The school was bought by
Mary Broad and Miss Thresher as a going concern from its owner in 1885. The school opened under new management in January 1886 with thirty pupils. The school was called Bournemouth High School and it intended to supply a liberal education for reasonable fees to the daughters of the middle classes. Broad converted from a non-conformist to the Church of England at this time. Miss Thresher left in 1889 when she married and Mary Broad was solely in charge. and the writer and film critic
Dilys Powell. Broad retired in 1924 and her place was taken by Cicely Frideswide Stocks and she introduced eight houses that were named after notable seamen. She also had physics labs built. During the war, girls from
St Anne's Catholic School in Southampton joined the school as they were moved to safety. This school was open throughout the war. ==Notable former pupils==