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Abstract

The underexplored song repertoire of nineteenth-century girls' schools provides valuable insight into how educational institutions constructed, communicated and preserved collective identities. Focusing on George Watson's Ladies' College, Roedean School and Cheltenham Ladies' College, this seminar examines how music functioned as a vehicle for institutional memory, belonging and educational aspiration. Particular attention is given to Charlotte Ainslie, whose work at George Watson's Ladies' College reveals how school song traditions reinforced institutional values and collective memory.

Whilst the histories of these institutions are well documented, less attention has been paid to the role of song in shaping institutional communities. Ex Corde Caritas of George Watson’s Ladies' College embodies the foundation of charity upon which the school was built. In contrast, the song of Roedean School conflicts with the academic vision of its founders for girls to attend Girton College, Cambridge. The Guild Hymn of Cheltenham Ladies’ College draws upon the chivalric qualities of the daisy, in particular the opening of the soul to knowledge, reflecting the academic ethos of its Principal, Dorothea Beal.

Preliminary evidence suggests that these songs contributed to a shared understanding of women’s education extending beyond Britain, with institutional names, values, and song cultures appearing across schools throughout the Empire and Commonwealth. Preserving and studying these materials therefore allows a deeper understanding not only of local institutional identities but also of the wider educational networks and ideals they helped to sustain.

Biography

Emma Bryden is an independent early-career researcher specialising in British music history, institutional culture, and educational singing traditions. Her research explores how music contributes to the formation, transmission, and preservation of institutional identity, memory, and belonging within educational communities.

She recently submitted her PhD in Music and Performing Arts at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where she developed an original etymophonological framework for examining the relationship between sound, language, and identity. Her current research expands this work through the study of school and collegiate song traditions, with particular interests in musical heritage, community memory, and women's educational institutions.

Emma's work has been recognised through the Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle Student Paper Prize and the Ernest Newman Prize. She has presented her research at national and international conferences and is currently developing a series of publications exploring music, identity, and educational culture in Britain.

Her wider interests include archives, historiography, educational reform, and the role of music in shaping institutional narratives across generations.