The catalogue is a shelf list of the contents of the archive. This summary is an outline of its contents:
ADMISSIONS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Records of the students who were admitted to the school between 1898 and 1994. They include the type of place [eg scholarship place, assisted fees] awarded.
APPEALS LITERATURE
Booklets and leaflets which were issued between the 1930s and the 1990s as part of appeals for support for the development of the school. They include descriptions and photographs of the school.
ARTEFACTS
Items of school uniform and badges.
BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS
Published histories of the school, unpublished dissertations and theses on the history of the school, books written by or about former members of staff and students and material concerning Manchester University and the British Federation of University Women.
CLASS LISTS
Alphabetical class lists of students for almost every year between 1885 and the present day.
DEEDS AND ADMINISTRATION SCHEMES
Documents describing the legal constitution of the school and the endowment of scholarships and prizes in the 1880s and 1890s.
LEAVERS' DESTINATIONS
Details of courses in further education, careers and other destinations of students on leaving the school between 1913 and the present.
LETTERS
Original letters including letters from Dorothea Beale, Emily Davies and Ernest Rutherford.
MINUTES OF GOVERNORS' MEETINGS
A complete set of minutes of governors' meetings from 1873 to the present day.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND MISCELLANEOUS
Thousands of newspaper articles and other miscellaneous items dating from the 1870s to the present day.
OLD GIRLS' FEDERATION REPORTS AND NEWSLETTERS
TheOld Girls' Federation Reports date from 1922 to 1984 and contain lists of Federation officers and the names and addresses of members. The Old Girls' Federation Newsletters date from 1970 to the present day and contain information about the activities of the Federation and its regional societies, reminiscences of school days by old girls and information about their lives after leaving school.
PROGRAMMES
Programmes of various kinds dating from the 1890s to the present day. They include programmes for Founders' Days from 1911, Speech Days from 1892, drama productions from 1912, concerts from 1907, sports events from 1912, religious services from 1901 and other miscellaneous programmes.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES
The thousands of photographs and slides date from the 1880s to the present day. They depict every aspect of school life including staff, students, buildings, plays and concerts, Founders' Days, Speech Days, sports days and other events.
PROSPECTUSES AND INFORMATION BOOKLETS
The school prospectuses date from 1912 to the present day. They contain details of the school's curricula, extra-curricular activities, teaching staff and school facilities. Later issues include photographs of the school, the staff and pupils.
SCHOOL REPORTS
The School Reports were published annually between 1874 and 1963. Those published between 1874 and 1895 contain detailed inspection reports by external examiners. All the School Reports contain the names of governors, teachers and students, details of the academic qualifications of teachers, school regulations, curricula, examination results, the achievements of former pupils in further education, daily events in the school and financial accounts.
SCHOOL MAGAZINES
The 137 different issues of the School Magazine date from 1883 to 2000. They include information about daily events in the school, staff, pupils past and present, creative writing by pupils, records of school societies and sports records.
STUDENT RECORDS
There are records for almost all the students of the school from its foundation to the present day. These records include student names, date of birth, address, occupation of parent or guardian, name of previous school and an outline of academic achievement in the school.
SCHOOL NEWSPAPERS
Various school newspapers date from the 1990s to the present day. They contain articles about school activities and photographs.
STAFF RECORDS
The records of teaching staff date from the foundation of the school to the 1970s. They include details ofacademic qualifications, previous teaching experience, responsibilities in the school and leaving destination.