St Margaret's Women's Day celebrates school's history

At St Margaret’s School for Girls it’s been International Women’s Day for 177 years, and current and former pupils can prove it.

We asked some of the students and staff at St Margaret’s what International Women’s Day means to them and their school. They told us that they’re grateful to have a school that celebrates the achievements of women and young girls.

St Margaret’s has recently uncovered historical photos going as far back as 1915. Scroll through the gallery below to get a taste of the range of educational and cultural activities the school has provided for young women in Aberdeen through the decades.

But as with any story, the facts are best delivered by the experts.

Roots in Victorian West End

Miss Ann Stephen founded the school in 1846 when she was 21 years old. And what began in the drawing room of a West End house is now Scotland’s longest-serving all-girls school.

St Margaret’s has been serving Aberdeen for almost two centuries. Here are pupils from 1915. Image: St Margaret’s School for Girls

Pupils gathered for a special speech in 1932. Image: St Margaret’s School for Girls.

The Bluebird Dramatic Society from 1931. Image: St Margaret’s School for Girls.

A glimpse of pupils and the school’s facade in 1945. Image: St Margaret’s School for Girls.

St Margaret’s head girl, Eve, said that her school cultivates a sense that anything is possible.

“At St Margaret’s every day is International Women’s Day.

“There is an ethos of hard work and ambition and we are encouraged to follow our dreams. In the course of my time at school, I have been introduced to countless ‘inspirational women’ from all walks of life.

“I have witnessed first-hand the power of women supporting and lifting up women.”

Two younger pupils, Ava and Yasmin, said that it helps them to have older students serving as examples.

“At St Margaret’s we are inspired every day by the range of opportunities in subjects, careers and extra-curricular activities.

“We really look up to the oldest girls in school and it is really exciting when we see them taking on leadership roles and doing amazing things when they leave school.”

The STEM building illustrates St Margaret’s long-standing commitment to a full curriculum offering. Image: St Margaret’s School for Girls.

Ambition in abundance

Georgie Parker, president of the school’s Former Pupil Club and retired Head of PE, has had a long relationship with the school.

“Over many years I have witnessed how intrinsic the school values are in inspiring generations of young women at St Margaret’s to reach high and be the best versions of themselves that they can be.

“They are not just ambitious for themselves but for the wider world.”

Georgie Parker, retired head of PE at St Margaret’s carried on a long legacy of physical education. Here’s a photo of the gym from 1925. Image: St Margaret’s School for Girls.

Sometimes it is all fun and games, like on this sports day in 1930. Image: St Margaret’s School for Girls.

Anyone up for a match? Image: St Margaret’s School for Girls.

A look back at St Margaret’s journey

St Margaret’s became a boarding school in the 1850s and Miss Stephen had the foresight to go against the times by putting girls’ education on a par with their male counterparts. She taught writing and languages in addition to typical ‘feminine’ subjects like sewing and music, paving the way for girls’ education in the north-east.

The school recently celebrated its 175th anniversary and has a long history of broadening the horizons of what young women can achieve. Our Nostalgia team commemorated their anniversary with an in-depth look at St Margaret’s from its Victorian origins to the present day.