The Tiffin Girls' School

Tiffin Girls' School is a girls' selective school in Kingston upon Thames, Southwest London, England; it moved from voluntary aided status to become an academy in 2011. History The Tiffin name is borrowed from Thomas and John Tiffin, prosperous brewers in the early seventeenth century, who left money in their wills for the education of the poor. The money was first used for scholarships for one or two boys to attend an existing private school but, thanks to investment and donations from other local benefactors, nearly 100 children were benefiting from the charitable fund by the 1820s. By 1869, when the charity schools had closed and the money was no longer needed by the Public Elementary School, the Trustees proposed to dedicate the Tiffin money exclusively to Kingston Grammar School. The dispute that ensued went on until 1872 when it was ruled that the Grammar School should not receive more than a quarter of the income from charities. In 1874, plans were drawn up for two new schools, a Tiffins' School for boys and one for girls, each to take 150 pupils. The Tiffin Girls' School was originally called The Tiffin's Girls' School, but the name was changed as it caused some confusion.