Advice on Secondary Schools with Strong Girls’ Football in London

[AmyL1975]

Hi everyone,

My daughter is now facing the choice of secondary school in London, and I’d really appreciate your advice. She’s been playing football since she was five, and is also good at gymnastics, long-distance running, and sprinting. Ideally, I’d like to find a school that combines regular academic teaching with intensive football training.

However, I’ve found that there don’t seem to be any football-focused schools in London that start accepting students from Year 7 (though I may have missed some). So realistically, my options seem to be either a state or independent school alongside a football club.

I’m not looking for a school with top-tier academics, but I would like one that has a strong girls’ football team and a friendly atmosphere. North, South, or Central London would all work because we are moving to London anyway so flexible on location.
. So far, I’ve heard that Highgate School has a good girls’ football team however I don’t need to apply to a school where the entrance exams are overly competitive just for the football team.

I’d love to hear any suggestions or experiences you might have, especially schools with strong girls’ football or advice on balancing school and club football. Thanks so much in advance!

Surbiton High School has very good sport including football.

https://www.isfa.org.uk/girls-competitions

and

https://schoolsfootball.org/

might also help you

Have a look at Forest School. They have a long history of football (only school to have a team in the FA cup!) and it’s a very sporty school. I know they have girls teams but I’m afraid I don’t know much about the level of competition they play at. Previously non sporty DD has just started Y7 and is already loving the sport and trying out for teams.

DD is very much into football but I haven't heard of any school in London that would do intensive training. She played competitively in A team at her private school, it was a decent level but I wouldn't call it intensive. You'd need to start in a grassroot club then try for an academy.

I agree with @Ubertomusic – @AmyL1975 it is unlikely that you will find a secondary school that is very focused on sport to the extent that it offers intensive training alongside academics. There just isn't time in the school day. If you can find a school with a good sporting pedigree (and sorry I don’t know London schools well) then that would be good, but yy if your DD wants to progress in football she needs to be in a club and maybe try out for an academy place. A post-16 option could be to get a place with a football club and do a Btec alongside playing and training.

My DS2 was very sporty and played for his school team, which was pretty successful (won local schools tournaments etc) but I would never say there was an intensive focus there. He needed to play outside school.

The only thing might be a boarding school (bc they will have more time to devote to sport) – so for example Millfield (not n London obvs) is known as a school with a big focus on sport; I know a student who went there for sixth form to focus on their sport (not footy – this is just an example!). But boarding for an 11yo may well not be what you want.

You say you are moving to London – is your DD in year 6 in the UK now? If so the deadline for secondary applications is the end of this month – but I presume you know this. Is she already in a club local to you?

Thank you for all the replies; they’ve been really helpful. She is in Year 5 and has played in a club since 5 years old. Since moving to London is such a significant decision, I need to start looking at schools now. I’ve looked at the previously recommended Surbicon High School, and I think it’s very good. Their girls’ football program is particularly strong—they even organize a football camp before Year 7 starts, which shows how much they value football. Additionally, their leavers’ destinations are not overly focused on arts and languages, as some girls’ schools are; some students go on to study mathematics, physics, and computer science at university. Since my daughter is very good at mathematics, I hope she will develop in a STEM direction in the future. I will continue researching good and bad reviews of this school on Mumsnet, and I also welcome any further recommendations. Thank you very much.

The football at Surbiton High is off the scale, look at their sports insta page, they are the U16 and U18 girls national champions. According to the website they have 16 pupils in professional academics and 2 pupils playing for England. You need to apply for a football scholarship to be considered for the competitive pathway at the school.

Yes, I forgot to mention that they even offer a football scholarship.

@AmyL1975, yes my dd went there a while ago (not on a sports scholarship) you need to get a scholarship to be considered for the top team but if you have promise they give you time off school to support your sport and teacher support to catch up. The tennis scholars are out of school a lot. The top sporty girls also get great academic results and the support to apply for sports scholarships at US unis esp for rowing and hockey.

I had a look on Mumsnet about Surbiton High and it seems that the main concerns are that the school is very large and very sporty. Neither of these is an issue for us, so we’ve already decided to go with the school.

What I’d like to know is what level of football is usually expected for a football scholarship. My daughter has been playing since she was five, but her club isn’t a competitive one. She has made very close friends there and doesn’t want to move to a more competitive club, so she doesn’t really have that background as an advantage. That said, if she had the chance to meet the Head of Football and show her fitness, coordination and speed, I think she might still stand a chance.

Also, does anyone know what the format of the 11+ English exam at Surbiton is? Is it more like the CEM style with VR and multiple-choice comprehension? I know it includes online English, Maths and Creative Writing, but beyond that I couldn’t find anything on the school website, and it looks like no one has asked about this on Mumsnet before either.My daughter is relatively weak in English, so she needs more focused practice.

Really appreciate any advice in advance!

Great to see the school giving such strong support.

If your DD really wants to make it at football, and receive scholarship options then I think you need to push the football now, I suspect local non competitive grass roots teams won’t be enough. The girls competing for the spots will be playing for academies, JPL teams and likely in high level mixed teams.

I would focus on a nurturing school with good pastoral care, good staff retention, a broad curriculum and good academic achievement, relative to the intake. The sports could be sourced elsewhere at clubs.

One of my daughters is very into football. Now in the US playing it at college level on a scholarship. If that’s the level you are thinking of then school football won’t be enough to get you there. You need to be in an academy with one of the big football clubs. And once you are in an academy you won’t have any time for school football or grass roots football and the academy won’t let you do it even if you could. At that level you just need a school that will be flexible and let you have time off for academy practice and matches. My daughter went to our local school and played first for a great grass roots team and then got an academy place. Grass roots also almost always better than school football, more relaxed than academies too.

you should also be aware that Surbiton is far on the suburban fringes of London. It’s a long long way from London proper. V nice but v v v suburban.

@EpsomSalted if you don't mind sharing, what achievements do you need to demonstrate for US scholarships? DD's school has its own special programme with one of the big names so they organise everything but what exactly the US colleges are looking for?

Thank you so much for your insightful comment—it really opened up a new perspective . I’ve thought about this before. Right now, she’s really happy playing grassroots football, with no pressure to win or lose. But if she were to join an academy, it’s hard to say whether she would still enjoy it the same way. So for now, I can only take a middle path and consider a school with a strong football program. If she can make friends at school, represent the school in football high level competitions, and grow up happily, that may be enough for me. I won’t push her to join an academy, but maybe in the future she herself wants to, and then we can plan the next step.

I guess it’s probably like that, but she wouldn’t be willing to switch clubs for it. If the competition is so intense, we might need to give up the idea of a football scholarship.

The kids that get the scholarships are academy level with lots of technically ability. All the girls going for scholarships are sporty with lots of potential but sadly they can only award scholarships to a few. So you need to stand out more than just good at football. And most applying have played grass roots football for years I think. Good luck with the process.

Friends of mine with sporty girls (not necessarily) football, who wanted a state secondary, sent them here

https://www.hayes.bromley.sch.uk/

If she is good at a sport like football she may also be good at other sports she has yet to encounter, like hockey, lacrosse, netball or athletics. In which case a sports scholarship at a school offering good coaching opportunities in a range of activities might be worth considering. They tend to assess potential rather than current level. To progress to elite levels most sports require out of school training and competition in addition.

Found a 2023 article about Surbiton’s football team – I think it’s really helpful for getting a sense of the school and the team.

shekicks.net/surbiton-school-girls-teams-setting-very-high-standards/

Sounds good but 2/3 also play for grassroots so obviously not just training in school.