She was a Scottish episcopalian and the second child of Frances Anne Napier and Lieutenant-Colonel Cecil Rice of the Seaforth Highlanders.
[1] In 1903 she was an attendant when one of staff, Edith Amy Isabelle Benett Wollaston, married an architect Isaac Taylor.
[2] It had expanded to over 100 girls by 1913 and the school had gained nearby property to allow for expansion[1] of an infirmary, chapel cloisters and more accommodation.
The school had therefore to look after not only its academic pupils striving for university entry but the curriculum also included technical, practical subjects and games.
[1] S. Mary's did not prove to be viable, so the schools were amalgamated in 1921 under headteacher Rice who had to tactfully manage the merger with girls from more modest homes.