science laboratory and three classrooms) were demolished, and houses built on them. This estate is now known as ‘Academy Fields’. Motto The schools motto is "Gladly Lerne, Gladly Teche" and comes from the quotation "And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche." from Prologue, Line 310 of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. History Previous to the school becoming The Frances Bardsley School for Girls in 1972, the two sites had housed "sister" schools; a Secondary modern school and a Grammar school. The first school was started, in 1906, by the founder Frances Bardsley in the centre of Romford; her vision was to provide free education for local girls. So established did the school become that it moved into large new premises on the northern outskirts of Romford (the modern day site on Brentwood Road). In the 1930s, as a result of educational policy the school became a selective Grammar school, and was renamed the Romford County High School for Girls. At this time the old Lower School site on Heath Park Road (now Academy Fields) was the Secondary Modern school known as The Heath Park Secondary Modern School for Girls. After the reforming implementation of Comprehensive schools during the 1970s The Romford County High School for Girls and The Heath Park Secondary Modern School for Girls amalgamated to become what we now know as The Frances Bardsley School for Girls, and the Lower School/Upper School dynamic that was in place until 2003, was established. The school gained Specialist school status in the Visual arts in July 2004, and then converted to academy status on 1 July 2012. Head Teachers The current headmaster (from September 2011) is Julian Dutnall. The previous headteacher was Suzanne Philipps. She held the post from 2001 to 2011. Previous to her taking over the role the Headmistress was Pamela Joughin. The headmistress during the 1980s was Mrs Irwin-Hunt. Miss Mullholland was the headmistress from 1969 after Miss Dorothy Bubbers retired. Houses The school has 8 houses, named after trees. These are: Fagus (Beech) (commonly referred to as ‘F’ which stands for ‘Fagus’ the Latin word for Beech) Birch (commonly referred to as ‘B’) Elm (commonly referred to as ‘E’) Larch (commonly referred to as ‘L’) Oak (commonly referred to as ‘O’) Rowan (commonly referred to as ‘R’) Sycamore (commonly referred to as ‘S’) Willow (commonly referred to as ‘W’) There are a variety of sporting