Sydenham High School A GSG School
- Sydenham High School
15 & 19 Westwood Hill
London
SE26 6BL - Head: Antonia Geldeard
- T 020 8557 7000
- F 020 8557 7001
- E admissions@syd.gdst.net
- W www.sydenhamhi…school.gdst.net
- An independent school for girls aged from 11 to 18.
- Boarding: No
- Local authority: Lewisham
- Pupils: 483; sixth formers: 76
- Religion: Non-denominational
- Fees: £19,857 pa
- Open days: Contact school or visit website
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
- ISI report: View the ISI report
- Linked schools: Sydenham High School Prep
What The Good Schools Guide says..
Everyone seems proud of the new foray into rowing, sharing the Dulwich College boathouse at Putney, competing in regattas and practising on the bank of rowing machines. Plenty of individual sporting stars: one year 7 pupil is fifth in the UK for BMX racing. Housed in a rather grand converted hydropathic hotel; the old part of the school, with a panelled hallway, art nouveau copper fireplace and grand staircase thrillingly complete with the ghost of an old headmistress, is charming. Very on point with regards to mental health issues; there are new 'sense of self’ weeks inspiring bounce-backability...
What the school says...
Sydenham High School is part of the Girls’ Day School Trust, the leading group of independent girls’ schools in the UK, and we are celebrating over 130 years of providing a first class independent education for girls from 4 to 18.
Our school motto, Nyle ye Drede, (‘Fear nothing’), lies at the heart of all we do. A Sydenham High education is centred upon the girl, where academic excellence and pastoral excellence go hand in hand. We want our pupils to have a ‘can do’ approach and inner strength so that they are enabled to thrive, succeed and be happy.
We are a school which is small enough to ensure that every pupil is visible so that her education is both aspirational and personalised. We want to empower our girls to face potential challenges with confidence. We want them to be resilient in all that they do so that in an ever-changing world they are able to respond positively to the ever-increasing demands placed on them, both at school and in their future lives.
We want to inspire our pupils to:
- Achieve individual excellence; to be inspired and to inspire
- Be ambitious and outstrip expectations
- Embrace opportunities
- Be bold, fearless and resilient
- Have an independence of mind and the courage to take risks
- To have a strong moral compass and be accepting and respectful of themselves and others
Sydenham High is selective and diverse, welcoming girls with wide-ranging talents and backgrounds into a close community that is large enough to offer choice and flexibility but compact enough to ensure that no girl is overlooked. Our exciting and enriching co-curricular programme provides every pupil with exceptional learning opportunities beyond the classroom, whether at Prep School, Senior School or Sixth Form.
A Sydenham High education not only prepares our young people for university and future employment, but also gives them the necessary skills and confidence to succeed, prosper and be happy. Girls at Sydenham High are open-minded and ambitious and possess an inner strength and self-belief to exceed expectations. Sydenham High is a school bursting with warmth, creativity, talent and, above all, excellence in all that we do.
There is no better time to join us. ...Read more
Do you know this school?
The schools we choose, and what we say about them, are founded on parents’ views. If you know this school, please share your views with us.
Please login to post a comment.
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
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since 2022, Antonia Geldeard. She read English literature at Trinity College, Cambridge and later did a PGCE in English and drama. After working as a TV journalist in factual programmes she joined Alleyn’s as an English and drama teacher, becoming a head of house, head of film/media studies and then head of English. After that she moved to Trinity School, Croydon as head of sixth form and then deputy head. She held the position of deputy safeguarding lead for many years and is a primary school governor. Married with two children.
Entrance
Broadly selective, but the ability range is wider than elsewhere locally. Although there are 3.5 applications for every place, the odds of a place are much higher than at the best local state schools. Open days and taster days throughout the school year. Examinations...
Subscribe now for instant access to read The Good Schools Guide review.
Already subscribed? Login here.
Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
The school's special needs policy follows the recommendations of the Code of Practice (2001). At admission each pupil is looked at as an individual case to see whether the school can effectively meet her needs. A girl would only be refused entry if she was unable to attain the required academic standard or if the school was unable to cope with the child's difficulty once every effort had been made to accommodate her needs. The school has a Learning Support Department run by a qualified dyslexia teacher. Individual difficulties (eg mild dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, Aspergers) are handled as appropriate by the Learning Support Department. Pupils whose difficulties form a significant barrier to learning may have an Individual Education Plan and some targeted help from the Learning Support Department. Pupils with specific learning difficulties should be able to cope in mainstream classes but the school offers a supportive environment in which staff are made aware of the ways in which these students can be supported within the classroom. The Junior Department also has access to well qualified perpatetic special needs teachers who can give long term individual support during school time and parents may wish to use this facility for which an extra charge is made.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | Y |
| Aspergers | Y |
| 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 | Y |
| 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 |
Who came from where
| School | Year | Places | Scholarships | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUCKS Kindergarten and Infants' School | 2023 | 9 | ||
| Herne Hill School | 2023 | 6 |
The Good Schools Guide newsletter
Educational insight in your inbox. Sign up for our popular newsletters.