History
The school is named after John Kendrick, a Reading cloth merchant who died in 1624. John Kendrick left the then substantial charitable bequest of £12,500 to the towns of Reading and Newbury to provide employment and education for the poor. Initially this was used to provide a house of industry, or workhouse, called The Oracle, a name that was revived for the Oracle shopping mall which now occupies the site.
In later years the funds left by Kendrick were mismanaged and subject to legal challenge. In the 1870s this was resolved, and the remaining bequest used to found Kendrick Girls School, along with the Kendrick Boys School that was later to merge with Reading School. An oil painting of John Kendrick, rescued from the Oracle workhouse, hangs in the hall of Kendrick Girls School. The caption reads "John Kendrick, founder of this workhouse".
Kendrick Girls School was founded in 1877 and occupied Watlington House in Watlington Street for the first 50 years of its life. In 1927 the school moved to its current site, situated on the corner of Sidmouth Street and London Road. The building is a Grade II listed building.
Currently the Headmistress of Kendrick Girls is Ms Christine Kattirtzi. She replaced Mrs Marsha Elms at the end of the Spring Term 2012.
Read more about this topic: Kendrick School
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