Lady Eleanor Holles School

Since 2023, Rowena Cole BSc PGCE MBA, previously head at St John’s School, Leatherhead. Educated at Exeter University (biology), she has taught in both the state and private sectors: Howard of Effingham and City of London Freemen’s, a deputy headship at Guildford High School before taking the reins as head at Dunottar School in Reigate. Drawn to teaching by her own experiences: ‘I loved biology and I always wanted to work with young people and to this day I feel grateful for the support and opportunities I had during my own education'. Married to Alistair, with whom she has two children and a menagerie of pets.

A third of entrants come up from the junior school. Girls come from around 40 different schools in total, a mixture of state and private. Around five applicants per place; ISEB tests in maths, English, non-verbal and verbal reasoning and school's own problem-solving paper. Expect the unexpected in the interview and don’t tutor for it – school can spot girls who are too polished and would much rather they were just being themselves.

Papers in proposed A level subjects for year 12 applicants, who also need 9-7s in pretty much all their GCSEs. Reports from current schools also count, along with an interview.

Around 10 per cent leave after GCSE. After A levels, around 80 per cent to Russell Group universities: UCL, Bristol, King’s College London, Warwick, Edinburgh and Bath recently popular. Mainly traditional degree subjects, with biggest single group studying medicine. In 2024, eight to Oxbridge and 11 medics. Two overseas in 2024 – to Malta and Spain.Parents feel UCAS advice is balanced and tailored to the girl – the school is ‘interested in everybody, Oxbridge or not,’ they told us, and ‘absolutely not dyed-in-the-wool about the Russell Group’.

Few teach academia better and it’s done via thrilling, not drilling. Run-of-the-mill GCSE content is covered swiftly to allow plenty of time for the more exciting stuff. Parents praise the ‘intellectual sparkle’ of teaching staff, who ‘give the impression that they really do live and breathe their specialisms’; all teach their own degree subject. Teachers always available to help and are busy running clinics or answering pupil queries at every opportunity. A great academic energy about the place. Meticulous record keeping for monitoring and targeting means that reporting is meaningful and personalised. ‘Comment only’ policy encourages pupils to engage with feedback rather than getting hung up on a grade.

Many girls add an EPQ to their A levels to create breadth; sixth form enrichment programme across every subject. Staff ‘softer, kinder, more inclusive’ than they used to be – ‘a lot of the tougher old-guard have gone,’ say parents. Curriculum recently reviewed, adding product design (DT) and computer science to the A level options. Unsurprisingly, a strong take-up in both: STEM is very popular here and the introduction of the new subjects coincided with the opening of very whizzy new facilities, in particular the awe-inspiring product design lab. One parent felt the school was ‘very very strongly pushing STEM subjects and putting a lot of resources into their STEM teaching’. Head wary of that perception and has appointed a HALE (humanities, arts, languages, English) coordinator to maintain the balance. Besides, she says, STEM subjects require investment in physical facilities and are more visible as a result. Lots of collaboration between the two (year 7s recently designed and built motorised works of art) and, as the head points out, girls will often choose a cross-section, keeping up a language or humanity alongside science A levels. One-to-one iPads introduced with new curriculum – ‘part of the school uniform’.

Sixth form feels quite a separate entity here – these older girls are revered and there are lots of sixth form only areas, including their smaller classrooms which cater for more tutorial style learning, in which there are no more than 12 girls in any one class. Inspiring alumnae across different industries come back for popular careers evenings – Balfour Beatty, Johnson & Johnson, Public Health England etc.

Setting in maths during year 7, with groups reviewed annually. PE, textiles, art, drama and music all options at GCSE. Languages include Spanish, Latin, German and French from year 7, and classical Greek added at GCSE. Mandarin now also available from year 9. The school has one of the biggest German A level cohorts in the country; Spanish growing. Lots of A levels to choose from including drama, philosophy, politics, psychology, history of art.

Praise for the SEN department. Cohesive support for whoever needs it. Few with more than mild learning difficulties here and most SEN support embedded into classes. Those that need more feel well looked-after – ‘there’s no stigma; everyone’s got their different thing,’ said one parent. We were very cheered by another, who told us that ‘my daughter has never been asked to leave – the school has made it clear that there’s always a place here for her’. Seem to really commit to every girl that they’ve taken on – once you’re in, you’re in, for better for worse. A good school to consider if you have mobility problems or are wheelchair-bound – flattish site, lifts and wide corridors.

Artistic talent evident throughout. Beautiful ceramics displayed in a glass cabinet. Lively textiles and photography. Genuinely brilliant pieces, the kind we’d happily have on our walls at home.

Music exceptional – Holles Singers regularly reach the finals of Choir of the Year competition. Girls enjoyed producing material for recent online cabaret night. Very confident, cool performances and some spectacular voices that sounded professional (to our untrained ear). We lost count of how many other choirs there were – some for which girls audition, others open to all. Orchestras and ensembles galore, with bands ranging from rock and pop to jazz. Sixty per cent of girls learn an instrument with a peripatetic teacher. Brass popular, and many budding saxophonists. Shiny purpose-built arts block includes wow-factor purpose-built theatre. Drama ‘very slick’ – ‘save yourself a trip to the West End,’ parents urged. Annual performance from each year group – upper sixth had fun staging an all-female Posh last year, channelling the ‘rambunctious rage of the Riot club’ with a full-cast food fight. Two joint annual productions with Hampton School (years 11 up) and a summer musical (years 7 and 8).

Lively debating society, Model UN and lots of charity and community work, including going into local schools. DofE and CCF take-up good. Masses of day trips to museums, theatres etc, plus residential trips from year 7 upwards – language exchanges, ski trips and battlefields, among them. Greece and Italy (classics), Berlin (history) and Iceland (geography) are other examples.

Legendary, and a big draw of the school. The facilities in this 23-acre plot are outstanding for a girls’ day school, including four lacrosse pitches, seven outdoor courts, huge modern sports hall and indoor swimming pool. At the front of the school are grass tennis courts and croquet lawn (open to parents at weekends). Early Saturday starts for team players, shipped off to girls’ boarding schools for fixtures. Lacrosse is the main winter game and they play to win. Netball also strong. Lots of silverware for the rowers, who are often at the boathouse (shared with Hampton) at 6am. Some girls disappointed that there’s no recreational rowing – you’re either in the boat or you’re not – but the whole approach to sport is becoming much more inclusive. New director of sport is working to get more girls active – A team used to get a lot of the glory but this is now spread more evenly. Last year they even fielded an H team in one year group – ‘If you’re not in a team, they’ll make one for you,’ said the grateful parent of an enthusiastic, rather than talented, athlete. Badminton having a moment, enjoying a good take-up among those not in the traditional sporty crowd. Other sports include gymnastics, swimming, basketball, rounders, athletics and tennis – recently played Real Tennis at Hampton Court. Lots of opportunities to compete, from inter-house tournaments to international championships. We were amused that even in lockdown the girls were competing with their Wycombe Abbey counterparts to see how many times they could bounce a ball over the course of a week. Sports tours to eg Barbados and America.

Established in 1710 under the will of Lady Eleanor Holles, daughter of John Holles, second Earl of Clare – makes it one of the oldest girls’ schools in the country. Began life in the City of London, thence to Mare Street in Hackney (that building now houses the London College of Fashion). The current school, purpose-built and designed in the shape of an E, opened in 1937. A palpable pride in its long history underpins the place.

Distinguished former staff include Pauline Cox, former head of Tiffin Girls' and Cynthia Hall, former head of Wycombe Abbey. Single-sex education at its best here – unselfconscious and confident, feminist with a small ‘f’. International Women’s Day celebrated loudly and proudly but the sentiment runs year-round.

The year 2020 was a big moment in the school’s history – the opening of Lady Eleanor Holles International School Foshan, a co-educational day and boarding school in southern China that will share with LEH its values and ‘general tenor’. School describes the relationship between the two schools as ‘remarkably close’. Foshan will promote the same breadth of learning and commitment to extracurricular activity as the school here and will provide girls in London with opportunities to connect with youngsters in China. Plans are afoot for annual pupil and staff visits in both directions.

Back home, the long, featureless main building doesn’t delight the eye but nobody could argue with its functionality. Inside, corridors are wide, rooms are light and everywhere is well kept. Some areas are somewhat hospital-like, with lengthy corridors and polished wood floors. New classroom block in 2021. Refurbed sports facilities, with new activity studio and ergo room as well as state of the art product design and computing suites, ensure that equipment is the best of the best. Big main library is well stocked; sixth-form library, overlooking the pitches, includes more mature books and careers and university materials, with neat tables for study and rows of PCs. Nice sixth-form café and common room too.

Notable alumnae in interesting and diverse fields include Melanie Ivarsson, chief development officer at Moderna Inc, Dame Lesley Regan, former president of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Vanessa Kirby, actor, Jay Hunt, creative director at Apple, Annie Nightingale, Radio 1 presenter, Caroline Bird, poet and playwright, and Gail Trimble, renowned University Challenge brainbox .

Much praise for the pastoral care system, which the head describes as ‘the golden thread that runs through their entire time at school’. Bumps in the road are inevitable but the school is focused on building girls’ resilience and giving them the tools they’ll need to cope. Everyone knows who to go to and ‘the door is open if you need help,’ according to parents. ‘The first thing they hear when they arrive in year 7 is the importance of being kind,’ we were told. A culture of openness means that it’s alright to tell someone if you’re not happy. House system is a big deal here and encourages inter-year friendships – there are even inter-house jigsaw competitions. This, and travelling in on the school coaches, allows older girls to become informal mentors to the younger ones.

Good buddying system, plus a great cyber mentor system – sixth formers trained to go into classes without teachers to discuss any online problems. E-safety overall taken very seriously, with a dedicated e-safety officer. Two school counsellors available throughout the week. Wellbeing Wednesday lectures during lockdown included talks from a child psychologist and an expert on teenage sleeping patterns. Parents praise ‘practical, hands-on advice’.

Absolutely no LEH ‘type’ – community very tolerant of difference. One mother told us that ‘everybody finds their own specialness – a uniqueness that they feel comfortable to explore’. The girls are empowered, strong, spirited. Not much drinking and no drug problems that we heard about (‘normal teenage girl behaviour,’ we were told by more than one parent); a relatively clean-living culture in which they don’t grow up quite as fast as their central London peers. Low-level misbehaviour, such as forgetting homework, leads to a ‘pink slip’. Three of those in a half-term and you get a strongly worded letter. ‘If your little treasure is a bit of a maverick you will find yourself being called in,’ said one parent who’s been there. But it’s more carrot than stick here, with rewards of sweets if you don’t get any pink slips and a class pizza lunch if your class does particularly well in something, eg charity work. Speaking of which, the food is good: 'There’s loads of choice too – you can grab a sandwich or have a full-on hot meal.’

Girls are well turned out, and the sixth formers look fresh and tidy in casual dress. High expectations in all aspects of school life, but girls seem purposeful, not fraught. They’re ‘self-starters, self-motivated, self-driven’, according to parents. It’s cool to be clever and cool to be sporty. Strong links with Hampton School – just across the playing fields – including in careers and university preparation and increasingly for extracurricular clubs. Parents grateful for this balance – a single-sex school where girls interact regularly and naturally with boys, too.

Despite the school’s reputation for being highly pressurised, the girls seem to be the ones putting pressure on themselves. Competitive? Definitely, but quietly so. The hunger for victory that other schools witness on the lacrosse pitch when facing LEH does not necessarily translate to the classroom, where ‘the competition is against yourself’. Lots of patting on backs and high fives when friends have done well. Of course, as at any school of this calibre, there are girls who struggle with the pressure, but we got the impression that it’s a bit less intense here than elsewhere.

Parents much like the pupils – academically brilliant, with a go-getting attitude. By no means super-rich, and many parents are working hard to pay the fees, something that the school values as enriching the school community. Lawyers, medics, accountants – largely professional or academic backgrounds. Lively parents’ association, called the Friends, organises varied get-togethers. Not much competition among parents over how well so-and-so did in the physics test – ‘We find we have lots of other things to talk about.’

Increasingly ethnically diverse. Excellent bursary provision has added to unpretentious, real-life feel – not a bubble of privilege. Girls arrive from every direction – Ealing to Esher, Windsor to Wimbledon, Chiswick to Chertsey (we could go on) – with 50 per cent of girls arriving on coaches that cater for a multitude of routes. Others walk, cycle or dropped off. Public transport links aren’t great but after-school activities finish on time to make sure that girls never miss the coach. Lots have brothers at Hampton.

Who wouldn’t this school suit? Girls who aren’t prepared to try new things (this matters more than whether you’re good at it) or who aren’t willing to work hard. Parents who were concerned that their daughters wouldn’t keep up academically were very encouraged by the amount of extra support on offer and the kindness they’ve seen. You need to be a go-getter, but you don’t need to be someone who finds it all a breeze.

Number and value of bursaries has increased and the word is out – ‘We have a lot of applications for that support.’ Means-tested and reviewed annually. Academic scholarships worth up to 10 per cent of fees at 11+ and sixth form level. Music scholarships up to 10 per cent. At A level, academic, music, art, drama and sport scholarships available – each worth up to 10 per cent of fees. Music exhibitions worth up to 7.5 per cent. Hardship fund for existing families who are struggling.

This is a school that bangs the drum very loudly about empowerment, constantly reminding girls they can do anything if they put their minds to it – and they excel in giving them the tools to achieve that. Not for the fainthearted, the girls work hard – and we mean hard – but they play hard too. If your daughter has the potential to be a determined, committed learner with a can-do attitude, this could be her ticket to a highly successful future.