Downe House School A GSG School
- Downe House School
Cold Ash
Thatcham
Berkshire
RG18 9JJ - Head: Mrs Emma McKendrick
- T 01635 200286
- F 01635 202026
- E [email protected]
- W www.downehouse.net
- An independent school for girls aged from 11 to 18.
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: West Berkshire
- Pupils: 585; sixth formers: 182
- Religion: Church of England/Christian
- Fees: Boarding £39,150 pa. Day £29,115 pa
- Open days: By appointment.
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
- ISI report: View the ISI report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
Wellbeing is key to the girls and staff and the school has introduced a raft of inspiring initiatives – yoga classes, copies of The Positive Bullet Diary for pupils, scented diffusers in the boarding houses and puppy therapy to help girls unwind. ‘It’s the girls’ home,’ says the boarding deputy, ‘and it’s really important that they feel secure. They need to get good grades but we want our girls to become women who are comfortable in their own skin and who won’t be afraid to stand up for what they believe in...’
What the school says...
Downe House has always aimed to celebrate individual achievement within a boarding community framework by giving girls the maximum range of opportunities possible. Whilst our facilities are constantly developing, our primary focus is on people and pastoral care which underpin all achievement.
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Curricula
Cambridge Pre-U - an alternative to A levels, with all exams at the end of the two-year course.
What The Good Schools Guide says
Headmistress
Since 1997, Emma McKendrick BA PGCE FRSA (50s). Educated at Bedford High School (now Bedford Girls’ School) and then read German and Dutch at the University of Liverpool. She spent a year working in a German school during her degree and found she loved teaching so decided to do a PGCE at Birmingham. Her first teaching job was at the Royal High School Bath, where she taught German, ran the boarding house and became head of the sixth form. Later promoted to deputy head, she was appointed as head at the remarkably young age of 29. Four years later she became head of Downe House.
Her office is stylish and calm, right in the heart of things, with views across the school. ‘It gives me a real sense of what’s...
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Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
Our Learning Skills Department supports both girls with mild specific learning diffculties and those who are outstandingly able. Girls are supported in a variety of ways. These may include regular individual lessons, occasional group sessions or visits to relevant lectures, workshops and seminars. The Learning Skills Department is an integral part of the school structure and the flow of communication to ensure all girls are supported in lessons is of paramount importance.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | |
| Aspergers | |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | Y |
| Dysgraphia | Y |
| Dyslexia | Y |
| Dyspraxia | Y |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | Y |
| Genetic | |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | |
| Has SEN unit or class | |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | Y |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | Y |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | Y |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
Who came from where
| School | Year | Places | Scholarships | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chandlings Prep School | 2020 | |||
| Cheam School | 2020 | 3 | Scholarships: Art | |
| Cottesmore School | 2020 | |||
| Garden House School | 2020 | 1 | ||
| Hanford School | 2020 | |||
| Packwood Haugh School | 2020 | 2 | ||
| Rowan Preparatory School | 2020 | 1 | ||
| Sandroyd School | 2020 | 1 | 1 | Art Scholarship |
| Sarum Hall School | 2020 | 2 |
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