • The Mount OSA. A register of old scholars, 1931-1932. (Pub. 1932).
  • The Mount School Annual reports (annual lists of pupils 1919–1940).
  • Old York Scholars Association Annual reports, 1887-1901. OSA Annual reports. (Pub. 1890).
  • Sheils, S. (2007) Among Friends, The Story of The Mount School, York. London: James & James.
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