A comparison: St Paul’s Girls’, Wycombe Abbey, Godolphin & Latymer
Continuing our new series comparing similar British private schools, we took a look
One thing that becomes pretty obvious to most parents after looking at the websites of a good few private schools is that most of these schools achieve very good exam results – to the point of it becoming difficult to differentiate which schools are the “best”. And indeed, results are important but should never be treated as the only factor when assessing quality
With that in mind, this week we’ve taken a look at three girls’ schools in or near London which achieve brilliant results at A-Level and GCSE, and put together a brief overview of each. Read on to learn more about St Paul’s Girls’ School, Wycombe Abbey, and Godolphin & Latymer.
St Paul’s Girls’ School
One of the most famous girls’ schools in the country is nestled away in leafy Hammersmith, where its pupils achieve consistent excellence
Founded: 1904
Head: Sarah Fletcher
Pupils: Approx. 800 pupils, including 230 sixth formers
Fees: Day: ￡29,946 - ￡32,196
It may have taken the founders of St Paul’s (Boys’) 400 years or so to establish a similar school in Barnes for young women, but St Paul’s Girls’ School (SPGS) is one of the select few schools in the country that can be considered the equal, or even the superior, to its male counterpart. Exam results here are hardly worth talking about at length, because there’s basically nothing to say beyond “practically perfect”: in 2023, girls at SPGS achieved 99 per cent 9-7 grades at GCSE, and 87 per cent A/A* at A-Level (which rises to 97 per cent if you include the shocking slip-up of only achieving a B). In other words, this is a very, very academically excellent school.
Beyond exams, things are more interesting and inventive. Pupils obviously take public exams like everyone else in the country, but alongside these sit six courses directed by SPGS itself, in art, art history, music, drama, computer science and creative technology, essentially offering the chance for pupils to study courses that interest them but which won’t lead them to a formal GCSE. These courses are internally marked but externally moderated. In Year 10, all pupils take a six-week
General Studies course, which might focus on anything from animal behaviour or geopolitics to crochet, knitting and textile craft or Latin American Studies.
Likewise, everyone follows SPGS’s version of the EPQ (the Extended Project Qualification), that high-level piece of coursework that many private schools offer as an alternative to a fourth A-Level (though, this being SPGS, they all take four A- Levels anyway). And in Year 7, every pupil begins with six weeks studying linguistics, before taking taster courses in Russian, Mandarin and German, plus Latin, meaning there’s a very high eventual uptake in languages at GCSE.
Extra-curricular activities are of a very high standard; famously, Gustav Holst was the director of music here in from shortly after the school’s foundation until 1934, and 70-odd per cent of girls play at least one instrument. After-school concerts take place with regularity, as do music tours to the continent and an annual “battle of the bands”. Art-wise, pupils make the most of a clay studio and darkroom, while dramatic productions are often mounted in conjunction with the boys’ school, taking place in the 200-capacity theatre on-site – everything from Les Miserables to Euripides’ The Trojan Women. For evidence of SPGS’s arts & media credentials, you have no further to look than some of their alumni: actress Rachel Weisz, author Dodie Smith and ex-Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman demonstrate the diversity of alumnae over the years, as does Harriet Harman, the most senior female MP in Parliament and the longest-ever continuously-serving MP.
Entrance: There’s no boarding at SPGS, and the intake draws on a range of London and London-adjacent families; in theory girls are not meant to have more than a 50- minute commute to school between Years 7 and 11. Entry is nearly always at 11, but about 15 girls join in the sixth form.
Who it might suit: The driven all-rounder who particularly shines in the classroom (and who is undaunted by a blistering pace of learning and debate).
Wycombe Abbey
North of London, in Buckinghamshire, Wycombe Abbey is the very picture of an intense British girls’ boarding school, with the academic pedigree to boot.
Founded: 1894
Head: Jo Duncan
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Pupils: 650 girls, including about 190 sixth formers
Fees: Day ￡38,500; Boarding ￡50,935 pa
Not for the faint-hearted, Wycombe Abbey is a powerhouse of a school, the pinnacle of all-girls’ boarding in the UK, populated by pupils who are driven and motivated
But let’s talk about those exam results first: in 2023, Wycombe pupils managed 97 per cent 9-7 at GCSE, and 75 per cent A*/A at A-Level (and 92 per cent A*-B). The norm here is to take 11 GCSEs, then four full A-Levels plus an EPQ. That’s a lot of work for a teenager!
Unlike at, say, Westminster – to which the majority of the 15 per cent or so of girls who leave for sixth form abscond – exam results are pretty central to Wycombe, and mocks are taken before Christmas so as to allow a full six months of tweaking and identifying areas in which improvements can (and will) be made. Eighty per cent of pupils take maths at A-Level, while there are relatively few who take art, drama or languages – which is not to say there are none, just that it’s pretty rare for girls to leave this school and head to RADA, say, or Goldsmiths. There’s innovation too, though, like the reading week that takes place for all pupils once per year, during which no homework is set and in-house book clubs are run.
Despite academic results being prioritised, there’s a world of extracurricular activities
School trips include treats like skiing in Whistler, Geography trips to the USA and Iceland, a tour of Greece for Classics students and one of Italy for art historians, and that perennial classic, a Duke of Edinburgh trip to the Yorkshire Dales. At weekends, there are activities to keep girls busy, most of which are included in fees, such as mocktail making masterclasses, magic shows and cinema trips, archery and escape rooms. Socials take place with nearby boys’ schools of a similar stature: Eton, Radley, RGS High Wycombe and the like.
Entrance: At 11 for the majority. About 300 girls apply for 80 places at 11+, 160 apply for the 20 places at 13+, and 190 for the same number of places at 16+. The school sets its own exam papers. Places are boarding (the majority) or day, and weekly boarding is relatively rare.
Who it might suit: Perfectionists who have a serious work ethic
Godolphin & Latymer
Probably West London’s most famous girls’ day school, Godolphin and Latymer is an all-rounder which will best suit those looking for an exciting education at the urban heart of London
Founded: 1861
Head: Dr Frances Ramsey
Pupils: Approx. 815, with around 210 sixth formers
Fees: ￡26,831 pa
On a six-acre site a few hundred yards from Hammersmith Tube sits one of London’s best girls’ schools. Godolphin and Latymer is relaxed without sacrificing quality, and takes an even-handed approach to every aspect of school life. That said, this is still an exceptional academic institution: 2023 saw 97 per cent of girls score 9- 7s in GCSEs, and 79 per cent took A* or A at A-Level, rising to 93 per cent for an A*- B grade. Importantly, this is a school which offers both A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB), for which the average score was 41. (The school was the Sunday Times IB School of the Year in 2023.)
One of the stand-out aspects of Godolphin & Latymer is the remarkably high teacher to pupil ratio, which is around 6.5 to 1. Pupils attend their own parents’ evenings from Year 7 onwards, meaning girls should feel like they are included and respected when it comes to their own educational journey
As, admittedly, with most good private schools, there is a plethora of activities for girls to take part in, and the average is perhaps two to three per week. “From Bach to Beyonce”, says the school’s website of its musical offering, which isn’t an exaggeration. Four hundred music lessons take place per week, and jazz and swing bands practice in the music centre alongside choirs and the chamber orchestra, as well as those starring in musicals from High School Musical and Chicago to Oliver! and Guys & Dolls. Twenty-three sports are played at the school, from the obvious mainstays like hockey and netball to trampolining, yoga and karate. Entrance: The school offers 110 places at 11, for which around 900 girls apply.
Godolphin & Latymer is part of the London 11+ Consortium, which runs its own entrance test, and those who do well are then interviewed. For sixth form, there are usually about 12-15 places available.
Who it might suit: The Londoner who enjoys the cut and thrust of the city, but appreciates a quiet, relaxed corner in which to explore all their interests with equal (but considerable) enthusiasm.
Some of the facts in this are wrong, eg about EPQs and A Levels studied. Where are you getting this from?