Godolphin & Latymer A GSG School

Curricula

International Baccalaureate: diploma - the diploma is the familiar A-level equivalent.

Sports

Equestrian centre or equestrian team - school has own equestrian centre or an equestrian team.

Rowing

Fencing

What The Good Schools Guide says

Head

Since 2017, Dr Frances Ramsey MA PGCE and DPhil (medieval history from Merton College, Oxford). Previously principal at Queen’s College London for eight years. Before that, she spent 17 years at Westminster School where she held a range of high-profile roles including head of history, director of studies and running a boarding house. True to her modest nature, she omitted to mention her highly esteemed title of Master of the Queen’s Scholars – and the first female one at that.

Erudite and incisive, Dr Ramsey initially thought she would become a university lecturer but ended up spending her entire career in central London secondary schools. ‘She runs a tight ship and has a great team in place,’ parents told us. They also appreciate that she prioritises pupil and staff wellbeing despite this being a hugely competitive and busy school.

Her relatively understated study is handily positioned so she can observe the comings and goings on-site in between meetings and she is plugged into the daily goings on. During our visit she excitedly emerged with race news hot off the press about the first VIII rowing team. ‘She knows everyone’s name,’ some pupils told us, though not all were in agreement. Older girls shared that they tend to get to know her more when they get positions in sixth form, for example.

Married to an academic with two student-age children, Dr Ramsey enjoys horse riding, with the rosettes in her study suggesting she is also accomplished in this field.

Entrance

Main entry point is at year 7 via 11+ exam. School receives over 900 applicants for 125 places. All sit the London 11+ consortium entrance exam in late November or early December of year 6. The school is one of the most academic in the consortium so the bar is set high. Around half of applicants are taken to interview before final offers are made in February. No sibling policy.

Rare occasional places become available in years 8, 9 and 10. Applicants undertake English, maths and CAT tests, along with an interview.

Sixth form newcomers apply in October preceding entry and are required to undertake a cognitive ability test and, if successful, an interview, before offers are made. School offers two pathways: A level or IB.

Exit

At least 85 per cent stay on for sixth form and, helpfully, school has no minimum grades for existing pupils to achieve (save for their chosen A level or IB subjects, if applicable). Those who leave usually do so for local co-ed options or boarding school, with others moving overseas. A large proportion of sixth form leavers head to North American and European universities (just over 20 per cent in 2023). Of those staying on UK soil, practically all head to Russell Group universities – with nine to Oxbridge in 2023. Subjects chosen are varied with a healthy balance of science and arts, including a fair number of philosophers and also a few off to conservatoires or to drama school or to study art. Eight medics in 2023.

Latest results

In 2023, 97 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 79 per cent A*/A at A level (93 per cent A*-B). IB average score 41. In 2019 (the last pre-pandemic results), 96 per cent 9-7 at GCSEs; 77 per cent A*/A at A level. IB average score 41.

Teaching and learning

A broad curriculum on entry, with 13 subjects taken in year 7. Girls study compulsory Mandarin plus French, German or Spanish. Mandarin can be dropped for a second European language in year 8, although many continue it to GCSE. Latin is also studied from year 7, with an option to take classical civilisation in year 9. Italian is a further option at GCSE.

‘Teachers make learning fun for the lower years,’ one parent said, citing classics homework where girls had to create a social media profile for a Greek god. Teachers we saw were friendly and attentive to pupils’ needs. It was as busy outside the classroom as in, with a large number of one-to-one feedback chats happening in the corridors, including giving test results (and not delivering sanctions, we were pleased to see!). All pupils are issued with an iPad, but school has a blended approach to learning so we also saw lots of pen and paper was in use in lessons.

Strong academic rigour and a breadth of studies means it’s not right for everyone. ‘A child who gets in could end up feeling academically stressed,’ parents told us. School does not give up on pupils who might be struggling, however, and there is no culture of ‘managing out’ as can be the case in some schools.

Girls typically study 10 GSCEs including three sciences and at least one MFL. Refreshingly, and in contrast to some similarly academic girls’ schools, food prep and nutrition feature. We encountered year 7 girls cooking up a storm for a sports person: crusted salmon with sweet potato and pad Thai or paneer curry were being thoughtfully plated up by super keen chefs. Take-up at GCSE can be low, but many continue as a club.

Science is a strength and taught well, according to parents. ‘My daughter has never been scared of the likes of chemistry and physics,’ said one. Most subjects run at GCSE even if only a few sign up, but school reserves the right to not run a course if it’s not viable – for example, PE for only one pupil which school says would be challenging for all.

A big draw for sixth form is the choice of either the A level or the IB pathway, with 25-30 per cent opting for the latter and the teachers working across both. For A level, four subjects are taken initially with the option to drop a subject after one year. We noted a definite leaning to STEM subjects and social sciences. ‘They are the best at IB,’ feel some parents – and the results reflect this, with school consistently in the top 10 of global IB rankings.

Parents praise the gender and age balance among staff and told us that ‘when any issues have cropped up with specific teachers, they have been quick to fix problems’. Parents say there’s a ‘slight tutor culture’ outside school, but less for major gaps in learning and more for a little extra help and because ‘others have them’.

Parents told us girls are treated ‘almost like employees’ and head attested, ‘We think hard about what the 22 year old woman will look like and what she will need in her holdall in order to equip her with skills for future employers.’ As such, school has developed a bespoke futures programme to encourage creativity, resilience and an entrepreneurial mindset, starting in year 7 with a mini business adventure (the MBA acronym wasn’t lost on us!) which builds up to courses and collaborations working with external third parties and real life ventures.

Head takes a keen interest in development opportunities for staff, admitting that ‘it may cause the school to eventually lose talent as a result but overall, there’s a very positive cycle in place’.

Learning support and SEN

The in-house individual learning needs (ILN) team comprises an individual learning co-ordinator and two individual learning teachers who identify and work with pupils as required. On entry in year 7 several forms of screening are carried out which the girls are unaware of, for dyslexia or assessment through creative writing, for example. Around 11 per cent of pupils have a special educational need for which they require extra support such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD. Individual assessments are carried out at school with no extra charge unless subsequent external assessments are required.

‘The girls are given the agency to take control,’ head told us. ‘Extra support is made available as and when needed so that pupils don’t feel circled out,’ parents added. Pupils we met with needs were in agreement: ‘There’s no stigma attached to neurodiversity.’ They added that individual tablets are a bonus: ‘You can communicate with teachers directly on email so others won’t always be aware of your support needs.’ one girl told us.

Teachers are the first port of call when issues arise and, in the case of maths, English and science, girls can bring a question on a specific topic after a lesson and get help during the school day.

The arts and extracurricular

The school has a new director of music, and parents speak very highly of the department which includes three specialists supported by peris delivering over 400 lessons a week. ‘Loads of people play the violin,’ students told us. Lots of ensembles and orchestras, which are open to audition, plus clubs. It’s not all classical music either, with jazz, rock, swing, pop and other genres represented. School hosts termly concerts in the versatile Bishop Centre (a former church now used for musicals, theatre productions and whole school assemblies). One parent told us of a recent choral concert: ‘I got goosebumps, the music was so amazing.’ Parents and staff who can hold a tune are also welcome to join choirs. so be prepared to be rejoicing to the likes of Handel’s ‘Zadok The Priest’. Music tours and trips are commonplace, the pinnacle being the joint exchange trip with Latymer Upper School and the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums in Hamburg, now in its 43rd year.

Drama offers plenty of opportunities including backstage, with both annual lower and upper school productions, many led by student theatre and tech captains. Recent musicals include Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast and theatre productions such as Emilia. Year 7 has an annual Christmas show in which every pupil has a part. Speech and drama lessons are extremely popular ,with strong exam success.

Lots of student art is displayed around the school and in many varied formats. ‘The art department is phenomenal,’ parents told us. The ‘incredible art’ they spoke of is reflected in the consistently high uptake and outcomes at GCSE. Whilst fewer students take fine art for A level, those who do secure exceptional results. Sixth formers say they are regularly taken out for inspiration – anything from gallery visits to the coast for the day. Well-equipped textile and design and technology rooms were buzzing with activity on the day of our visit, with the girls busy making bags.

Clubs and societies are in abundance so it’s less a case of what’s on offer, more what to join. Some clubs require a fee, such as kickboxing and karate, but those that don’t are usually student run. Heavy hitters like dissection club and biomed club run alongside K-pop dance club and anime club. The extracurricular timetable is extremely busy – one sixth form newcomer told us, ‘Everyone is very smart and academic but still manages to do about thousand other things!’

Residential and day trips hold decent educational and cultural value, not just heading to some far-flung destination for the sake of it (that said, the most recent ski trip was to Vermont...). History groups head to the battlefields, geographers to Wales and Norway and language students on exchanges. Much praise for the year 10 pre-GCSE outward bound bonding trip to Swanage, complete with a cold sea swim.

Sport

Sports facilities are gold standard, and the school prides itself on the fact that, bar rowing, everything takes place on-site. In addition to the dozen outdoor pitches, there’s a modern sports centre with dance studio, fitness suites and a huge galleried sports hall with further courts. Here, basketball, trampolining, gymnastics, fencing and volleyball take place – along with rock climbing on the vast wall. Swimmers be warned: there’s no pool but it’s about the only thing lacking. The sports hall also hosts the much anticipated annual netball match v St Pauls’ boys rugby team – ‘The hall’s always packed out for that match!’ girls divulged.

Netball possibly has the edge in popularity, closely followed by hockey. Summer sports include tennis, rounders and cricket. Sport is very inclusive with A to F teams and development squads in the lower years that the girls are happy to attend. ‘My daughter’s not hugely sporty but now she loves it and wants to participate.’ No set games afternoons – no need as sessions can be interspersed throughout the day. Instead, be prepared for early mornings with squads or sessions starting at 7:20am. There’s no let-up with sport in sixth form but girls are given more choice with options for yoga and spin classes at a local studio.

Rowing starts at the end of year 8. Girls learn basic skills on rowing machines at ‘erg club’ before building up to tanks at nearby Fulham Reach and, finally, onto the water at Kings College Boat Club. ‘Rowing’s intense,’ we heard from the girls. Some perform at an elite level with top rowers, hockey players and championship fencers; there’s also a very professional-looking ski team.

Ethos and heritage

School has a rich and varied history, having begun life in 1861 as the Godolphin School, a boys’ boarding school, before becoming a girls’ independent school in 1905 with support from the Latymer Foundation, resulting in its existing name. Post WWII, it turned into a girls’ grammar school until the late 1970s. Although now firmly independent, the school’s socially inclusive learning environment, bursary programme and partnership outreach are an acknowledgement of its former grammar status. Current head has pioneered the ‘Bridge Outreach’ programme, inviting year 5 boys and girls from local primary schools for monthly Saturday school taught by staff. A number of the children have gone on to join the school in year 7. There are many other academic and sporting initiatives that see local state schools’ pupils invited in throughout the year to share in facilities, teaching (some sixth formers can join for A level subjects not taught at their school) or career talks and university fairs.

Based in a conservation area a stone’s throw from the bustle of Hammersmith Broadway, the original buildings are old but as the school has grown and modernised, it has sympathetically converted various buildings adjoining the site and updated others, such as the old vicarage and a former church (now the Bishop Centre). Most recent is the redevelopment of the well-stocked library and sixth form centre (complete with Nespresso machines), plus a dining area extension and outside landscaping to which pupils contributed their vision and ideas. The result: light, bright settings with a distinct Scandi-hygge feel, muted tones, limewashed wood and generally very aesthetically pleasing. We suspect these spaces will be an incentive for girls to stay on for sixth form.

Food is colourful, healthy and the menu varied. Handfuls of fresh tortilla chips were being scooped up when we visited to accompany Mexican-themed fare. Tuck shop cookies, we’re told, are ‘legendary’. A quick ‘refuel’ food offering is useful for those heading to a club or squad.

Whole school has an early finish on Fridays at 3.05pm, which is much welcomed given the busy nature of the week.

The long list of notable alumni includes singer Sophie-Ellis Bextor and eminent neuroscientist Baroness Greenfield. Old Dolphins, as they are known, regularly return to give talks to current students on their varied and successful careers including, but not limited to, fashion designers, doctors or lawyers.

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline

School has a reputation for being one of the more nurturing schools in the area, placing equal emphasis on academics and pastoral care. ‘Girls are highly selected but not at the expense of personal development,’ says head. Parents concur, saying ‘it is high pressured academically but there’s a focus on developing the individual’.

School feels it equips girls well to deal with issues as, or before, they arise (eg managing the dynamics of WhatsApp groups or sexting) and parents agree that ‘there’s no problem with speaking up and making one’s voice heard which could be more of an issue in a more male dominated co-ed school’.

New year 7 starters are assigned a year 8 buddy in the same house who corresponds with them before starting and mentors them when they arrive. ‘There’s always someone I can talk to,’ one girl told us, ‘I see my form tutor as a friend so I’m happy to go to them if needed.’ School has two part-time counsellors and girls can self-refer.

Mocks don’t exist here, in name at least. ‘They give them a fluffy name to ease stress,’ parents told us. And only one set of practice tests are given, condensed over two weeks. Parents feel this has a ‘more subtle, softer approach’ compared to some of its well-known local competitors.

Uniform rules are fairly relaxed with most, if not all, girls wearing sports kit all the time to save changing up to three times a day. Sixth form wear own clothes. ‘There aren’t many silly rules,’ the girls told us. Zero tolerance to mobile phones, which have to be in lockers during the school day.

Pupils and parents

The majority of pupils travel by public transport (usefully, the school is a five-minute walk from Hammersmith station) or by bike (evidenced by the heaving bike racks). Families hail from Chiswick and Turnham Green, Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove, further west from Ealing and south from Richmond, Wimbledon, Putney and Fulham, some also from Maida Vale and St John’s Wood. The long, busy school day mean school advises no more than an hour’s commute: ‘It’s got almost a boarding school feel in that sense,’ says head, ‘although the setting is slightly more relaxed after 4pm.’ Locality makes it popular with a wealthy clientele and whilst it’s relatively culturally diverse, it’s not hugely reflective of the immediate surrounding area. Parents are welcomed in for various events including sports matches and the head’s popular intimate breakfasts with all year group parents to garner feedback and listen to their views. Active PTA and some community outreach. Many returning old girls say how they made friends for life here, even those who left after GCSEs.

Money matters

School aims for up to 10 full bursaries each year. Music and art scholarships are offered (sixth form only for art), worth up to 30 per cent of school fees. Atypically, fees are calculated for the calendar year rather than the academic one, meaning the autumn fee bill differs in rate to spring and summer. Daily charge for lunch on top.

The last word

Location doesn’t offer stacks of green space but there’s everything else: top academics, vast facilities and a caring community. Your child will need to be capable of juggling many balls but if she is smart and energetic, she will be well-supported and leave with skills for life.

Special Education Needs

Who came from where