Ages 
This is a school which inspires, invigorates, stretches and stimulates. Girls are encouraged and motivated and results are excellent. No longer an insurance policy.
Why read our school review?
Unlike other websites, schools can't pay to be included in The Good Schools Guide. This means our review of this school is independent, critical and fair, and written with parents' best interests at heart.
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 600 ·
- Sixth form numbers
- 140 ·
- Religion
- C of E
- Fees
- £30,132 pa
- Local authority
- Westminster City Council
- Linked schools
Headteacher
Head
Mrs Alexandra Haydon
Since January 2024, Alexandra Haydon, previously deputy head (academic) at Millfield since 2019. A scientist by background (BSc from Durham), she obtained her PGCE at Oxford, then joined large maintained secondary school in London. Moved to Bristo
Entrance
Main entry into year 7, with around a quarter of the intake scooped up by those coming up (not automatically) from the junior school (note junior numbers are expanding when the junior school moves off-site and becomes Francis Holland Prep from Sep
- Open days
- See website for details
Exit
Around 10-15 pupils leave in the sixth form ‘for good reasons’. ‘Some move house, some want co-ed.’ Nearly all sixth formers to university, over two-thirds to Russell Group. Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh, King’s London, Manchester, Royal Holloway an
Latest results
In 2024, 88 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 67 per cent A*/A at A level (94 per cent A*-B).
% of pupils achieving AAB or higher, including at least 2 facilitating subjects (2024)
What is this?
Facilitating A levels are ones that are commonly needed for entry to leading universities. They are: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, further mathematics, geography, history, English literature and classical or modern languages. The % of pupils achieving AAB or higher may therefore decrease if many pupils have opted not to take two or more of the facilitating subjects mentioned.
Teaching & learning
Not so long ago, school was considered ‘a bit of a safety net’. Not now. Recent results have been stellar, propelling it sharply up league tables. At GCSE, they average one grade higher than baseline predictions, placing school in top 30 independe
- Qualifications taken in 2024
- A level
- EPQ
- GCSE
Learning support & SEN
Around 25 per cent of pupils on SEN register, mainly with dyslexia, autism and ADHD and minor medical conditions or disabilities. Department, which ‘does not favour withdrawal from lessons’, comprises three full- and three part-time members of sta
Arts & extracurricular
Music central to school life. Two choirs (one auditioned, one not) for both lower and upper schools. Recent visit to St Paul’s to sing evensong and ‘we do concerts with Harrow and our sister school, Francis Holland, Regent’s Park’. ‘We sang the Ba
Sport
Universal acknowledgement among pupils we spoke to that sport is ‘great fun but we’re not the best’. School claims ‘to promote lifelong participation in physical activity’. Younger girls have three sports sessions a week, at Battersea Park or on-s
Ethos & heritage
Hackneyed as it might sound, school is a Tardis. Tucked away between Pimlico Road and Sloane Square amidst charming houses, it threads endlessly from one building to another, from one hall to another, from one classroom to another. All buildings a
Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
Strong tutor system, with two tutors per group who meet twice daily. Parents say it means problems are ‘soon picked up’. Girls praise the ‘really helpful staff’ more generally too: ‘You can ask them anything anytime.’ ‘They know everything that’s
Mobile phone policy
A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.
Mobile phone policy
Provided by the school and not part of our review Pupils in Years 7-10 are issued with a Yondr pouch to securely lock their mobile phones away on arrival to school. Their mobile phones remain locked away for the duration of the school day and the girls unlock their pouches before they go home or to their co-curricular club. Year 11 and the sixth form may use their mobile phones only in their year group areas at break or lunchtimes.
Pupils & parents
‘The first question parents ask is about our phone policy,’ we were told – reflective of grounded, realistic parent body (the policy is that all phones have to be put in Yondr pouches when on the premises). ‘We encourage them to buy brick, which
Money matters
Fees fractionally lower than other local girls’ schools. Music, art, sports, drama and academic scholarships available at 11+ (up to five per cent off) and 16+ (up to 25 per cent off), with a classical ballet award available at 11+ offering up to
- Fee information
- £30,132 pa
The last word
This is a school which inspires, invigorates, stretches and stimulates. Girls are encouraged and motivated and results are excellent. No longer an insurance policy.
