10 of the best
l St Mary’s Ascot, Berkshire A delightful oasis for Catholic girls to which there is tremendous family loyalty through the generations
l Downe House, Berkshire Academically pretty flawless; a thoroughly well run, happy school, with a long tradition of stability and excellence
l Wycombe Abbey, Buckinghamshire Formidable, busy and high achieving, it could be described as the boarding equivalent of St Paul’s Girls’ School (in London): if you’re at all depleted in energy, don’t go—it’s for girls who want to give 100% all the time
l Benenden, Kent A lovely, gentle-feeling school with an excellent academic reputation in which breadth of education is prized as much as depth. It has an amazing new science block, all glass and blond wood
l Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Gloucestershire Retains the impressively academic aura of its founder, Dorothea Beale, but without the famous harshness of the 1950s. Girls still need to be on top of their game academically and sportingly to thrive
l Badminton, Bristol Has always had a liberal, non-denominational, intellectual aura—not a fierce school. A good, all-round establishment in an attractive part of the city
l Woldingham, Surrey Predominantly Catholic, but takes girls from other denominations. Has a beautiful setting of 700 acres, with ponies, cattle and deer. Well run and not too hard to get into
l Tudor Hall, Oxfordshire A charming, horsey school in which pastoral care matters more than academic achievement—although that side is steadily gaining pace. A lovely environment; has a tradition of mothers sending their daughters there
l St Mary’s Calne, Wiltshire A good, sound, all-round country boarding school; unpretentious, civilised, good at both academics and extracurricular activites
l Queen Margaret’s York (above) Bustling, happy school in a fine Palladian house, in which the girls are encouraged to aspire to great things academically and on the sports field
With acknowledgements to Susan Hamlyn, Director of the Good Schools Guide Education Consultants (www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk; 020–3286 6824)