School History 125 Years of Innovation and Excellence A
s BHS enters its 125th year, the School sits on the cusp of yet another profound
and innovative development in its pursuit of educational excellence. As the history below illustrates, the new Innovation Centre is just the latest in a long line of bold steps taken by the founders and caretakers of the BHS legacy.
A School is Born
In the Spring of 1894, Mrs Grosvenor Tucker, determined to see her six daughters receive the very best education, formed a committee charged with raising the necessary funds to start an all-girls school in Bermuda. From this effort, The Bermuda High School for Girls went from vision to reality. The Committee turned to the Headmistress of Cheltenham Ladies College in the UK, Miss Dorothea Beale, for advice. She suggested a colleague, Miss Matilda Tothill, who was renowned for her energy, efficiency and enthusiasm, and encouraged her to take up the position of Headmistress at BHS. Miss Tothill arrived in Bermuda by steam
Leading Ladies: Mrs Grosvenor Tucker’s (left) vision and determination resulted in The Bermuda High School for Girls. Miss Matilda Tothill (right) arrived from the UK in 1894, as the new School’s first Headmistress.
ship in early September 1894 with Miss Millicent Strange, the teacher she had chosen to accompany her. The committee that started with nothing but determination, courage and the certainty of about 30 students, opened the School to 51 students on September 17th, 1894, in two rooms of a rented house on Reid Street.
Early Days
Within a year of opening its doors, the School was growing so fast that the committee knew they needed a bigger space. Mr William Barr and his wife donated the piece of land on which the current campus sits. In June 1899, staff and students moved into the newly constructed school house, which to this day houses the main reception area, main hall and classrooms and is known as The Tucker Centre, after Mrs Grosvenor Tucker. The original oak staircase, which has carried the footsteps of literally thousands of aspirational young ladies, was donated to the school by Mr Musson Wainwright, who went on to become the Mayor of Hamilton. By the time Miss Tothill retired in 1900, the school was firmly established in the community, with its character and ideals in place. At that time, there were 80 pupils enrolled, divided into five classes. Miss Tothill never lost touch with the School and kept a keen interest in its workings, all the while maintaining a great sense of pride that the aims and ideals she had brought with her from Cheltenham were being carried on at BHS.
Still Standing: The Tucker Centre was opened in 1899 and 120 years later it still sits at the centre of the BHS campus. The land for the campus was donated by Mr William Barr and his wife.
By 1917, the student body had reached 100 pupils, and in 1923, it was time for the school to expand again, this time through the Hastings Wing, funded by a
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