Notices
Miss Margaret Hampshire
Miss
Margaret Hampshire was Principal of The Cheltenham Ladies' College from 1964
to 1979. Unlike all her predecessors, she was not a teacher by profession.
Educated at Malvern, she read History at Girton College, Cambridge, before
joining the Board of Trade and later spending five years as head of the Government
Relations Department at Courtaulds. Undertaking the headship of a major independent
school was therefore a new departure for her. As she later recalled, one of
her friends, on hearing of her appointment, had remarked : 'You don't know
what you are doing taking on 800 girls; I find two daughters more than enough.'
She joined the College, moreover, at a difficult time, when public schools
were being threatened by the government of the day with the loss of their independence
and felt themselves very much under pressure to prove their worth. She does
not seem to have been daunted by the challenge. With her past experience in
the Civil Service and in industry she was able to see the College in the context
of a rapidly changing modern world, determine realistically how girls could
best be equipped for their working lives in that world, and anticipate the
effects of market forces on the public schools in years to come.
Forward-thinking was the key. Giving her Report on Speech Day in 1967 she affirmed her belief that 'we should be constantly developing, as College has always done'. Robust and decisive by nature, and a natural leader, she aimed to modernise without sacrificing anything of value in College's longstanding traditions. Academic standards, in particular, had to be upheld. From her office at the heart of the College buildings she saw to it that during working hours a quiet and studious atmosphere prevailed. Her girls, she believed, should develop clear priorities and strive for the top, and those who grew up under her care admired her dynamism and found her a very positive role model.
In her first few years her attention was mainly focussed on changes in the sixth form. She saw that only by reorganization could the College be sure of holding on to its sixth formers in the face of competition from new sixth form colleges and, especially, from boys' schools offering sixth form places to girls. The construction of a purpose-built sixth form wing, opened in 1971 by H M Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the subsequent radical reorganisation of the College bear witness to her determination to keep CLC ahead of the field. For sixth form boarders came the assurance, for the first time, of a place in a senior House, where they could enjoy more freedom than was possible in the junior Houses. Girls staying on to take Oxbridge entrance were even allowed to 'live out' in College-approved accommodation in the town. Towards the end of her Principalship she instituted joint lessons in selected subjects, at sixth form level, with the boys of Cheltenham College. This experimental programme was discontinued when Cheltenham College decided to admit girls to the sixth form, but was much appreciated while it lasted.
While thus recognising the importance of good organisation and facilities, Miss Hampshire never forgot that the College is a community in which parents, girls and staff all have their inter-related parts to play. She promoted regular meetings between parents and staff, and introduced the scheme whereby sixth form class tutors and teachers keep the same group of girls for two years. The inauguration of the School Forum in 1970 provided another line of communication between staff and pupils, encouraging girls from the first year upwards to take an active interest in the day-to-day affairs of the College. Miss Hampshire herself made the most of her opportunities for contact with the girls both in College and in the Houses, where it was not unknown for her to join in riotous party games.
With the staff too she enjoyed informal contact, and valued the views of both the younger and the more senior members. She was a shrewd judge of character who knew her staff and her girls better than they realised, and sometimes better than they knew themselves. Behind her sharp and quizzical expression, so well caught in Michael Noakes' fine portrait, she was immensely kind, and many had cause to be grateful for her practical help in time of trouble. Discipline, too, was tempered with kindness: she dealt with the girls fairly and straightforwardly, and loved to laugh and joke with them in lighter moments. Those who had found her forbidding at first - parents as well as staff and girls - came to have a warm regard for her. Miss Hampshire for her part had a real and continuing interest in the welfare of all her College people, and was always keen to hear news of old girls and staff and their families. She was also devoted to her dogs, her constant companions. Brandy and Toby will be remembered by generations of girls.
After she retired in 1979 Miss Hampshire was often a welcome guest at College functions. In the autumn of 2003, attending a reunion in College of 'old girls' who left during the 1970s, she was delighted to meet again some of those she had launched into the world thirty years before. Her last contact with College was at the service held in Gloucester Cathedral in February this year to mark the College's 150th anniversary. She thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.