Acronym for
Girls Day School Trust.
The
Trust was founded by
four women in 1872. Maria Grey, her sister Emily Sherriff,
Lady Stanley of Alderley and Mary Gurney, had the then
novel idea of establishing good and affordable
day schools for
girls. The
first school was in
Chelsea in
London, it opened in
January 1873.
Currently there are 25 schools in the scheme educating over 19000 girls, making it the largest group of independent schools in Britain. Each school offers education for girls from the ages of 4-19 and to enter each girl has to either pass an entrance exam or an interview.
The 25 schools are:- Royal High School, Bath, The Belvedere School; Birkenhead School, Blackheath High School, Brighton and Hove School, Bromley High School,Central Newcastle High School, Croydon High School, Heathfield High School, Howell's School Llandaff, Ipswich High School, Kensington Prep School, Norwich High School, Notting Hill & Ealing High School, Oxford High School, Portsmouth High School, Putney High School, Sheffield High School, Shrewsbury High School, South Hampstead High School, Streatham Hill and Clapham High School, Sutton High School, Sydenham High School, Wimbledon High School.