The GSA can trace its history back to the Association of Headmistresses which was founded in 1874 by Dorothea Beale and Frances Buss.
[2] Enid Essame of Queenswood School was an honorary secretary before she became president in 1960.
It[clarification needed] was established in 1974 following the amalgamation of two of the AHM's sub-groups: the Association of Heads of Girls' boarding Schools and the Association of Independent and Direct Grant Schools.
It moved from London to new headquarters in Leicester in 1984, where it shared offices with the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) before moving to its current office, still in Leicester.
[citation needed] Below is a list of GSA member schools.