Gertrude Bell grew up at Red Barns, her father's house near Redcar in County Durham. Gertrude's mother Mary Bell died in 1871, after she gave birth to her son Maurice. Mary's death made Gertrude unhappy but also made her more independent. She had a close connection with her father. He married Gertrude's step-mother Florence Olliffe in 1876, and together they had Gertrude's three step-siblings: Hugh Lowthian; Florence Elsa; and Mary Katharine. Gertrude was very good at all kinds of things: she was good at sport, she was good at school, and she was funny and clever in conversation. Her school was Queen's College, London. In April 1886, Bell started studying at Lady Margaret Hall (a college of the University of Oxford). She studied for seven hours every day and did all kinds of sports. She was friends with Janet E. Courtney (then Janet Hogarth) and Edith Langridge. Bell graduated in 1888, with a first-class bachelor's degree in Modern History. After this she went on a tour of Europe.