It was founded in 1882 by Baptist Minister Reverend William Menzie Webb with the aim to provide unsegregated education for girls.
Westwood is among the five boarding remaining in Jamaica and has been the only school to retain the tradition of wearing a jippi-jappa (Panama) hat.
[3] Iris Collins, the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, also attended the school.
[4] Gwendolyn Spencer, a nurse and midwife who co-founded the Jamaican Midwives' Association, also attended the school.
[5] Anne Walmsley, an editor, scholar, critic and author, taught at the school for three years.