Malvern St James

Malvern St James School is an independent day and boarding school. It is located in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England. First founded in 1893 as Malvern Girls' College, it adopted its current name in 2006 following a merger with St James's School.
Originally established as a girls' school, the institution, following a period of operating deficits between 2021 and 2023, transitioned to a co-educational model in September 2025. This change moved the school moved from a charitable trust to a for-profit model after its acquisition by the Galaxy Global Education Group.
The school provides education across three departments: a Prep Department, Senior School, and a Sixth Form.

WWW Official Site

History

Two original schools

Malvern Girls College

Malvern Girls' College was founded in 1893 by Miss Greenslade and Miss Poulton.
it was first located in College Road; in 1919 it moved to buildings of the former Imperial Hotel. In 1934, a major extension including an assembly hall was built. Further extensions included the Hatfield building in the 1960s, the Edinburgh Dome in 1977 and The Science Education Centre in 1998.

St James's School

St James's School was founded in the south of England by twin sisters Alice and Katrine Baird in 1896 and moved to the large mansion of Lord Howard de Walden in West Malvern in 1902. The Abbey School was founded in Blockley, Worcestershire and moved to Malvern in 1897 and to Malvern Wells in 1908. Two of the Baird sisters, Diana and Alice, ran the two houses for students: the Junior House, for the girls aged 11–14, and the Senior House for girls above 14. "The Miss Bairds were remarkable: five spinster sisters all over six feet tall and all to be Head Mistresses." The girls wore a simple uniform: white cotton shirts, navy blue coats and skirts. "There were no 'O Levels' or 'A Levels' in those days, and exams were not taken seriously. 'Citizenship' was what the Miss Bairds were most anxious to instill; it must be admitted with considerable success--many girls were later notable for lives of public service."

Mergers

In 1979 the two schools merged on the West Malvern campus of St James and the resulting school was named St James's & The Abbey. In 1994 Lawnside School, which was founded around 1856, merged with St James's & The Abbey School and the school was renamed St James's. In 2006, Malvern Girls' College merged with St James's School and was refounded as Malvern St James.

2025

In February 2025, Malvern St James ended its status as an independent charitable trust and was acquired by the Galaxy Global Education Group. The Chinese group, founded by Shangmei Gao, has also taken on several other UK institutions, including Plymouth College and Durham High School.
On 21 March 2025, the school announced that it would accept boys for the first time in September 2025 and become a co-educational school.
In March 2025, an inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate found that Malvern St James had failed to meet regulatory standards regarding fire safety. As a result of this, the inspectorate concluded that the school did not meet the required standards for "leadership and management" and "pupils' physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing" at the time of the visit.

Examination set text error

In May 2019, Malvern St James received national media coverage after students sitting a Cambridge IGCSE English literature exam discovered they had been taught the wrong set text. Pupils had prepared for Michael Frayn’s Spies, but no questions on the book appeared on the exam. A spokesman for the Department of Education said:

What happened at St James is an issue of concern and the department is considering appropriate next steps to get assurance about the school’s procedures.

Headmistress Olivera Raraty issued a public apology and applied for "special consideration" from the exam board to ensure students were not disadvantaged. The incident was widely reported by outlets including the BBC, The Times and The Independent.

Boarding and houses

Boarding and Pastoral Care Malvern St James provides full, weekly, and flexible boarding options.
The school historically operated four houses, |website=plan.malvernhills.gov.ukCitation needed|date=December 2025

Architecture

The Imperial Hotel

[Image:Malvern St James.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Main building – the former Imperial Hotel]
Following the collapse of the spa industry, many of the hotels were acquired for use as private boarding schools, and education became the basis of Malvern's economy; the Imperial Hotel was purchased by the school in 1919. The former hotel is directly opposite Great Malvern railway station, with its dedicated tunnel to the basement of the building, which is clearly visible from both platforms of the station. The red brick and stone Imperial Hotel, which had been the largest in Malvern during the town's heyday as a spa in the second half of the 19th century, is still one of the largest buildings in Malvern and was built in 1860 by the architect E. W. Elmslie. He also designed the Great Malvern railway station, the Council House and The Grove in Avenue Road in 1867, originally to be his private residence, which in 1927 became part of the Lawnside School. The Imperial was the first hotel to be lit by incandescent gas. It was equipped with all types of baths and brine was brought specially by rail from Droitwich. In 1934 the building was extended with the addition of the York Hall, officially opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

The Edinburgh Dome

The school campus has a listed sports hall – The Edinburgh Dome, opened by the Duke of Edinburgh. It consists of a round, green, balloon-shaped building, containing squash courts, a gym area and a games area, surrounded by a moat. Based on an innovative roof construction by Dante Bini, the Binishell, it was built in 1977 by architect Michael Godwin and consultant engineer John Fabe. It has been designated a Grade II listed building.

Fees

As of the 2023-24 academic year, fees at the school range from £2,915 to £15,410 per term.

Alumnae

Malvern St James Girls' School

Hon. Beryl Cozens Hardy OBE first British woman to chair the committee of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from 1972-1975
Marion Greeves, MBE the first woman to be elected to the Senate of Northern Ireland
Jennifer Kirby, television and stage actress
Iskra Lawrence, model, activist, and one of the BBC's 100 Women
Catrina Leung, television actress, singer-songwriter and model

Malvern Girls' College

Mary Hayley Bell, playwright and author of Whistle Down the Wind
Barbara Cartland, novelist
Jane Davidson, minister for environment and sustainability in Wales from 2007 to 2011
Melanie Dawes, economist and civil servant
Imogen Edwards-Jones, author of 'Hotel Babylon'
Dorothy Fernando, Sri Lankan painter
Manya Harari, Russian born British translator of Russian literature and the co-founder of Harvill Press
Peggy Jay, politician and campaigner, attended briefly
Anna Kavan, novelist, author and painter
Dorothy King, archaeologist and author
Elizabeth Lane, first female high court judge
Caroline Lucas, MP, leader of the Green Party 2008–2010
Frances Lynn, English journalist
Sara Murray, British entrepreneur and businesswoman
Donna Ong, Singapore-based artist
Joanna Van Gyseghem, actress
Tania Long, German-born Canadian/American WWII journalist

Notable staff

Rear Admiral Rodney Sturdee, bursar of Malvern Girls' College, 1972–1985

Academic results

In 2024, 40% of A-level grades were A*–A, and 80% of GCSE entries were graded 9–6. This followed 2023 results where 31% of A-levels were A*–A. During the 2020 and 2021 periods of teacher-assessed grading, the school reported significantly higher top marks, with A*–A grades reaching 75% in 2021.