St Swithun’s has an outstanding academic record and we are very proud that the girls achieve excellent results.
They normally progress to their first-choice universities or colleges and the school enjoys a long and successful association with Oxford and Cambridge. However, we are even more proud of being “appropriately” academic, and this includes getting the balance right for each individual girl. We aim to teach our pupils that no matter how glittering the academic prize, the journey matters more.
The learning journey enables girls to understand that intellectual ability is not fixed at the point they join us but that it can be developed through perseverance and a willingness to try new things and respond to feedback. Making mistakes is very important because that is when the best learning takes place.
We value girls’ independent learning and encourage them to be daring in their thinking. Girls learn to stimulate their intellectual curiosity through reading, asking and debating but also learn when to listen and absorb.
Staff are determined to draw the very best out of each girl and inspire their pupils through their own passion about their specialist subject. They combine traditional methods with innovative ideas to develop the learning confidence of each girl, giving her techniques she can depend on. They are dedicated to helping each girl succeed and are generous with their time, offering one-to-one support when needed.
The academic curriculum is designed with an emphasis on flexibility and individual choice so that each girl can make the right balance of appropriate choices to enable her to fulfil her potential. This balance is underpinned by open communication and a working partnership between staff, parents and pupils.
Your daughter’s learning journey will develop her academic wellbeing, her intellectual enthusiasm and her social confidence, giving her a set of skills to carry her through further education and beyond, towards a life fulfilled by work, relationships and service to society.
