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25 November 2019
Girls’ Schools Association schools have topped national performance tables in a disproportionate show of strength.
In this year’s Sunday Times Parent Power performance tables, independent girls’ schools dominate the top 10, led by GSA member St Paul’s Girls’ School in west London. More than half of the top 10 independent secondary schools are girls’ schools.
Girls’ schools also take the lead in successive categories, including Independent Secondary School of the Year, which was awarded to Godolphin and Latymer School; the GSA member school was praised for its partnership work with state primary schools, which aims to ‘widen access to the kind of elite education that Godolphin and Latymer delivers so successfully’.
Dr Frances Ramsey, head of Godolphin and Latymer School, said that she is particularly proud that their award for independent secondary school of the year “recognises our commitment to social inclusivity and to the ethos and values which shape so warmly the character of our school community”.
The Scottish independent secondary school of the year award (based on Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers / National 5 results) went to St Margaret’s School in Aberdeen and another GSA school – Palmers Green High School – tops the table for fee-paying schools with small or no sixth forms.
Anna Tomlinson, head of St Margaret’s School, Aberdeen, said that the knowledge they have about each pupil means they can “help them choose the subject that is right for them and in which they are going to succeed” and that it’s not just about getting students into university. She said: “A girl went on this year to a nursing apprenticeship and we couldn’t be more pleased for her because that is right for her. It is not about being able to bandy around statistics about going to university, it is about young people having the opportunities that are right for them.”
Unless otherwise stated, The Sunday Times Parent Power ranks schools on A*, A and B grades at A-level (double-weighted), combined with the proportion of GCSE grades at 9-7 or A*/A. Girls’ school achievements in these tables are summarised below.
- The independent secondary school of the year award went to GSA girls’ school Godolphin & Latymer School, praised for its partnership work with state primary schools.
- The top 10 independent secondary schools (England & Wales) include 6 girls’ schools – St Paul’s Girls’ School (1), Godolphin & Latymer School (2), Wycombe Abbey School (5), Guildford High School (6), St Mary’s School, Ascot (8), and King Edward VI High School for Girls (10).
- The top 30 independent secondary schools (England & Wales) include 13 girls’ schools – as above plus Haberdasher’s Aske’s School for Girls (12), North London Collegiate School (16), Withington Girls’ School (21), City of London School for Girls (24), South Hampstead High School for Girls (26), James Allen’s Girls’ School (28) and Oxford High School GDST (29).
- Half of
the regional (England & Wales) independent school of the year awards went
to GSA girls’ schools:
- Newcastle High School for Girls GDST – North East Regional Independent Secondary School of the Year
- Withington Girls’ School – North West Regional Independent Secondary School of the Year
- St Mary’s School, Ascot – South East Regional Independent Secondary School of the Year
- The Maynard School, Exeter – South West Regional Independent Secondary School of the Year
- King Edward VI High School for Girls – West Midlands Regional Independent Secondary School of the Year
- The Scottish independent secondary school of the year award went to St Margaret’s School for Girls in Aberdeen which is also 4th in the top independent secondary schools in Scotland.
- The top 10 independent schools for the IB include 4 GSA girls’ schools – Godolphin & Latymer School (1=), North London Collegiate School (1=), Cheltenham Ladies College (4=), and The Abbey School (8).
- The top independent schools for the Pre-U include St Paul’s School for Girls (1) and North London Collegiate School (6).
- GSA school Palmers Green High School is the top fee-paying school with small or no sixth forms, with The Laurels School (7), Wychwood School (8), and Park School for Girls (15) also in the top 35.
