In London, it can seem difficult to choose which schools your daughter should apply for. With little between the top schools’ grades attainment, you need to understand where your daughter’s interests will best be nurtured. We’ve picked out the city’s five best independent schools for girls, giving you more information on them and the aspects that make them unique.
1. St Paul’s Girls’ School
St Paul’s Girls’ School in Hammersmith, West London is consistently ranked as the top independent school in the UK for academic performance. The academic attainment is outstanding with close to 50% of girls achieving A* at A level and 99.5% A*- A grades. This success is reflected in leaver’s destinations with almost a third of the students heading to Oxbridge. In addition to top-notch classroom learning, they take their sport and extra-curricular activities seriously.
The school has a commitment to widening access and offer opportunities to all girls bright enough and currently 12% of pupils are the recipients of transformational bursaries and the school intends to grow this to 20% in the coming years.
2. Godolphin & Latymer School
The Godolphin and Latymer School in Hammersmith, West London is a highly academically selective independent day school for girls. The school’s very high attainment is reflected in their exam results with over 42% of pupils achieving A* at A-level in 2019. Oxbridge entrance success is currently 16%. A super ambitious all-rounded student body also succeeds on the sports pitch, and in the 2019 academic year reached seven regional finals across all age groups in hockey, netball and cricket, along with three national finals in netball and hockey. Bursary places are awarded to around ten girls in each year, with the majority receiving fully-funded places.
3. North London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School is one of the UK’s top independent day schools for girls. Founded in Camden Town in 1850, the school now resides in Edgware, Harrow. The school continues to top the league tables with a consistently high academic performance. Exam results in 2019 were record-breaking with 42.2% of pupils achieving at A* at A-level and consistently tops the IB charts. There is a strong community focus which is reflected in a number of outreach programmes, and as one parent notes, “for a school that prides itself on academic ability, they turn out a set of articulate, balanced, humble and fun girls”.
Oxbridge remains high entrance at 20%. Bursaries are currently awarded to 9% of the student body.
4. City of London School for Girls
The City of London School for Girls is an independent day school for girls, based in central London. The school was founded in 1984 by William Ward, a merchant of Brixton, to provide a broad and liberal education for girls. A highly academic school regularly reaching the top grades, echoed in 2019’s results where 83% of GCSEs were graded 8-9 and 81 % of A-level entries were A*/A. However, trailblazing headmistress Jenny Brown believes that the current GCSE model is outdated and should be replaced with an exciting, in-depth curriculum. Inspiring an independent love of learning is embedded in the school’s culture.
15% of pupils receive bursaries and 80 % of which are fully funded
5. Haberdashers’ Aske’s for Girls (Habs)
Habs is a leading independent day school for girls aged 4-18 with academic results that place them amongst the highest ranked in the UK. Music and Sport are also highly regarded with a 50-strong symphony orchestra who regularly perform on international stages and prestigious venues such as the Barbican.
Entrance competition is fierce with 600 applicants applying for 30 places each year (50 automatically move up from the junior school).