There is a widely accepted understanding that girls thrive in girls’ schools. At Northampton High, we hear this echoed time and again by both prospective and current parents and it is clearly one of the key reasons many families choose a single-sex education.

Unsurprisingly there are those on the other side of the argument! They point to complexity and nuance in the evidence base and suggest that there are many other factors explaining the predominance of girls’ schools at the top of the league tables. However, the more closely the question is studied and, more importantly, the more it is lived and experienced, the clearer the benefits become. The recent research, by FTT Datalab, looked very hard at controls, and sought to eliminate all possible variables that might explain why girls do better in single-sex – from the background of students, to prior attainment, to the type of education on offer. Once they have done that a clear and significant advantage remained.

So, why is this the case?

Some have sought to explain this by suggesting negative factors may push girls onwards: intensity and competition, or the so-called “hot-housing” effect. But spend even ten minutes in a girls’ school – particularly one like Northampton High – and that theory quickly falls apart. I have worked in three girls’ schools before joining this one, and what you find is not intensity, but energy; not pressure, but purpose. You hear laughter echoing through the corridors and see camaraderie at every turn.

Take this week, for example. Our Senior Student Leadership Team and Year 12 students led a joyful Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza during lunchtime. Pupils from Years 5 to 7 roamed our beautiful school grounds in search of thousands of carefully hidden chocolate eggs and other treats, and the joy on their faces was unmistakable. Or consider Tuesday’s exhilarating Dance Festival – a vibrant celebration of creativity, confidence, inclusivity and the High School spirit of being 10% braver.

When I meet families considering Northampton High, I always encourage them to visit us on an ordinary school day – not just for open events, but to walk the corridors, step into lessons and observe the rhythm of everyday life. What they typically notice are two qualities that seem at first contradictory, but in fact beautifully coexist: a sense of calm and a sense of buzz.

Calm, because there is a palpable focus – curious engagement, thoughtful discussion and an authentic appetite for learning. Girls listen deeply to each other and to their teachers. They question with sincerity, take intellectual risks and step out of their comfort zones to meet new challenges. And buzz, because energy is everywhere – whether in collaborative group work, the lunch queue or an extracurricular club. There is a spark of wit, imagination and enthusiasm that animates every corner of the school.

All of this, I believe, explains why girls’ schools work so well. Girls flourish in an environment where they feel seen, heard and valued; where their voices carry without hesitation, and where they are free to be themselves without fear of judgment. It is a place where the challenges of adolescence are met with empathy and where achievement is celebrated openly and without apology.

This was beautifully evident in Thursday’s magnificent Year 7 Showcase. Through poetry, song and speech, the girls reflected on their time so far in Senior School. The showcase was a testament to their creativity, confidence and camaraderie – but most of all, it was a celebration of the genuine friendships they have formed and the strong community they have built. It also spoke volumes about the respect and affection they feel for Mrs Fordham, Head of Year 7.

At Northampton High, we nurture a culture where girls champion each other’s successes and take pride in their achievements. Our mission is not just to educate them for today, but to equip them for life. I hope that all of our girls feel that their High School education provides them with the foundations to be confident in overcoming any obstacles that they may encounter and to believe that there are no limits to what they can achieve. Indeed, that spirit was captured beautifully in the rhyming couplets performed during the showcase – written by Year 7 on the theme of girl power. I leave you with their words:

Girl Power

Girls stand proud

We will speak loud

Not just princesses

Locked in a tower

Standing strong

Where we forever belong

Girls together

Empowered forever

Girl Power!