Didcot Girls' School

Didcot Girls' School
Address
Manor Crescent Didcot , Oxfordshire , OX11 7AJ England
Coordinates	51°36′24″N1°15′14″W / 51.606769°N 1.253976°W / 51.606769; -1.253976
Information
Type	Secondary school
Motto	Committed to Excellence
Local authority	Oxfordshire County Council
Department for Education URN	138490 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair of Governors	Ruth Elliot
Headteacher	Georgina Littler
Age	11to 18
Enrolment	1562 students [1] : 4
Houses	7
Website	didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

Didcot Girls' School (also known as DGS) is a secondary school with academy status for students in Didcot, Oxfordshire and the surrounding rural area. The school was awarded Language College and Enterprise College status in 2006. ^[2] The mixed sixth form, known as Didcot Sixth Form, is shared with St Birinus School. The current headteacher is Georgina Littler, having been appointed in May 2020.

General information

The school is made up of seven houses which are named after famous women who are considered potential role models for the students. These are Adie House, Bussell House, Ennis House, Greenfield House, Kennedy House, MacArthur House and Wilson House. Each house group has a different colour; red for Adie, pink for Bussell, orange for Ennis, yellow for Greenfield, purple for Kennedy, navy for MacArthur and green for Wilson. There were eight houses, but Roddick House and Plazas House were removed in September 2010 to make six. In September 2012, following Jessica Ennis' success at the London 2012 Olympics, Ennis house was created, bringing the number of houses to seven.^{[ citation needed ]}

The school has four main building blocks; St. Frideswide's (also known as Frids), Austen, Sherwood (formerly New Building) and Cockcroft. A large, modern sports hall is sited next to St. Frideswide's, and the canteen in St. Frideswide's is rated five stars.^{[ citation needed ]}

The "Friends of Didcot Girls' School" charity was registered formally in 2020 to raise funds for the school. ^{[3] [4]}

History

The school was created by the merger in the early 1970s of the former St. Frideswides secondary modern school and adjacent Didcot Girls' Grammar School.^{[ citation needed ]}

Notable former pupils

Ann Packer winning the 1964 Olympics 800 metres gold

• Henrietta Knight (racehorse trainer), trainer of Best Mate (1995-2005 racehorse) ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Jasmine Lowson, TV presenter ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Ann Packer MBE, middle-distance runner who, at the 1964 Summer Olympics, won gold in the 800 metres (in a world record) and silver in the 400 metres; she held the women's 800 metres world record from October 1964 to June 1967
• Summer Watson, opera singer and recording artist

References

1. "School inspection". Ofsted . 19 January 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
2. Bardsley, Fran (22 August 2013). "GCSEs 2013: Blog of results, updates, reaction, pictures and tweets". The Didcot Herald. Newsquest (Oxfordshire) Ltd. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
3. "Friends of Didcot Girls' School - Didcot Girls' School". www.didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
4. "FRIENDS OF DIDCOT GIRLS' SCHOOL - Charity 1192666". prd-ds-register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2025.

External links

• Map sources for Didcot Girls' School
• School website