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Chichester High School for Girls
On September 22nd 2009, the Chichester High School for Girls celebrated its Centenary amid much nostalgia and fanfare on its new site in Kingsham Road. Amidst the 2009 celebrations there were more than a few allusions to the school's beginnings and the old buildings, but each time their fate was conveniently brushed aside. This is hardly surprising and is also perhaps for the best: now derelict, vandalised and plagued by drug users, they have become a blight on the city.
The hopelessness of the buildings today could not be further from the optimism and philanthropic aspirations of the founders. The school opened in 1909 in purpose-built premises in the Stockbridge area of the city with twenty girls on roll, a staff of four (Misses Lane, Glancey, Miles and Richards) and two visiting masters (Mr Catt for drawing and Mr Crowe for singing).
Despite its aspirations and good intentions, CHSG was initially dubbed "Chichester's White Elephant" by those thought it unfeasible in terms of projected attendance. Fortunately it did not take long for interest in the school's progress to increase and for the doubters to be proven wrong, secondary education being made compulsory in 1918 and numbers having reached 200 by 1920. The school took on many evacuees during the Second World War from Portsmouth and London, although air raid practice was common here too. According to former pupils, fabric rationing meant that the green school blazers varied in shade from sage to khaki.
In the 1970s the school merged with Chichester Lancastrian School for Girls, (founded 1812) and was given Comprehensive status. By the 1990s the school was exceeding capacity and, seeking ways to expand, it was proposed that the school move to a site next to the Chichester High School for Boys on Kingsham Road. Construction began c.1999 and was completed in 2002 after which the school moved fully to the new site. In the same year, the county council sold the former playing fields and some of the outlying buildings to a developer who built a multi-million pound leisure complex on the site. The remaining buildings were used by the Council as a Professional Centre for teacher training and conferences until October 2007 but have since become derelict and vandalised.

L-R: [1]. Sign; [2]. Modern extension; [3]. Back of buildings; [4].Doorway; [5]. Lightswitch in demolished corridor; [6]. Quadrangle

L-R: [1]. Unusual shopping list from 2008; [2]. Mm, slightly yellowed bunny ears; [3]. Fireplace; [4]. Makeshift bed; [5]. Souvenir ware; [6]. Table and broken window;
[7]. I see a red room and I want to paint it black.

L-R: [1]. Blacked out kitchen window; [2]. Broken window; [3]. Bathroom sink; [4]. Toilet; [5]. Quad; [6]. Entrance;
[7]. Handy Map - the black hatched area has been demolished

L-R: [1]. School of Rock; [2]. Washroom; [3]. Smashed sinks; [4]. Toilet cubicle; [5]. Main corridor; [6]. Music Room

L-R: [1]. Lower Corridor [2]. Upstairs corridor and locked door; [3]. Quad; [4]. Lab 1; [5]. Graffiti inside drawer; [6]. Display cabinets.

L-R: [1-2]. Blackboard; [3]. Student's work; [4]. Lab; [5]. Breakage costs; [6]. Prep room

L-R: [1]. Science corridor; [2]. The Electromagnetic Spectrum; [3]. Careers in science; [4-5]. Labs; [6]. School rules

L-R: [1-2]. Low-voltage power supply; [3]. 1987 newspaper; [4-5]. Student work; [6]. Radioactive material store (locked); [7]. Lab.

L-R: [1]. Window; [2]. Coursework; [3-4]. Another lab; [5]. Timetable; [6]. Mobile phone rules.

In 2008 the 2½ acre site was offered for sale at £6,000,000 with planning permission for 99 flats. The sale coincided with the economic recession, however and the site was still on the council's books in November 2009 despite a reduced asking price.
The school buildings have been extensively used by the city's homeless, drug users and other down and outs as a squat. Hypodermic syringes, budget food wrappers and cutouts from pornographic magazines and call-girl leaflets littered the doorways and a makeshift bed and various posessions had been set up in the caretaker's flat. Subsequent to my visit the buildings were secured to prevent access.

EPILOGUE

Planning permission was granted in June 2010 to build a student village on the site of the school. It is expected that demolition work will follow shortly.
See news story, here.

SOURCES

Unknown Author, "Former girls' school site up for sale in Chichester" Chichester Observer, 14 August 2008 [http://www.chichester.co.uk/chichester/Former-girls39-school-site-up.4390160.jp]

Unknown Author, "City-centre land won't make £6m - but we won't know how much" Chichester Observer, 12 December 2008 [http://www.chichester.co.uk/chichester/Citycentre-land-won39t-make-6m.4788390.jp]

Ellen Waters, "Re. Freedom of Information request - Details of Council owned scrub land and derelict land" 6 November 2009 [http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/20511/response/54365/attach/3/2009%2011%2004%20what%20do%20they%20know.doc]

Unknown Author, "CHSG Centenary" September 2009 [http://www.chichesterhighschoolforgirls.co.uk/CHSG_Centenary-i-93.html]


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