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Women’s Suffrage Centenary

Today marks 100 years since British women were first given the right to vote, through the Representation of the People Act in 1918, which was the starting block for women’s rights and the eventual universal women’s suffrage in Britain.

With this in mind, we thought we would share a little bit of history surrounding Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School and how the School, along with Merchant Taylors’ Company, contributed towards empowering girls and young women through education around this period.

Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School was established in 1888, having inherited the buildings from the Boys’ School that had moved less than a mile away in 1874. The then governing body was slow in providing for the ‘new’ school and it was due to the insistence and perseverance of James Fenning, the Master of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, that the Girls’ School was started and was consequently the first in the area to offer education to girls.

At the School’s opening all of the female staff were graduates; an impressive feat considering that at the time only four universities granted degrees to women. In June 1888 twelve pupils attended the school, by the 1920s it had grown to 300, even continuously increasing in numbers throughout the First World War.

The Headmistress in 1918 was Miss Shackleton, who was highly educated with a Dublin Master of Arts degree and a Licentiate of the College of Preceptors. She now seems a modern Headmistress for her time, explaining that to help the country during war effort, the girls must remain in school. Miss Shackleton believed women must acquire an education so that the country did not suffer post war due to lack of ‘skilled or intelligent labour’, but she also told the girls that they must varnish the soles of their shoes to make them last longer and ‘learn to mend their own bicycles’!

The Governors at the time were also generous in their offerings, interest and support of the Girls’ School, bringing the school to the forefront of girls’ education at the time. Miss Shackleton thanked the Governors stating; “in every way they have considered the welfare of the scholars… Probably no other girls’ school with similar advantages exists.” Mr Oliver Jones, one of the most generous benefactors at the time said, “In all probability, what had been done would lead to the school being one of the finest institutions in Lancashire.”

Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School Headmistress, Mrs L. Robinson said, “In the last hundred years, Merchant Taylors’ has been essential to the education and enablement of young women and most importantly, equality. We are a proud ‘family of schools’ who work together to empower both girls and boys to achieve their potential. We have the Suffragettes, Suffragists and women of the early 20th century to thank for their efforts and pains that they endured in order to provide women with both opportunities and our democratic rights to vote. Ultimately, their sacrifices put Britain on the road to a nation of gender equality.”

 

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We are looking forward to the Merchants’ Winter We are looking forward to the Merchants’ Winter Gala on Friday 10 November.

Tickets will cost £75 and include a drink on arrival, 3 course meal and drinks with dinner. The venue is the Rum Warehouse at the Titanic, and it promises to be fantastic evening, for parents, staff, and members of the wider Merchants’ community. You can book online using the link our bio.

Tables are for 10 people and you will be asked to specify who you want to sit with if you have a group in mind.

We look forward to seeing you there!
Scottish Rugby has chosen Merchant Taylors’ Scho Scottish Rugby has chosen Merchant Taylors’ School as the North West hub for its Scotland Qualified Pathway Programme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏉 

The UK-wide programme aims to identify and develop young players who live outside Scotland but are eligible to play for its national teams because they, their parents or grandparents were born north of the border.

From Sunday 24 September, boys and girls aged between 14 and 17 can take part in training and assessment sessions led by SRU coaches, with a selected group of players going on to take part in further training camps and play in a regional game series in January and each session will be at Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School.

 Find out more via the link in our bio.
Excellence takes many forms 🙌 Join us for our Excellence takes many forms 🙌 

Join us for our Sixth Form Open Evening on Tuesday 10 October 2023 between 4.30pm and 7.30pm.

The evening will be an opportunity to find out more about our new co-educational Sixth Form, meet subject specialist teachers and understand what makes Sixth Form at Merchant Taylors’ so special. 

In 2023 an impressive 32% of all A Level grades were recorded at A*-A, while nearly two-thirds of all grades attained fell within the A*-B range. 

Click the link in our bio for more information ⤴️
It was a pleasure to welcome Old Girl Deborah Macl It was a pleasure to welcome Old Girl Deborah Maclaren (1993) into school today to deliver our first Merchants' Wider World lecture of the year.

Deborah inspired the girls with her passion for books and reading, and shared her journey to becoming the Managing Director and Co-Owner of LoveReading. The library was very busy at lunchtime as the girls went to borrow some of her recommendations!

Thank you for coming back to Merchants', Deborah - it was wonderful to see you back in the library that started your journey.
It was wonderful to see both senior schools come t It was wonderful to see both senior schools come together for our first joint Speech Day last week. Over 1400 people packed into the Philharmonic to celebrate our pupils’ achievements across a wide range of activities and subjects, and to hear some fantastic musical performances.

Old Crosbeian Cdr Gareth Mawdsley RN presented the prizes and spoke about his experiences over an illustrious career in the Navy, and our Head Boy & Girl teams spoke about their experiences at school, and what Merchant Taylors’ means to them.

You can view a full gallery from the day via our Facebook page.
Please be aware that extensive roadworks will begi Please be aware that extensive roadworks will begin tomorrow, Monday 18th September, in the vicinity of Crosby village. This could lead to considerable disruption on the way to and from school, with the work set to last 12 weeks until November.

You can see in the image which areas are included in the initial stage of the project. Sefton Council will be posting updated information on their website, click the link in our bio to find out more.
It’s fantastic to be back at the @liverpool_phil It’s fantastic to be back at the @liverpool_philharmonic today for Speech Day 🏆
Year 7 have enjoyed a thrilling trip to Castle Hea Year 7 have enjoyed a thrilling trip to Castle Head over the past few days and took part in activities such as raft building and orienteering.

You can see a gallery of their trip via our Facebook page 📸
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Liverpool Road
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