Ribston Hall High School
History
In 2025, Ribston was awarded Champion Heritage School status by Historic England, to recognise the work we do in promoting and celebrating local history. Ribston is the only secondary school in the country with this accolade.
We were awarded a grant of £2,000 to continue developing our offer and have decided to focus initially on the history of our school (you can’t get much more local than that!).
We have appointed a group of Heritage Champions who created the centenary edition of Ribbus Magazine, and are cataloguing some items from our school archive.
School History
Ribston Hall High School was founded in 1921 to relieve overcrowding at the High School for Girls in Denmark Road. Officially opened by the Gloucester United Schools Governors, Ribston was the second girls' high school at the time in Gloucester City.
In 1945, Ribston became a Grammar School for girls aged 11–18 under The Education Act of 1944. Ribston has always encouraged its students to be confident and aspire to be whatever they want to be without fear, championing the progress of equality and independence for young women.
We remain true to these values today, providing a girls-only grammar education for young people aged 11–16. In 2011, we formally opened our Sixth Form to boys, transitioning to a thriving co-educational Sixth Form.
The young women (and men) that have attended Ribston are an integral part of our history. We want to enable students that left last year or decades ago to remain part of the Ribston family. We're currently developing our alumni offer to create a community of Ribstonians. You can find out more on our Alumni page.
From past to present: Our Changing Premises
Our school was originally located in Spa Road. In 1929, we expanded to a new home in Norfolk Street, followed by a temporary move for our Junior School to a large house – 'Rickenel' –on the corner of the Park in 1935. When a bomb fell nearby in 1941, our Junior School moved into the former Crypt School building at Friars' Orchard in Brunswick Road.
Our school also owned Newent Court between 1942 and 1953, where we provided residential courses for our students. In 1961, we settled at our current expansive campus on Stroud Road. The opening of our Stroud Road Campus included an invitation to a luncheon at the Gloucester Guildhall.
(Source: Gloucestershire Archives).
Strengthening Our School’s Legacy with a New Science Centre
In May 2022, we opened our purpose-built Rosalind Franklin Science Centre. The Centre was built to strengthen our STEM offering and houses six cutting-edge labs, as well as prep rooms and offices.
An array of rooftop photovoltaic solar panels is generating electricity to help power energy-efficient lighting and heating systems within the Centre.
Students were asked to nominate inspirational scientists to name the facility and a school-wide vote led to the centre being named in recognition of one of the unsung heroes of 20th century Science, Chemist Rosalind Franklin.
Rooted in Tradition, Driven by Excellence
Our school's ethos lies in wonderful traditions. It has been educating bright young women for over one hundred years and, in this time, thousands of students have passed through these doors and left with more than just outstanding academic outcomes.
Our curriculum and extra-curricular activities have broadened, and more students than ever go on to pursue higher education, yet many cherished traditions endure. Annual highlights, such as our Cathedral Service, the singing of Gaudeamus Igitur, the candlelit Boar’s Head Carol, and the friendly house rivalries, continue to bring the school community together.
A Proud Past, A Bright Future: Our Centenary Year
The COVID-19 pandemic affected our plans for our 100th anniversary (in 2021). We delayed our celebration slightly and came together in January 2022 to celebrate this incredible milestone with our wider Ribston community. You can find out more about our celebrations on our Centenary page.
While much has changed over the years, our school identity remains strong. Our students are Proud to be Ribston, and we regularly celebrate our students' achievements and community spirit on our social media using the #WeAreRibston hashtag.
Heritage Champions
Our Heritage Champions are currently cataloguing some of the items from our school archive. Here are some of the items that they have catalogued so far:
School song book containing the words to Gaudeamus Igitur
A song about Miss Mortimer and life at Ribston (written by a student)
School Photograph (1922)
The first page of the first ever edition of The Ribbus (1925)
Students in the Art Room at the Spa Road premises (1936)
Ribbus Magazine
Since its first edition in 1925, The Ribbus has documented the achievements and milestones of Ribston Hall High School each year. Over the decades, it has become a cherished record of our school’s history and a celebration of student life. After a brief hiatus with the rise of digital media, the magazine was revived online, reconnecting past traditions with a modern format.
This publication celebrates both our achievements and the vibrant community that makes Ribston unique. It reflects our enduring values, our sense of tradition, and the pride we take in being part of the Ribston family. Today, as always, we carry forward the spirit of our school.
You can download and read previous editions, including our Centenary edition, on our Ribbus Magazine page.