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All over the world, the mad scramble for quality education is everlasting. Everyone knows that education is the path to future financial stability and personal fulfilment. The only trouble is, there are only so many schools and so many teachers. Some are rated better than others based on students' exam performance. Often, alumni success is a marker of a school's academic excellence. That's why entry into the best schools is often very competitive.
In England, we don't lack for quality schools. Indeed, we're quite spoilt for choice, which makes it all the more difficult to choose the right school for our learners. So we've selected five of this country's best schools to compare:
- registration fees: £100 to £160, depending on the school (2022/23 school year)
- acceptance deposit: £1000 to £1750 (2022/23 school year)
- tuition fees: £4260 to £7298 (2022/23 school year)
- academic track record
- what each school has to offer
- each school's admissions processes
Clearly, you have much more to consider than these few variables. After all, your daughter's future is at stake here, to say nothing of her immediate well-being. Still, these informational nuggets might help make your search a bit quicker. So we'll start with everything you need to know about Haberdashers' School for Girls before outlining comparable campuses.
About Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
Founded in 1875, the Haberdashers’ School for Girls contributes to the eleven schools and 10,000 pupils that comprise the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers’. At Habs, the staff aim to provide “a challenging, positive, stimulating and secure community in which girls from 4 to 18 can enjoy working hard to fulfil their potential.”
The Haberdashers’ Boys’ School is less than five minutes away. Is there some rivalry between them? Many argue that Haberdashers' School for Girls offers the ideal balance between girls’ only education and coeducational extracurriculars. The school also leads in academics, with over 94% of girls earning A* - A grades (in the 2015 GCSEs).
How to Know if Haberdashers' School for Girls is Right for You
Every autumn term, Habs hosts a series of Open Days. These events allow you and your daughter to experience the school’s ethos and activity before making your final admissions decision. Every school year, Open Days are held in the Autumn term. As Habs is one of England's most competitive schools to enter, you should book your Open Day place well in advance. The best way to do that is on their website.
Admissions Policy for 7+ to 16+
If your daughter wants to get into Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls at 7+, she will first complete and return Habs’s registration form and fee as soon as possible (before November, preferably). The following January, she will complete her entry assessment. And then, based on assessment performance, she may be invited to meet the Head or Deputy Head. Parents are introduced to senior members of staff while their daughters' interviews.
Girls entering at 11+ will first complete and return Habs’s registration form and fee, also before the end of November. The following January, prospective students will sit a standardized Entrance Examination. If your daughter does well on her tests, she’ll be invited to interview at the school. Meanwhile, you will talk with the Head and a senior staff member.
Lastly, girls entering at 16+ will first complete and return Habs’s registration form and fee, though earlier than the younger pupils. The school prefers to have these applications in before the end of the first week in November. Later that week, girls will sit on their entrance papers. As with the younger entry points, if your daughter does well on her papers, she will be invited to interview with the school. You will meet with the Head and a senior member of staff.
Haberdashers' School for Girls Interviews and Examinations
The 7+ assessment is structured to reflect your daughter’s current schooling. As such, she will participate in a teamwork exercise. And then, she will sit exams in Mathematics, reading, and writing.
Entry at 11+ requires girls to sit both an English and a Mathematics exam. The English Skills exam is broken into two sections: one to assess your daughter’s analytical abilities, and the other to gauge her writing skills. The Maths exam is designed to measure your daughter’s ability to work through problems logically.
Girls entering at 16+ will sit papers in the subjects that they wish to study at Habs. As they will write papers on the subjects and topics of their choice, they are expected to attain an A* grade. Habs' assessment process may begin up to two years before your daughter's actual enrolment date. So it might be difficult for her to decide so far ahead which A-Level subjects she might study. Perhaps talking the matter over with a private tutor and your daughter's teachers might help her decide which subjects to choose.
All girls will also interview a senior staff member while parents meet with the Head or Deputy Head of the school. Students aren’t asked to bring any special book or project with them to their interview but know that the general aim of the conversation with be about your academic interests and how you intend to pursue them at Habs.
Like any other skill, the key to success is (let’s say it together) practice. While Habs doesn’t offer specimen papers, your daughter will benefit from clicking through the abundance of resources online, or from reviewing her current school work. Best of luck!
City of London School for Girls
This is an independent Day School for girls aged seven to 18. Their fees range more toward the higher end of the scale but you get great value for your money. For instance, if your daughter is musically inclined, you might enrol her in the City of London's music program. Note that those fees are not included in the general tuition fees.
Educating girls had long been seen as a futile pursuit so when a city merchant named William Ward set the school up in 1897, he expected it to fail. He imagined the space he had invested in could be easily converted into offices he could let. At least, he would recoup some of his money...
But he needn't have worried. In the first year, his school enrolled 53 students. All mocking, jeering and misogyny aside, the school - and the girls thrived. Over time and through wars and relocations, the City of London remains one of England's most popular girls' schools. That might be because it takes full advantage of all that London has to offer: museum trips, theatre outings and many other extracurricular activities.
Admission Policy for City of London School for Girls
Entry into this school is exceedingly competitive. Seven+ pupils compete to earn one of 24 places and they must start their admissions process a year ahead of their projected enrolment date. She will be required to sit an exam to qualify for consideration.
The school is more generous with 11+ entries. For this group, the school reserves 70-75 places. You may register your daughter when she is in Year 5 or 6. However, it would be best if you were mindful of the City of London's tight registration schedule. You can make sure your daughter will qualify by reading over admission details on the school's website.
The number of places shrinks for 16+ students. These pupils must compete for one of only 15-20 places. They will have to meet stringent entrance criteria, such as having top marks on no fewer than eight GCSEs. They will also sit four A-Level exams. We did say that City of London School for Girls is extremely competitive, didn't we?
James Allen's Girls' School
James Allen's is an independent day school located in London. In fact, it is London's oldest independent girl's school. It was founded in 1741, at a time when educating girls was considered just so much tomfoolery. Still, the school persisted and thrived. Today, it continues to evolve into a forward-looking educational initiative for girls aged four to 18.
Admissions Policy for James Allen's Girls' School
Unlike many other schools in England, James Allen's does not require parents or students to register their interest ahead of a campus tour. Instead, they plan an Open Day where all prospective students and their families are welcome. You may check their website's calendar to find out when their next event is scheduled.
Once you've toured the campus and spoken with the staff, you may formalise your commitment by submitting a registration form, along with the registration fee. Once your registration application has been accepted, the school will send you an entry form. Fill it out quickly because the school will schedule your daughter's exams as soon as they receive them.
Eleven+ students have a bit more of a challenge to overcome. First, they will sit a pre-assessment exam that will extend them a conditional invitation to sit entrance exams. Should they not perform well on the school's pre-assessment exams, no offer will be extended. However, if they do well on their pre-assessment, they may look forward to sitting their entrance examination at the start of the Spring term.
Sixth Form entrants must also sit an exam. They must turn in a solid GCSE performance, too - at least five A*-A GCSE grades. They will then write papers in their four chosen A-Level subjects. Finally, they will interview with a senior staff member. Maybe getting into James Allen's Girls' School isn't quite as competitive as City of London's admissions but they are rigorous nevertheless.
Guildford High School
For a long time, the best education a girl could hope for was in housewifely duties or governessing. Maybe they could train as a teacher but those jobs were usually reserved for men. At least, teaching the 'serious' classes like science and maths. Undaunted, the Church Schools Company, along with Headmistress Agnes Morton, were determined to bring the best education possible to the local girls.
The school was founded in 1888. In their first week, they welcomed only two students. But then, word got around; suddenly, they had enough students to fill every classroom. Today, Guildford High School is an independent Day School for girls from four to 18 with a student body of nearly 1000. They have won multiple awards for excellence in education.
Admissions Policy for Guildford High School
Fortunately, entering Guildford is not as complicated as other schools featured in this article. For one, all students from Seven+ up undergo the same process. First, there will be a pre-assessment consisting of Maths and English exams. Your daughter will also read out loud and talk with the Head or Deputy Head.
Sixth Form applicants will sit three one-hour exams in subjects of their choosing, followed by an interview with a staff member. Ideally, your 16+ daughter should know which subjects she would like to study at A-Level. However, that's not a requirement. She should, however, turn in a solid GCSE performance. See? Getting into Guildford High School is really not complicated at all.
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