Miss Linnell became Head Mistress in January 1911 and in September that year the new building was opened by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Though the school was at this time was fee-paying a surprising number of pupils were awarded grants by the County Council to cover all or part of their fees. It was not only the wealthy who could afford to send their children to the Girls' High School. A study of the occupations of the parents shows that the pupils came from varied backgrounds, for the September intake of 1911 the fathers' employment covered a wide variety of jobs. Miss Linnell's headship was of short duration as she left in 1913 to take up a post in Burton-on-Trent. Miss Easterby, known to many generations of kindergarten and transition pupils gave a lifetime of teaching to the school, joining the staff in July 1911 and retiring in July 1943.
