North London Collegiate School

(1880-1958, North London Collegiate 1894 - 1899)

Marie Stopes was bought up in a family in which there was a strong appreciation of the importance of education. Her father was a scientist and much of her childhood was spent helping him carry out experiments and research in the field of geology. She was born in Edinburgh to Henry and Charlotte Stopes, and her mother was the first woman in Scotland to gain a certificate in arts and later a diploma awarded by Edinburgh University [this was the nearest equivalent to a degree at the time].

Through her mother, Marie developed a keen political awareness, especially of issues concerning women's suffering. As a child Marie Stopes was first educated at home by her mother. She then attended St George's High school in Edinburgh until 1894 when the family moved to London, and in October of that year she joined North London Collegiate School.

Marie Stopes was a distinguished member of the school Science Club, and later became its secretary. She was an extremely well rounded pupil who, amongst other things, took part in drama productions such as ‘Through the Looking Glass and Alice in Wonderland' in 1898. Marie Stopes also took a keen interest in English, and as well as being a member of the Literary Society, she won a school prize from the English Department for her 1896 holiday work. She attended North London Collegiate School for five years, from 1894 - 1899, and made a great impression, often giving talks to the science club on subjects ranging from her father's work on the classification of flints to her own interest in Botany, and in 1899, her final year, she was made a prefect for both the spring and summer terms.

After leaving North London Collegiate School Marie Stopes attended UCL, where she gained a BSc in Botany and Geology, and later attended Munich University, where she became the first woman to be awarded a PhD in Botany. However, she soon turned her interests towards feminism and marriage, and started writing a book on this subject during the First World War. In 1918 she published her first book, entitled ‘Married Love' which was an immediate success, selling 75,000 copies within four months of release. This led to a desire to help women in need of birth control and family planning advice, and in 1921 she set up a Birth Control clinic in Holloway, North London, in an effort to remove the social stigma surrounding these issues. From this she developed the Marie Stopes International Charity which has since become the widest provider of family planning services in the UK. She also focused on the more general issue of women's rights and equality, and championed causes such as ending education authorities' right to dismiss female married teachers.

Marie Stopes worked tirelessly to educate women and to remove the social stigma from issues crucial to the education of women. Although in her later life she withdrew from the public sphere and focused more on her literary interests, nevertheless she provided an invaluable contribution to women's rights and education. Her influence on today's society is emphasized by the posthumous award in 1999 of ‘Woman of the Millennium', and by the ongoing success of the Marie Stopes International charity.

Marie Stopes admission form to North London Collegiate School

Written & researched by Rachel Jeal (Yr 12)