Dove Scholarship

Dame Frances Dove founded Wycombe Abbey School in 1896, giving it her own family motto In Fide Vade.  Born Jane Frances Dove, it is said she had her ‘first vision’ of Wycombe Abbey when only seventeen years old.  Having spent five years teaching and fourteen years as Head Mistress of St Leonards School in Scotland, Miss Dove directed her energies to the founding of a 'sister school’ in the south of England. She resigned from her post as Head Mistress of Wycombe Abbey in 1910 after a distinguished, courageous and pioneering career at the School.  She was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1928.

Miss Anne Watt Whitelaw was Headmistress of Wycombe Abbey School from 1911 to 1925.  After joining the Staff in 1896 for a period of 8 years straight from Girton, Miss Whitelaw was then appointed Head Mistress of Auckland Girls’ Grammar School, her old school in New Zealand.  She was called back to England in 1910 by the Selection Committee of Miss Dove’s successor.  Miss Whitelaw was remembered by her Staff for ‘her vitality and power of vision’ and ‘her wonderful insight’.  She saw many expansions of the School take place during her Headship and launched an appeal for the School Chapel in 1921.

Miss W M Crosthwaite was Headmistress of Wycombe Abbey School from 1927 to 1947.  Her contribution to the story of Wycombe involved consolidation, initiative, preservation and reconstruction.  Daws Hill was purchased in 1928 and in 1934 an open-air swimming pool was constructed.  Miss Crosthwaite successfully kept the School going during the early years of the Second World War – this included welcoming 400 girls as evacuees from St Paul’s Girls’ School - until its closure in 1942, when the buildings were requisitioned by the War Office. The spirit of the School was kept alive by Miss Crosthwaite through regular contact with its displaced pupils who were scattered among over 40 different schools.  It is thanks to her resolute vigilance and enterprise during this period that Wycombe successfully re-opened in 1946.

Miss K A Walpole was Headmistress of Wycombe Abbey School from 1948 to 1961, having previously been Head of Red Maids’ School, Bristol.  She skillfully steered the School through an inevitable period of change after the War. 

Miss Patricia Lancaster was Headmistress of Wycombe Abbey School from 1974 to 1988, having previously been Head of St Michael’s Burton Park, Petworth.  During her lifetime, she was greatly loved and respected by all involved in the field of women’s education.  Wycombe flourished under her headship and at the time of her retirement she was described by the Chairman of Council as ‘the finest headmistress in the land’.  Miss Lancaster’s  aim always was to instil in others the importance of a rounded education, of friendship and of personal responsibility.  The Lancaster Arts Centre bears her name.

William Barnes Scholarship

Mr William Barnes is the son of a former member of Council and a grandson of one of the founding members of Council, AW Ward. His family have had a continuing link with the school from 1896 to the present day. A former civil servant with a founding role at the London Business School, he joined WA Council in 1961 at around the time of the appointment of Miss Fisher as Headmistress. After becoming Chairman in 1971 he was responsible for revising the constitution of the School  and led the Council to bring about a number of changes to modernise the way in which the school was run.

Stewart-Roberts Scholarship

Mr Andrew Stewart-Roberts, a merchant banker, having been brought onto Council by Mr Barnes who felt the financial expertise on Council needed strengthening, was first Chairman of the Finance Committee and later, between 1991 and 1999, Chairman of Council. It was under his guidance that fundraising became a part of school life and he visited the Far East with the then headmistress, Mrs Goodland, to meet parents abroad and to nurture loyalty to the school. He sang in the school choir on occasions such as Speech Day and the Carol Service.

Goodland Scholarship

Mrs Judy Goodland was Headmistress of Wycombe from 1989 to 1998. During her time she oversaw a considerable building programme including the construction of the Music School, improved laboratories, new Clarence and the Archer Recital Hall. We continue to enjoy the fruits of her vision to this day.

William Johnston Yapp

In the 1950s Wycombe Abbey School Seniors’ Association played a very active part in raising funds for the school’s endowment fund and also for scholarships.

In 1954 they appealed for funds from the Yapp Trust which was set up by the father, William Johnson Yapp, of two of our seniors, Mary E. Hudson and Mrs Wharton.

Davies Scholarship

Mrs Pauline Davies was Headmistress of Wycombe Abbey from 1998 to 2008. She brought a strong pastoral emphasis to the school and her belief that happy, fulfilled girls with a wide range of interests will produce outstanding results was bourne out by the examination success that girls at Wycombe Abbey enjoyed during her tenure.

She also oversaw a building and modernisation programme that saw the construction of the Sports Centre and an up-grading of teaching and boarding facilities.