Epsom Girls' Grammar School
State secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Epsom Girls Grammar School (often simplified to Epsom Girls, or EGGS) is a state secondary school for girls ranging from years 9 to 13 in Auckland, New Zealand. It has a roll of nearly 2,300 as of 2026, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand.
(Through difficulties to greatness.)
| Epsom Girls' Grammar School | |
|---|---|
Epsom Girls' Grammar School and Ōhinerau / Mount Hobson seen from Maungawhau / Mount Eden | |
| Location | |
 | |
Silver Road, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand 36°52′38″S 174°46′28″E | |
| Information | |
| Type | State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities |
| Motto | Latin: Per Angusta, Ad Augusta (Through difficulties to greatness.) |
| Established | 12 February 1917 |
| Auckland Grammar School | |
Ministry of Education Institution no. | 64 |
Principal | Brenda McNaughton |
| Enrollment | 2,316[1] (July 2026) |
| Colours | Navy and gold |
Socio-economic decile | 9Q[2] |
| Website | Epsom Girls Grammar School |
The principal is Brenda McNaughton, the 12th principal, who succeeded Lorraine Pound in 2024.[3][4] She succeeds a long line of distinguished educators such as Margaret Bendall and Marjory Adams.[5]
History
Epsom Girls Grammar School was established through an endowment of land in 1850 and officially opened on 12 February 1917 with 174 students.[6] Establishing Epsom Girls was described as a "struggle", as "despite a clear need for a second girls’ school in Auckland, education administrators continued to prioritise boys’ education. Eventually EGGS emerged as an old, adapted Villa and a handful of classrooms on the Silver Road site. When the doors opened in 1917 the School had already exceeded capacity."[6]
Boarding facilities are provided on-site at Epsom House, providing full accommodation for 150 students from overseas and rural New Zealand.[7]
The Old Girls Association was established in 1921, and holds a number of events each year for alumnae.[8]
In 2021, Metro (magazine) reported that Epsom Girls Grammar School was the top performing non-religious state school in Auckland over the last five years (based on Ministry of Education data of the five-year average of university entrance attainment).[9]
Property prices in the Epsom Girls Grammar School and Auckland Grammar School school zones (known as the "double Grammar zone") are particularly high - Epsom Girls is the second most expensive school zone to buy in within Auckland (with the first being Auckland Grammar School).[10] The zone covers large swathes of four of the city’s highest value suburbs – Remuera, Epsom, Parnell and Mount Eden. Real estate agents have commented that being in the "double Grammar zone" could add up to $500,000 to the value of a family home.[11]
Enrolment
As of July 2026, Epsom Girls' Grammar School has a roll of 2,316 students, of which 216 (9.3%) identify as Māori.[1]
As of 2026, the school has an Equity Index of 402,[12] placing it amongst schools whose students have the fewest socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 9 and 10 under the former socio-economic decile system).[13]
Principals
- Annie Christina Morrison 1917–1929[14]
- Agnes L. Laudon 1930–1947[15]
- Margaret G. Johnston 1948–1952[16]
- Marjory F.E. Adams 1953–1970[17]
- Alisa M. Blakey 1970–1979[18]
- Gaewyn E. Griffiths 1979–1988[19][20]
- Verna E. Dowdle 1988–1996
- Margaret A. Bendall 1996–2004
- Annette Sharp 2005–2008[21]
- Madeline J. Gunn 2008–2016[22]
- Lorraine Pound 2016–2023[23]
- Brenda McNaughton 2024–present[24]
Notable alumnae
Media and the arts
- Deidre Airey – ceramic artist
- Petra Bagust – television presenter[25]
- Ruth Castle – weaver
- Chaii – rapper and songwriter
- Angela D'Audney – television news anchor[26]
- Jude Dobson – television presenter
- Eve de Castro-Robinson – composer[27]
- Hinemoa Elder – youth forensic psychiatrist and former television presenter[28]
- Kate Elliott (actress) – television and film actress[29]
- Tui Flower – food writer
- Rosalie Gascoigne – sculptor and artist[30]
- May Gilbert – printmaker and artist
- Lisa Harrow – actress[31]
- Kate Hawkesby – television presenter and radio broadcaster
- Hayley Holt – television presenter[32]
- Rowena Jackson MBE – ballerina and later artistic director of the New Zealand Ballet Company
- Florence Myrtle Keene – historian and author
- Yvonne Lawley – actress[33]
- Tianyi Lu – orchestral conductor[34]
- Marya Martin – flautist[25]
- Ingrun Helgard Moeckel – German model and Miss Germany winner
- Hannah O'Neill – principal ballerina at the Paris Opera Ballet[35]
- Susan Moller Okin – feminist philosopher
- Charlotte Piho – Cook Islands photographer
- Wilma Smith – lead violinist in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
- Freda Stark – dancer[36]
- Rima Te Wiata – comedian and actress[37]
- Olivia Tennet – actress, dancer
- Konai Helu Thaman – poet and academic
- Karen Walker – fashion designer[38]
- Lois White – artist
- Robin White (artist) – painter and printmaker[39]
- Dorothy Wills – architect
- Jean Wishart – former editor of the New Zealand Woman's Weekly
Public service and law
- Anna Adams (lawyer) – Solicitor-General[40]
- Helen Clark – 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand and former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme[41]
- Miriam Dell – President, National Council of Women[25]
- Jeanette Fitzsimons – politician and former co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Ngapare Hopa – Māori academic and former member of the Waitangi Tribunal
- Dorothy Jelicich – Member of Parliament for Hamilton West (1972–1975)
- Judith Potter – former High Court judge
- Charmaine Pountney – educator, rights activist
- Alison Quentin-Baxter – constitutional lawyer
- Marie Shroff – former Cabinet Secretary, Privacy Commissioner and chair of the New Zealand Electoral Commission
- Suzanne Sinclair – Member of Parliament for Titirangi (1993–1996)
- Chlöe Swarbrick – politician and co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Augusta Wallace – first woman appointed to the judiciary in New Zealand
Science
- Viopapa Annandale-Atherton – doctor
- Ruth Black – doctor
- Elizabeth Brown (botanist) – bryologist
- Joan Chapple – first New Zealand female plastic surgeon
- Lucy Cranwell – botanist
- Kirsten Finucane – paediatric heart surgeon, former Chief Surgeon of the Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Service at Starship Hospital
- Barbara Heslop – immunologist
- Joan Metge – anthropologist[25]
- Louise Nicholson (academic) – neuroscientist
- Brenda Shore – botanist
Sport
- Vera Burt – professional cricketer and field hockey player
- Suzy Dawson – rugby union coach and former member of the Black Ferns
- Taylor Flavell – professional squash player
- Kylie Foy – Olympic field hockey player[29]
- Anna Green (footballer) – former association footballer[29]
- Winifred Griffin – Olympic swimmer[29]
- Andrea Hams – weightlifter and hurdler[29]
- Maggie Jenkins – New Zealand representative footballer
- Elizabeth Lamb (athlete) – high jumper[42]
- Annalie Longo – International and professional footballer
- Brigitta Lotu-Iiga – former member of the Black Ferns
- Jan Martin – Olympic hockey player[29]
- Moana Manley – swimmer and Miss New Zealand winner
- Hannah McLean – former competitive swimmer
- Marnie McGuire – golfer[43]
- Phillis Meti – professional golfer
- Melanie Hulme – softball player[29]
- Melissa Ingram – Olympic swimmer[44]
- Brenda Perry – tennis player and former director of the ASB Classic (tennis)[45]
- Kayla Pratt – Olympic rower[46]
- Kim Robertson (athlete) – track and field sprinter
- Francesca Snell – water polo player[47]
- Jean Spencer – Olympic gymnast
- Sheryl Wells – former manager of the New Zealand national netball team[29]
- Yvette Williams – first woman to win an Olympic gold medal for New Zealand[48]