To begin our year-long celebration of 50 Years of Girls at Ipswich School, it feels fitting to feature the story of Ipswich School's very first girl, Nicola Barnard (OI 1974-75). Nicola's father was the then Chair of Governors, Geoffrey Barnard. The decision to allow Nicola to attend paved the way for Ipswich School to welcome more and more young girls who would be able to thrive in an academically forward thinking environment. 

Nicola wrote a piece after her year at Ipswich and recalled her first day: "As I entered the Sixth Form Common Room with my escort, I was greeted with total silence; every one looked at everyone else to see who would dare speak to this female who had infiltrated their sanctuary." She goes on to talk about the following days and weeks flying by as she settled into life at Ipswich School "I did appreciate the friendliness and help I received from all sides in so many different ways and this is what will enable the girls next year to fit in smoothly." The following year, five girls joined the school and numbers increased every year thereafter. Fifty years on in 2024, 43.5% of students at Ipswich School are female and we are so proud of all they have achieved both inside and outside of the classroom.

We will celebrate 50 Years of Girls for this whole academic year but we need your help. We'd love to hear stories from female OIs about their time at Ipswich School, and would be keen to hear from anyone that would like to visit the shool to share their story in person - we'd love to welcome you back. The archive team would also be very keen to see any items you have kept from your school days, it could be anything from a report card to items of uniform. Please get in touch oldipswichians@ipswich.school.

Caroline Gould
Development and Alumni Relations Manager