2021 Founders’ Commemoration Day

On Friday 19 November 2021, staff and students marked the founding of our school with the return to a grand tradition.

Led by the Head Girls Phoebe and Tamsyn, over 700 students aged 7 to 18 processed from the Welsh Back to Bristol Cathedral for a special service.

The bidding prayer and address was given by The Rev’d Canon Nicola Stanley, Canon Precentor. A reading came from The Legend of Good Women by Geoffrey Chaucer, and the lessons were Proverbs 4, verses 5 to 13, and Mark 4 verses 30 to 33 ‘The Parable of the Mustard Seed.’

The whole school community stood to sing God is our Strength and Refuge, the Te Deum, And did those feet (Jerusalem) and How shall I Sing that Majesty.

Our annual Founders’ Commemoration Day dates back hundreds of years, and attracts people to Bristol from across the country as alumnae, parents and members of the public line the route to watch this historic spectacle.

For Head Paul Dwyer, who joined us in September 2020, it was the first time he has marked the school’s founders in this way.

As he said, “This is an extremely important day for us as we gather to celebrate the heritage of Redmaids’ High School, and remember our founders John Whitson, Reverends T G Rose and Urijah Thomas.

“This occasion allows us to thank these forward-thinking people whose commitment to girls’ education has had such a lasting impact.

“I think they would be delighted to know that all these years later, the school continues to thrive and flourish.”