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Those who can’t, teach: Dorothea Beale & Cheltenham Ladies' College |
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Onward and upward
Miss Beale and her staff, 1889
© Cheltenham Ladies' College |
Despite serving a reasonably privileged few, Cheltenham Ladies' College and Miss Beale herself could not be accused of existing in a bubble of insularity. During vacations at Queen’s College, Miss Beale visited similar institutions abroad, including the renowned Deaconesses’ Institute at Kaiserwerth, Germany, of particular inspiration to Florence Nightingale. She fostered communication with fellow educators both in Europe and the U.S, maintaining that the process of education was just as valuable as any resulting career position: moral fortitude as a prize unto itself.
Still, whether it was her intention or not, her pupils carried the baton for female empowerment in the schoolroom, the nursery, the hearth and the workplace. Cheltenham’s reputation and success was such that numerous ‘daughter schools’ sprang up across the globe, with former graduates now Principals themselves. From Toronto to Bermuda, Auckland to Cairo, Miss Beale’s influence met eager eyes and ears, while the likes of former student Dr. Lillias Hamilton M.D, medical advisor to the Emir of Afghanistan, became role models with greater immediacy for a rising generation than any historical heroine.
Ladies' hockey match, 1898
© Cheltenham Ladies' College |
In her ‘Annus Mirabilis’ Address to the Guild in 1898, Miss Beale spoke ardently of the need to continue the work she and others had begun: the country was still in need of women ‘thoughtful, disciplined, self-controlled, with the confidence and persistence of faith; not a few, but a great army, to contend with the evils which are undermining the foundations of society’. Women were now, both literally and figuratively, taking rank in the battle of the sexes and self-betterment. The Education Act of 1870 may have provided mass education of the poor on a massive scale, including girls, but if women were to be accepted as scholars, teachers and co-workers, it would take patience, diplomacy and proof of ability. Dorothea Beale and her legacy in the form of Cheltenham Ladies' College passed with deserved distinction.
Words: Bren O’Callaghan
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