St Paul’s Girls’ School: school-designed courses alongside GCSEs and A levels

Look beyond a long list of qualifications

One distinctive feature is the use of school-directed courses alongside public qualifications. The current Drama and History of Art pages describe GCSE-age school-directed options. Do not assume that every course on a pupil’s timetable is another GCSE. The published curriculum policy describes school marking with external moderation; confirm the arrangements for her cohort.

The linked curriculum policy describes broad early study, language exploration, GCSE-age options and beginning Year 12 with four A-level subjects. It also describes later narrowing for many pupils. But the document actually concerns 2023–24 and was due for review in spring 2026. Ask for the incoming cohort’s subject-choice booklet before relying on its detailed course counts.

That is a useful conversation rather than a paperwork exercise. Which combinations can she actually take? How will the school explain those results to future universities? If she changes her mind about a language or creative subject, when must she decide? Ask who helps a new sixth former judge whether her intended workload is realistic.

For a keen mathematician, the Maths department distinguishes Additional Mathematics, a Free Standing Mathematics Qualification (FSMQ), from the main qualification and says it is not required for A-level Maths.

Independence still comes with a timetable

The current behaviour policy sets the school day at 8:30am–4pm. There is no uniform, but there are expectations about appropriate, safe clothing. The informal appearance should not be mistaken for an absence of routine.

The admissions policy gives journey limits of 50 minutes at 11+ and 60 minutes at sixth form. These can be conditions of the offer, not just travel tips. Bursary applicants must already meet the residence requirement when applying. For everyone, a journey that technically fits is not necessarily one your child will enjoy twice a day.

Try the route at the relevant time, including a realistic trip home after an activity. Count the walk to the station, the wait, the change and the last stretch—not just the quickest train.

The phone policy requires Years 7–11 to switch phones off and keep them in bags or lockers until the end of the school day, after the eighth lesson. Sixth form has a limited common-room exception. This is not a ban on bringing a phone. Agree how your family would communicate during a travel problem and use the school office during the day.

Can she join in without already being exceptional?

The music programme includes singing without audition and many open Year 7 groups, alongside auditioned ensembles. That distinction matters for a girl who enjoys music but is not applying for an award.

Clubs and societies include pupil-led activities, from debating to gardening and app development. Sport includes friendly and competitive opportunities, with rowing from Year 9. A broad menu is encouraging, but it does not tell you how selection and timetable clashes work.

Choose two interests your daughter wants to keep.

Find out who would notice if she stopped coping

The school’s support page describes tutor groups of 13–15 in Years 7–11 and 8–10 in Years 12–13. Pupils see their tutor daily. The tutor is the first parent contact, and pupils can approach the Wellbeing Centre themselves.

The mental-health policy describes nursing during the normal school day and counselling or coaching that usually lasts about eight sessions. Additional work or external referral may follow. This is meaningful provision, but it is not a promise of unlimited clinical treatment.

Some older buildings limit physical access. English-language support assumes an already capable reader, writer and speaker rather than a beginner-English pathway. Entrance-test adjustments also do not automatically determine later public-exam arrangements. These are reasons to discuss the individual child, not reasons to make assumptions from a policy heading.

Strong results do not answer every parent question

The school’s August 2026 GCSE release reports 93.9% of GCSE/IGCSE entries at grades 9 or 8. Its 2026 A-level release reports 58.4% A* and 89.1% A*/A. Those are examination outcomes, not predictions for an applicant. The releases do not supply the total numbers of examination entries behind these percentages.

The February 2024 ISI inspection found all standards met and highlighted expert teaching and responsive assessment. It also described homework anxiety and pressure some pupils placed on themselves. That makes “academically ambitious with support” a more useful description than “pressure-free”.

The inspection recommended better matching relationships and sex education to pupils’ needs; some found content repetitive or mistimed. This was not an unmet safeguarding standard. A fair follow-up is to ask what has changed and how current pupils influence the programme.

New sixth formers pay a different published fee

For 2026–27, published fees are £12,854 a term including VAT, or £13,880 for new Year 12 entrants. Three terms come to £38,562 or £41,640 respectively. These are current-year calculations, not a quote for September 2027.

Lunch and personal accident insurance are included. Books, public exams and certain lessons or coaching cost extra. The application fee is £265; bursary-only families should check the waiver. Acceptance normally requires half a current term’s fee as a deposit, with another half term if a fee-payer lives abroad.

Build a second budget for ordinary participation: travel, lessons, trips and the interests your daughter would actually pursue. A fee you can manage for one year is not yet a seven-year plan.

Bursaries mainly for maintained-school applicants

Bursaries can cover up to full fees. The school normally looks for a maintained-school background, with exceptions, and assesses the wider household finances. Its £150,000 gross-income guidance is not an entitlement below that figure; assets and circumstances also matter.

The 2027 Year 7 calendar has three stages

The school’s 11+ calendar gives these dates for September 2027 entry. Put the time of day beside the deadline: 9am is not the end of that day.

ISEB is followed by shortlisting for the written papers, then another shortlist for interview. The school requests a confidential reference after the initial results. It does not offer an alternative written-assessment date and says late applications will not be accepted.

Check the date against every other school before committing to a crowded list. Keep separate records for the school application, ISEB registration, access arrangements and any award application. Our private-school 11+ guide helps organise the wider process.

Prepare for the child’s needs, not a guessed pass mark

ISEB’s family guidance describes English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. SPGS’s brief web description omits English, but its current admissions policy includes it. Do not leave a component out of your preparation because of that abbreviated list.

Start with her teacher’s view. Can she explain a maths method, read a passage accurately and write a clear answer? Does timed work expose a knowledge gap, or does she know the material but rush? Those problems need different kinds of help. More papers are not automatically the answer.

There is no verified safe ISEB score or published pass mark here that we can responsibly turn into a target. Practice results can show where to work next; they cannot tell you that an offer is secured. Keep schools with genuinely different selection routes on the list.

If she needs adjustments, use the access-arrangements process at application. Discuss her usual support and the evidence the school needs. Extra time, breaks, modified papers and computer use are possibilities to agree individually, not a standard package every applicant receives.