Chelmsford County High School for Girls

Chelmsford County High School for Girls or "CCHS", is a selective grammar school for girls aged 11–18 located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Entrance to the school is by an academic selection test. CCHS is traditionally rated among the most consistently high achieving and academically successful secondary schools in the United Kingdom, regularly scoring top marks for both GCSE and A-level results. CCHS has also been voted the best secondary school in Essex. In addition to these achievements, the school aims to instill "developing the leaders of tomorrow" in the belief that the able girls will be leaders in whichever field of work or academic study or indeed in the personal interests they choose in their future. History The official history of Chelmsford County High School between 1906 and 1982 is chronicled in "A History of Chelmsford County High School" by Mary Kenyon. The school was built in 1906, and officially opened in May 1907, with its first Headmistress Mabel Vernon-Harcourt. It had 76 pupils on the school roll. Miss Edith Bancroft became the second Headmistress until she retired in 1935. A new school science building, known as Bancroft Wing, was named in her honour when it was finished in 1950. Bancroft Wing subsequently became a languages building. Miss Bancroft retired as Headmistress in 1935 and was succeeded by the school's third Headmistress, Miss Geraldine Cadbury until 1961. A science block, the Cadbury Science Building, was named after her when it opened in 1995. In 1979, Miss Phyllis Pattison retired, having been headmistress since 1961, and was replaced by Miss Anne Brooks in 1980. Miss Brooks retired in 1989 and was replaced in 1990 by Bernice McCabe, who served for seven years until 1997. In 1997, Bernice McCabe left to take up the post of Headmistress in the North London Collegiate School for Girls. She was replaced by Monica Curtis, who retired in April 2006. Mrs Glynis Howland, Deputy Head, became Acting Headteacher until the appointment of Mrs Nicole Chapman, the school´s eighth Headmistress, who took over her new post in April 2007. Mrs Chapman retired in 2019, with Mr Stephen Lawlor succeeding her as Headteacher, the first male headteacher in the history of the school.