Heathfield School, founded in 1899, is one of the few remaining girls' schools where every pupil is a full boarder. Set in 35 acres, the school is 40 minutes from London and within easy reach of airports. The original Georgian house has been extended over the years and facilities now include a new science block, art studios, an upper-sixth complex and a superb sports hall. The school has a most beautiful late Victorian chapel, the foundress's first addition.
The school is unashamedly comfortable but competitive and academically rigorous too. Emphasis is always on individual achievement and depth, an ethos underlined by excellent, highly-qualified teachers. The staff:pupil ratio is 1:7. While the more traditional subject combinations remain most popular, there is also excellence in art, drama and music. Twenty-four subjects are offered up to A level including law, economics, business studies and Japanese. Academic results are consistently impressive and all girls go on to higher education.
Boarding accommodation is excellent, more than half the pupils having single bedrooms. The Upper Sixth live in a separate, self-contained complex which encourages them to prepare for the relative independence of university. Pastoral care throughout the school is recognised as being outstanding. with year heads and form staff, tutors, two resident SRNs and nine resident matrons all playing their part.
Computer and CD-ROMS are used in a wide variety of academic areas as well as outside lessons. The sports hall is always a hive of activity and there are many other extra-curricular activities, also frequent museum and theatre trips to London and elsewhere, workshops, field trips and work experience abroad for linguists. At Heathfield the day does not finish at 4pm, nor the week on Friday.
Entry for the majority of pupils is at 11, a few girls join at 12 or 13 or come into the Lower Sixth for A level studies. Junior entrants take assessment papers set by the school and also the appropriate Common Entrance examination. Entry into the Lower Sixth is via predicted GCSE grades and tests in intended A level subjects. A number of academic, music and art scholarships for entry to Junior School and Sixth Form are awarded each year.
