Ages 
Parents thrilled to have found this small, friendly, commutable haven: ‘Her bedroom overlooks cows, not some grotty town.’ ‘Your heart-rate drops as soon as you arrive.’ A place where your daughter will be nurtured and encouraged without growing up too fast, Woldingham offers the best of an all-girls education right on the city’s doorstep. A huge thumbs up from us.
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 550 ·
- Sixth form numbers
- 160 ·
- Offers boarding
- Yes ·
- Religion
- RC
- Fees
- Day £29,778 - £35,178; Boarding £46,266 - £59,514 pa
- Local authority
- Surrey County Council
- Area guides
Headteacher
Head
Sue Baillie
Since September 2024, Sue Baillie, previously head at Queen Margaret’s School for Girls, York. After school in Essex she studied history at the University of Leicester before doing her teacher training at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Prior
Entrance
Usually around 70 places in year 7; 25 in year 9; 15 in year 12 – ‘some flexibility’ in numbers, school says. The 11+ applicants take ISEB and a creative writing paper, and can, if they’d like to, defer their place until year 9; 13+ applicants take
Exit
Twenty per cent leave after GCSEs, usually for delights of co-ed. The rest go on to an array of Russell Groups, including Exeter, Newcastle, UCL and Durham. Business studies popular; smattering to art or drama schools. One medic and one to Oxbridge
Latest results
In 2025, 50 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 50 per cent A*/A at A level (81 per cent A*-B).
A level - Average points score (2024)
What is this?
These figures tell you the average grade and average points that pupils achieved in their academic qualifications. A maximum of 60 points are available for a grade A* at A level.
Teaching & learning
A broader range of abilities than at some, and an approach designed to ensure that all pupils will thrive. We saw teaching that was practical (year 13 focusing on exam technique in Spanish) and naturally differentiated (year 7 geographers,
- Qualifications taken in 2024
- A level
- EPQ
- GCSE
Learning support & SEN
Around a quarter qualify for SEND support from staff trained to support neurodiversity in all its forms. Provision is light touch, through small-group or individual lessons depending on needs. A few follow a reduced curriculum. School is developing
Arts & extracurricular
Loads of va-va-voom across the arts. Practice sessions timetabled and standards high; newly instated annual Orchestra Day saw London Mozart Players playing alongside pupils from Woldingham and local junior schools. Not just for the elite, though:
Sport
Netball and hockey in winter; cricket, tennis, athletics in summer. Courts and pitches nestled around the main school buildings though cross-country runners make good use of routes which zig-zag around the wider school grounds. Hard-ball cricket
Boarders
School aims for half of students to board in some capacity; chances are your daughter will try it. ‘She started as a day girl; before we knew it, she was weekly boarding and now she stays most weekends, too.’ Around a quarter of the school are full
Ethos & heritage
Founded in 1842 by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, plucky French nun who founded the Society of the Sacred Heart to educate girls worldwide. Went through incarnations in Acton and Roehampton before moving to Marden Park in 1946. William Wilberforce
Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
School ‘incredibly on it’ when it comes to pastoral care, parents told us, ‘Not one of those boarding schools where you never hear from them again.’ Superlative praise for ‘fabulous’ heads of year – ‘brilliant, the school’s outstanding strength’ –
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 Years 7-11 are phone-free during the school day. Sixth formers may only use mobile phones in specified sixth form areas. Boarders in years 7 to 9 may only use their mobile phones for a short time before morning registration and at the end of the school day, as well as for around one hour in the evening. Boarders in years 7-11 hand in phones overnight, with some flexibility at weekends for years 10-11. Students who do not use their phones responsibly may be required to surrender their phones to staff for a specified period of time.
Pupils & parents
Lots of locals, lots of Londoners. The 7.27am from Clappy J is Woldingham’s answer to the Hogwart’s Express (sadly operated by Southern Trains rather than Dumbledore and co); rumour has it, the train people are widening the staircase on platform 13
Money matters
Means-tested bursaries available, with just under 10 per cent currently in receipt of financial support. ‘It’s extraordinary value for money,’ says one parent. Myriad scholarships, both academic and co-curricular, are worth up to 20 per cent off
- Fee information
- Day £29,778 - £35,178; Boarding £46,266 - £59,514 pa
The last word
Parents thrilled to have found this small, friendly, commutable haven: ‘Her bedroom overlooks cows, not some grotty town.’ ‘Your heart-rate drops as soon as you arrive.’ A place where your daughter will be nurtured and encouraged without growing up
