York College Old Girls Association

The Association for Past Pupils and Staff of York College for Girls (1908–1997)

History

Chapel stained glass window (now in Merchant Adventurers' Hall)

62 Low Petergate, York is 300 years old, but it was not until 1908 that it became York College for Girls. After the school closed it stood empty for 8 years, but it has now been refurbished and opened as a Restaurant – La Vecchia Scuola – which uses many items of school memorabilia to evoke the atmosphere of the school and to provide a living tribute to an important part of York history.

The first Headmistress, Miss Ellett, was nicknamed E³ by the pupils, after her initials – Elizabeth Emma Ellett. Miss Ellett and her two successors lived in the school (in what is now the Talbot Court area) and some of the girls were boarders in the early years. York College for Girls was one of 8 schools owned by the Church Schools Company when it closed in 1997. A company policy of encouraging large, coeducational schools left no room for a small girls' school of 200 pupils in historical buildings, so the company closed the school after a prolonged battle with staff, parents and pupils to keep the school in existence. In its last year of existence, the examination results of York College for Girls rated it among the top in North Yorkshire.

Plaque on 62 Petergate

In 1960 a new building was opened on the site of the old Fox Inn (now Talbot Court) to house Chapel, Library, Science labs, Home Economics room and classrooms.
In 1981 the school expanded further down Petergate towards King's Square, over the top of the shops to house the Music wing, more labs, Geography and more classrooms.
The Dining Room of La Vecchia Scuola used to ring to the chatter of girls and staff having lunch, in kitchens housed in what is now the Rugby Shop.
New use for 62 Petergate
The bar to the right of the main door was the Headmistress' study and the area to the left a visitors' waiting room.
The old prefabricated Gym has been pulled down and the new flats of Talbot Court are built on the same site. The entrance hall (the Talbot Room) was once the seventeenth century Talbot Inn in a fifteenth century building.
The apartments above the foyer were previously classrooms for Modern Languages, RE and Latin while the room above the main door was a staff room.
In 1915 pupils knitted clothes for soldiers, while during the Second World War there was an air-raid shelter where the conservatory now stands.

There was always a very strong link with York Minster, a link which was treasured by the pupils. Services at the beginning and end of term were held in the Minster and it was fitting that the last service YCG held, on the day it closed, took place in the Lady Chapel.

It was a very sad day when York College for Girls closed, aged 89 years and these buildings hold precious memories for the many women of York who passed through its doors as pupils, the most famous of whom was Dame Janet Baker, OBE.

Flats in Talbot Court – the old Talbot Room and block

Headmistresses of York College for Girls

Miss Emma Ellett (1908–1935)
Miss Frances Savory (1935–1944)
Miss Helena Randall (1944–1964)
Miss Daphne Allcock (1964–1966) (resigned to become Mrs McFarlane)
Miss Enid Dunkerly (Acting) (1966–1967)
Miss Margaret Drury (1967–1981)
Miss Freda Campbell (Acting) (1981–1982)
Mrs Jennifer Clare (1982–1995)
Mrs Erica Taylor (1995–1997)