Secondary Girl Boarding Schools

The Royal a High School is very nice but the overwhelming majority of boarders are 6 th formers.
Westonbirt is a primarily a day school, most boarders are Chinese and it's very tiny; 200 girls over 7 years and local rumours are always that it's about to close (although in fairness it's still there). Someone I know who works there told me that if the numbers drop to 199 it will close.
Kingswood is co-ed.

I hear that Badminton is relatively weaker on the extracurricular provision. Cheltenham Ladies has done an excellent job with its organisation of visits and showcasing for prospective parents and pupils including attending lessons so well worth a visit. The art and art history is very strong as is drama and music (sport less successful for team sports although with some high performers). However academic results are the principal focus and from what I have heard the girls seem to be given a lot of homework compared to other equally or more academically achieving schools (my comparison being boys and co-ed). Girls seem to be carefully prepared
drilled to do well at GCSE and A level / IB but with lots of other opportunities available. It is more and more of an international school because of its prestige abroad.

Just to follow up, you haven't mentioned co- ed schools. Our daughter in the end expressed a preference for one particular girls' school but we very much ended up in the camp of thinking that it is the school that matters rather than whether it is single sex or co-ed. I am sure our daughter would have thrived at a couple of the co-ed schools we saw whereas all the other girls' boarding schools we saw would have been a terrible fit in our collective view. Our son is at a co- ed school and I don't see any signs of a poor attitude to girls either from him or or his school - which was one of the reasons we liked it for him in the first place I suppose!

Westonbirt? The Royal High or Kingswood in Bath?

I have no personal experience of your named schools except that a friend's daughter has started at Cheltenham Ladies and that was the favoured school of the daughter and her parents after seeing a good selection of girls' and co-ed schools - though probably not in competition with the ones you have named. So far it is apparently going OK. One of the factors for the daughter was she wanted to be in a proper town (and as a personal preference and view I see that as a good thing depending on various considerations). Not one we went to see as we thought it too far and had enough schools that we liked). BTW, definitely would give a thumbs up for Roedean especially with the new head but understand what you mean about wanting proximity - it does make everything a lot easier.

There was a very recent thread about St Marys Calne on here, I doubt you'd have to go back may pages.

My DS has a couple of friends at Badminton they seems very happy there.
What about Sherbourne girls he has friends there too they also seem very happy.

I have a feeling there may be something amiss at St Mary's Calne. 2 girls I know who started at 11+ 2013 have moved over the summer and restarted elsewhere in Year 8 - v. unusual.

Purely heresay, though.

We have just come back from the Roedean Open Day.

I went expecting to be unimpressed, but it's changed out of recognition under the new Head. Well worth a look.