That said, the beginning of a new school year is always a time filled with excitement and possibility, even if the sun is not always shining quite so brightly. It has been lovely to hear the joyful sounds of students reconnecting with friends, settling into new timetables and routines, and diving into fresh learning adventures.

One of the most popular and significant events of the year is fast approaching – our whole school Open Morning on Saturday, 5 October. I am always impressed by the way our students and staff showcase life at Northampton High School, offering our prospective families an authentic glimpse into what makes our school so special. This led me to reflect on one of the most common questions I receive from visiting parents: “Why should we choose a girls’ school for our daughter?”. Occasionally, it is followed by, “In this day and age it is obvious that girls should be educated alongside boys?”. These questions prompted me to consider the perceptions of girls schools more broadly and that perhaps in some people’s minds, the girls’ school is an anachronism equated most often with either St Trinian’s or Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers.

In fact, the popularity of girls’ schools has been on the rise over the past decade. There are more girls attending single-sex schools than boys in boys’ schools, and many co-ed schools have higher numbers of boys than girls in each year group. There is also substantial evidence showing that girls in single-sex schools achieve better examination results than their peers with similar records and backgrounds at co-ed schools and outdo boys at all-boys schools. Research from FFT Datalab in 2024 revealed that even accounting for background characteristics, girls in single-sex schools achieved GCSE results that were, on average, 10% higher than girls attending co-ed schools. Interestingly, boys in single-sex schools did not see a similar academic boost compared to boys in co-ed schools.

So why do girls tend to perform better in all-girls’ schools? In my experience, it is largely because these environments foster a culture of achievement where girls support and celebrate one another. They feel free to excel academically without fear of failure or judgement. Indeed, research also shows that when girls are in classrooms with high-achieving boys, they may lower their own academic ambitions and educational goals to avoid standing out. In contrast, when surrounded by other high-achieving girls, they are more likely to stay true to their own goals and aim higher. The Department of Education’s data confirms that girls in girls’ schools outperform their co-ed peers at both GCSE and A Level.

We also know that the proportion of girls choosing A Level Sciences and Mathematics is notably higher in single sex schools than in co-ed schools. Furthermore, there is also fascinating research released recently suggesting that patients have a 25% higher survival rate one year after an operation when the surgeon was a woman. However, many parents may not be aware that in a co-ed classroom, even the best teachers end up interacting more with the boys than girls, whilst girls are expected to adapt. Here at Northampton High, we ensure that this is never the case.

Being a girls-only school is not negative – it is not about the absence of boys. It is about a positive sense of power and expectation: about fostering students with an absolute expectation of equality, not something they have to fight for. Rather than adapting and fitting around systems that are unfair, we encourage our girls to challenge and change them.

As I often tell prospective parents when they visit Northampton High, everything is designed for girls including our classrooms, curriculum and culture. We are experts in supporting them, listening to them and ensuring they take the lead in every aspect of school life. This means they leave school and go out into the world expecting to be heard and feeling as though they have every right to become leaders and trailblazers, and make a positive impact. We strive to be a school where people listen; where people make it clear that they are interested and that they care; where every student is known, understood and encouraged for the individuals they are.

At Northampton High – and indeed at all girls’ schools – we empower our pupils to be brave, to try new things even when they fear they might fail or not win. It is vital that our girls grow into young women in an environment where they are free from stereotypes, able to build resilience and take their next steps beyond school, and able to take all that life can throw at them. That is why our focus will always be on individual support and on how young people achieve success as much as the success themselves. Helping them get wonderful results matters, and we are so proud of all the outcomes achieved over the summer. Ultimately, it is about helping them to live lives full of confidence, purpose and joy.

Dr Lee
Head

High and Junior News Survey

Thank you so much to those of you who took the time to send us valuable feedback in regards to our weekly High and Junior News newsletters at the end of last term. This feedback has been gratefully received, and we have started to implement some of the suggestions into this ‘new look’ newsletter.

We will continue to monitor and update to ensure that these communications are as optimized as possible, so please do continue to send through your feedback using the Google Form found here.

Many thanks for your support.