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 registry@downehouse.net
- W www.downehouse.net
- An independent school for girls aged from 11 to 18.
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: West Berkshire
- Pupils: 587; 569 full boarders; sixth formers: 185
- Religion: Church of England/Christian
- Fees: Day £25,440; Boarding £35,160 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..
Blissfully small classes – school teacher:pupil ratio is an enviable 1:5.4 – this is nurturing indeed. Most exciting, memorable and generally aaaahed over is the term spent in every girl’s second year at the school’s own converted farm in the heart of Perigord. The uniform is standard school green skirt, shirt and jumper, though the sixth form still cling to their floor length black skirts – ‘They wear them so they can keep their pyjamas on underneath,’ one mum told us….
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.
What the parents say...
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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, Mrs Emma McKendrick BA PGCE FRSA (40s). Educated at Bedford High and at the universities of Liverpool and Birmingham (German and Dutch). Previously at The Royal School, Bath, where she had been i/c careers and sixth form, a housemistress and deputy head before becoming head in 1994. Remarkably young when appointed to her first headship - that this was so is to the credit of the school’s governors. She is soft-spoken, stylish, somehow very grown up, calm and relaxed. Her office and the room in which she receives visitors is a joy – windows on three sides so she can ‘see everything’, bright, light and tasteful. Parents – who tend to be deeply passionate about the school and many of whom are old girls – sigh with pleasure: ‘She is excellent, on...
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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 | Y |
| Aspergers Syndrome [archived] | |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders [archived] | |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Delicate Medical Problems [archived] | |
| Dyscalculia | |
| Dysgraphia | |
| Dyslexia | |
| Dyspraxia | |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | |
| Epilepsy [archived] | |
| Genetic | |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | |
| Has SEN unit or class | |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| Not Applicable | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
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