St Helen and St Katharine A GSG School
- St Helen and St Katharine
Faringdon Road
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 1BE - Head: Mrs Rebecca Dougall
- T 01235 520173
- F 01235 532934
- E [email protected]
- W www.shsk.org.uk
- An independent school for girls aged from 9 to 18.
- Boarding: No
- Local authority: Oxfordshire
- Pupils: 734; sixth formers: 192
- Religion: Christian
- Fees: £16,470 pa
- Open days: September, October, November
- 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..
There’s a core spirit of endeavour and enthusiasm. Discipline requires a light touch. The expression of disappointment by a highly regarded teacher goes a long way here, along with a firm set of rules that mean everyone knows what’s expected of them in the first place. Bright ambitious girls. Ditto parents. About half come from local primaries and the rest from feeder preps – around 25 in total. The pacy environment – and the school really does move at a brisk speed – isn’t for everyone, but ...
What the school says...
Founded in 1903, St Helen and St Katharine is an independent day school for girls aged 9–18 in Abingdon, six miles south of Oxford. St Helen’s is a school for bright girls with enquiring minds, a place where success is celebrated but not revered. Our aim is to ensure that every student achieves success as she defines it, so that she can believe in herself, her talents and abilities, and feel prepared and equipped for life beyond school.
Our outstanding academic record makes us one of the leading girls’ schools in the country. Stimulating and challenging teaching reaches beyond the curriculum, enabling our students to become effective and independent learners. Our broad and varied extracurricular programme of 100+ clubs and activities also plays a central role within school life. We actively encourage students to give new things a go, to explore and extend interests and to make friends across age groups.
Students are admitted to the Junior Department at either 9+ or 10+ and to the senior school at 11+, 13+ and 16+. It may be possible to admit students into other years, enquiries should be made to the Admissions Office. We offer a range of scholarships at 11+, 13+ and 16+ for academic ability, art, drama, music, sport and an all-rounder award. The School offers means tested bursaries up to 100% of fees from Year 7. ...Read more
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Curricula
Cambridge Pre-U - an alternative to A levels, with all exams at the end of the two-year course.
Other features
All-through school (for example 3-18 years). - An all-through school covers junior and senior education. It may start at 3 or 4, or later, and continue through to 16 or 18. Some all-through schools set exams at 11 or 13 that pupils must pass to move on.
Sports
Rowing
Fencing
Sailing
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since 2015, Rebecca Dougall BA MA (40s), previously head of the Royal High School, Bath. Has also taught at Wycombe Abbey and Oxford High, where she was deputy head. An English literature specialist, she is chic, youthful and dynamic, as well as being passionate about single sex schools, having attended one herself.
Doesn’t teach, but not a CEO type head and is known among pupils for being personable and approachable, regularly popping into lessons and having an open-door policy. ‘She doesn’t just know our names – she knows what our interests are, often stopping us to ask us about them,’ said one pupil, with another adding that she gives ‘great thought-provoking assemblies that we genuinely look forward to’. Parents also impressed. ‘She has her finger on the pulse and you absolutely...
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Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
10-09
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | |
| Aspergers | |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | |
| Dysgraphia | |
| Dyslexia | |
| Dyspraxia | |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | |
| 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 | |
| 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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Who came from where
| School | Year | Places | Scholarships | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chandlings Prep School | 2017 | 10 | 2 | Academic Scholarship; English Prize |
| Dragon School | 2018 | 2 | 1 | Academic Scholarship |
| Fulham School | 2017 | 1 | ||
| Maltman's Green School | 2015 | 1 | ||
| Millfield Prep School | 2018 | 1 | ||
| Our Lady's Junior School Abingdon | 2017 | 1 | ||
| Pinewood | 2018 | 1 | ||
| Rupert House School | 2018 | 5 | 1 | All Rounder Scholarship |
| St Andrew's School | 2018 | 2 | 1 | Music Scholarship |
| St Hugh's School, Oxfordshire | 2016 to 2018 | 7 | 3 | Academic Scholarship; Academic Scholarship; Sport Scholarship |
| The Manor Preparatory School | 2017 to 2018 | 43 | 9 | Academic Scholarship; Maths Prize; English Prize ; Academic Scholarships (2); Music Scholarship; All Rounder Awards (3) |
| Thomas's Kensington | 2016 | 1 | ||
| Warwick Preparatory School | 2018 | 1 |
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