Girls Boarding School’s Reputations and Recommendations

[Mumthisis]

Hi all,
I’m considering girls full boarding schools for my DD and was wondering what they are like.
Such as,
Downe House,
Wycombe Abbey,
St. Mary’s Ascot,
St. Mary’s Calne,
Tudor Hall,
Benenden,
Sherborne Girls,
Cheltenham Ladies College
Heathfield, and
St. Swithun’s.
Can anyone share:
What the reputations of these schools are?
Such as what are the girls like who go there, are the nice and down to Earth, very rich and out of touch, academically pushy, are the girls more from country preps or London day schools?
Also how full-boarding are girls boarding schools these days? Mostly international girls or instead more traditional local British girls, is there much to do on weekends?
Which of these schools lean towards more traditional versus more modern boarding values?

What about some of the smaller girls boarding schools or ones that don’t have as many girls full boarding? Such as Mayfield, St.George’s Ascot, Malvern St.James, Roedean, and Queen Margaret’s School?

But they are three lovely schools!

WA and DH both nice in their own ways ( DH lovely; WA maybe more in the nice buildings way for me! ) But I think if you don’t want highly academic/ pressurised, they probably aren’t the best choices.

My DD is a current sixth former at St Swithun’s. She is very happy there, her favourite school having previously attended a prep school, a big co ed for GCSEs and now St Swithun’s. It’s the first school she has never seen any bullying or mean behaviour. The teachers are dedicated and keen to help the girls do well and yes it is academic. The girls are there to work whether it’s at chemistry, lacrosse, tech club or music. My DD is not top of the class in anything here but feels comfortably supported and stretched to get the best A levels she can and is not made to feel pressured by the 4 A* girls.

There is a school Reverend and services at Winchester Cathedral every term, hymns are sung but it's not a big part of school life I guess. Head has been there a few years, she is quietly impressive, you see her around all the time and she has things running smoothly.

Unlike a lot of other schools there are no lessons on Saturday, matches for those selected and lots of activities for boarders but no classes.

St.Mary’s Calne does sound like a lovely school, and after some thought I also think the idea of a smaller sized school is more appealing (espeacilly now realizing the three short listed schools are, unintentionally, all on the smaller side I think that is the direction we should go).
I know Heathfield is another one of the girls boarding schools on the smaller end so would be interested to know more, but have also heard it has more day pupils now and can be more London centric on weekends.
Would it be accurate to say academically speaking, most to least, would be in the order of St.M Calne, Sherborne, then Tudor Hall (although with Tudor Hall not being un-academic just less so than the others)?
Appreciate the comments on St.Swithun’s, appears to be academic but not overly so, and services at Winchester cathedral sounds lovely. Although I didn’t realize there is no Saturday school there, I’m sure the boarders will be busy, but assuming this means there are more day girls around too. While I’m sure the sixth form might be more popular for boarding (and feel more confident boarding or having more independence), would be worried about a younger DD settling as a boarder in a school where half the girls go home at the end of the day.

Yes I think that order is correct . St M Calne is really quite academic but from what I hear there is a greater spread than some of the powerhouse options. Some girls probably very similar to the other top schools you mentioned but with inclusion of girls who are perhaps less driven ( or, more accurately, whose parents wanted a less pressured school I guess.) Sherborne would be next, Tudor Hall the most relaxed. But all will perfectly capable of supporting your dd if she decides to go for top grades. They are all excellent schools.
If you are interested in St Swithuns I would visit. It’s definitely a very good school but feels a bit different - almost like an independent school for girls whose parents don’t fully buy into the whole package, ethos and tradition of the old public schools/ independent boarding schools. Increasingly that will probably appeal to many.

Very helpful, thank you I think I have a better understanding of where to start now with narrowing down the search. Would definitely describe DD as bright, but objectively not the brightest, but still a very driven girl who has interests outside of just doing well in school. Which I think makes an academic well rounded but not pressurized school sound the most appealing, and it seems like St M Calne might be a good fit so we’ll definitely look to visit soon (along with some others too of course).
Not too sure about St.Swithun’s, will probably look into it a bit more still, but think we’re looking for the all in boarding feel of a traditional girls school.

My impression from a friend who toured Tudor hall and recent posts on mums net is that Tudor Hall is a bit run down.
We saw Malvern St James and we liked the head and art and textiles looked fantastic but the building felt old and dark. DH didn't like it at all and we crossed it off our list.
We thought all girls might be good but it depends on your daughter. In our experience all girls is tricky and our daughter much prefers a mixed school. The boys take some of the intensity out of the atmosphere.
If you want academic all girls I'd look at WA, CLC and Downe House and possibly st Mary's Calne. But as everyone says watch out for eating disorders etc.

In this case I would add Roedean to your short list.

You could also look at St Catherine’s Bramley? I think they have a new Head starting - as does St Mary’s Calne.

I had the exact same impressions as other posters regarding st Mary s Calne when I visited earlier this year. It s a very nice school, the grounds are lovely so are the girls and the staff. Also it doesn’t sound as pressurized as others. Coming from a London prep and not being British the whole boarding system is new (and a bit alien 😉) to me but my daughter really wants to board. What first attracted me to SMC was the fact they re very keen on horse riding but there is definitely a lot more than that. Their A levels results are on par with some very good schools. The art studio (incl textiles etc) makes you want to be 11 again and go there. It s definitely a school that ticks a lot of boxes and that s why we applied for my daughter and she s taking the exam next month. When you register they offer a taster day in the summer term of Y5 (which my daughter really enjoyed). If I remember correctly only half the intake is at 11+ so only c. 30 boarders per year for 2 years (TBC) before 13+ girls join. That would be the only negative for me, with the fact that it s a bit further out from London and that I d like my daughter to come back at weekends most of the time (in the first year at least)

My girls are at St Mary’s Calne and we’re very happy. I have a boarder and a day girl (different strokes for different folks!) and they both love it and are absolutely thriving. It’s academic but not pushy at all, and very small and charming. No flashy parents — sporty but in the way of doing a lot of sport, and a bit horsey too. I’d highly recommend it.

My son in law reports the Benenden open house was excellent. He liked the grounds, facilities and was impressed with the staff he spoke with.

The girls I know at DH are not academic, but the parents are both old money.
WA is very tough and you need to have a very academic daughter who enjoys pressure to go there.
St George’s Ascot, is a lovely friendly inclusive school - but not full boarding.

TBH OP you just need to go and see them, you’ll know when you get there which one is right.

To add to your list have you thought of Badminton? Academic but not pushy and it's on the smaller side with good pastoral care.

I know dc at Malvern, it's co ed though. They are doing really well and full board

@Mumthisis Ive heard St Swithun’s is beside a motorway. Do not send anyone you love to live beside a motorway if you can help it, certainly don’t pay for the privilege.

@Finnishflags my son in law was very impressed with St S, and is looking forward to the open day Oct. 5. my grand daughter doesn't yet have a set interest is decent at sports and academics but set on boarding. the city of Winchester was also impressive.

@GildedRage Im sure it’s a good school, but if it’s beside a motorway my opinion is it’s not worth the risk to health. The air quality is maybe twice or three times worse than other locations. Pollutants can damage cardiovascular health, cognition and put you at higher risk of dementia. If you wouldn’t buy a house there, then don’t send a child to school there.

sadly @Finnishflags my dd is growing up and currently lives in zone 1 on a cross road between two major streets. the cross road is a main through road for ambulances. she's almost doomed due to the lack of fresh air.

@Mumthisis
DD1 got a place at DH. A while ago now but the parents on the interview/test day seemed to know each other and were all well groomed and oozed money- old or otherwise. DD got a place but preferred Queenswood in Hertfordshire. You won’t like it as too many day pupils. DD felt special as a boarder though so it suited her. More down to earth than some but some parents are very flash these days. Results nowhere near as good as they used to be so it’s not pressurised.

DD2 was at Q until 6th form and then went to Heathfield. They are excellent at arts and they do have day girls now. It’s small and not pressurised. DD did want to do well and enjoyed her subjects there. Down to earth DDs? Very few.

Neither of these schools are remotely like WA or DH. WA is the Rolls Royce of girls’ academia. DD1 looked at CLC for 6th form. We liked it. You will find many students in at weekends in these schools are international. Not sure we looked at any school with Saturday school. Sports matches yes - Q is very sporty and drama is superb. If you are North London, Queenswood is worth a look.

Most decent independent schools can educate motivated dc. Some dc aren’t motivated. They simply don’t need to be. We liked plenty of breadth to the curriculum and school life. Quality of head and activities for DDs in the boarding houses mattered to us.Never was aware of eating disorders. I have seen parents choose the wrong school for DDs so we always kept in mind we didn’t want DDs running to keep up. We preferred that they had a broad education and could participate in things they enjoyed.

yes, that would be my question

Maybe, i would have thought that one of the benefits sending a child away to school is you can select a better environment? I do think busy street in a ULEZ is going to be a lot less polluted than a motorway. Tens of thousands of people die each year as a direct result of air pollution, but I know it’s not something a lot people think about when making these decisions so I thought I’d highlight it.

@FunnysInLaJardin It’s a boarding school thread. You have loads of others to comment on. So whatever you think, it’s not relevant to the op.

Roedean has a fantastic head, Benenden has a new head and Mayfield has the most amazing equestrian facilities.

my son in law and grand daughter were most impressed by benenden. currently in their number 1 spot.

There’s always a few old money types at these places if you’re suggesting that’s to be avoided- though I agree DH might have a few more than most. But I’d be surprised if they aren’t a bit academic: schools don’t really select the way they once did and DH is pretty hard-hitting academically, albeit not as pressured as WA - but I’d say it’s definitely the runner up in a list of quite a few academic schools.

Suggestions of Benenden and Riefenstahl are good too OP.