Objects of Substance - The Wilkinson Safe

Then Head Mistress, Miss Milisent Wilkinson, established from the very first year of her tenure, that a wider School curriculum was required to provide for those girls who were aiming to attend university, and simultaneously for students who were intending to seek employment and not further education. In the 1904 Annual Report, trailblazer Miss Wilkinson argued: ‘Is it not fair to the girls that they, as well as the boys, should be fitted to fight the battle of life? A girl who has enjoyed the benefits of a sound secondary education should be able to perform the duties of any position to which she may be called. In a Grammar School, her mind is, as far as possible, trained on all sides, and she should be able to devote the best of her powers to whatever the future may have in store for her,’ (Annual Report 1904). This unique tailoring of subjects that were offered, demonstrated that Miss Wilkinson had an acute awareness of her students’ needs, and she respected and supported each one of them. She also wholeheartedly believed in the benefits of sporting ventures, st ating that ‘these should be potent instruments in teaching unselfishness and loyalty’.