St Swithun's School is an independent day, weekly and full-boarding school for girls in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, Hampshire. It is named after Saint Swithun, a

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

and patron saint of Winchester Cathedral.

History

St Swithun's was founded as "Winchester High School" by Miss Anna Bramston, daughter of John Bramston, the then Dean of Winchester, with the ambition of educating "daughters of worthy citizens of Winchester". Not having sufficient money of her own, funds were raised by subscription. The school opened on 5 May 1884 with seventeen pupils. Pupil numbers soon grew and the school began taking in boarders as well. In 1909 the school rented ten acres on Magdalen Hill for sports. The school's name was changed to Winchester Girls' School and then, after World War I, to St Swithun's School: the recorded virtues of this saint – Caritas, Humilitas, Sinceritas – were adopted as the school’s motto in 1928. St Swithun's moved to its present location on

Magdalen Hill Down Magdalen Hill Down is a chalk downland hill, situated to the east of the centre of the city of Winchester in the English county of Hampshire. It is crossed by the B3404 road, the old main road from Winchester to London via New Alresford and Guild ...

on the edge of

in 1931. Princess Mary the Princess Royal opened the new buildings formally in 1932, but the outbreak of World War II saw the school turned into a hospital and by 1942 St Swithun's became an American casualty clearing station. The school celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1959 with the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...

as a special guest. Today, St Swithun's includes both junior and senior schools, meaning pupils can attend from nursery all the way to sixth form level. Boys may attend Nursery. A new junior school building was opened in September 2015 with a further sports hall opening in Easter 2016. St Swithun's retains a strong

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

tradition through its links with Winchester Cathedral. It holds five services there every year and the girls' choir sings at the cathedral.

Curriculum

St Swithun's has traditionally had a strong academic reputation. In 2011

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

s, it topped the results table for the city of

with a 100% passing rate and all candidates achieving at least 5 A*-C grades, surpassing Winchester College. The same year, it broke its records in the

A Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

with 11 girls scoring 3 or more A* grades. Since the year 2000 the school has had 100% pass rate in both GCSEs and A-Levels.

School Organisation

Junior School

The Early Years and Pre-Prep departments (nursery to Year 2) are coeducational. The prep department comprises Years 3 to 6 and girls are prepared for the Common Entrance Examination. The Junior School is a member of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools.

Senior School

;Year Groups *Lower 4 – Year 7 *Upper 4 – Year 8 *Lower 5 – Year 9 *Middle 5 – Year 10 *Upper 5 – Year 11 *Lower Sixth – Year 12 *Upper Sixth – Year 13

Houses

Each girl belongs to a house. Girls are assigned to either a boarding or day house except for those in Upper Sixth (Year 13), who belong to a single house. The house system is an integral part of school life as there are inter-house competitions in many co-curricular activities such as sports, public speaking and drama.

Boarding

St Swithun's school offers boarding facilities for girls of any age who enrol in the senior school. Just under half the girls in senior school are boarders and about 70% of them board only on weekdays.

Uniform

The school has a winter uniform consisting of a pale blue open necked shirt, orange-trimmed navy pullover and blazer, and a school kilt which is navy and orange or matching school trousers. In the summer girls can optionally wear a school dress. The sports uniform is a navy blue skirt and a light blue T-shirt with orange match shirts for lacrosse and netball.

Facilities

Sports facilities include 9 lacrosse pitches, 13 tennis courts (1 indoors), 6 netball courts, a 25-meter indoor swimming pool and a multi-purpose sports hall. In 2003, the PAC (Performing Arts Centre) – now "The Harvey Hall" – was opened, and it has a large auditorium to sit over 700, and also includes a Studio Theatre, Green Rooms, Box Office and a smaller SPS (Small Performance Space). A new library was opened in 2007 by the Mayor of Winchester Chris Pines and The Very Rev

James Atwell James Edgar Atwell (3 June 1946 – 12 December 2020) was an English priest who was Dean of Winchester. Biography James Edgar Atwell was born on 2 June 1946. He was educated at Dauntsey's and Exeter College, Oxford. He went to theological col ...

, Dean of Winchester. In 2021, a new study centre, the Jill Isaac Study Centre, was opened for aspiring Oxbridge candidates.

Sports

St Swithun's has a strong sporting tradition and has enjoyed success at county level and inter-school competitions. The school was national lacrosse champion in 2008. Girls are encouraged to take up a sport and may choose from athletics, badminton, basketball,

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, lacrosse and netball, Zumba, handball, trampolining, touch rugby, tennis, pilates and fitness.

Admissions

As for many other independent schools, candidates for entry to St Swithun's must sit the Common Entrance Examination. Candidates for academic scholarships are selected based on the results of the Common Entrance examinations (11+ and 13+) and are invited to attend an interview soon after completion of the examination. Sixth form scholarship candidates (16+) are selected based solely on the results of academic assessments in the subjects that they intend to take at A level. Music scholarships may be awarded each year to suitable applicants at 11+, 13+ and 16+. The minimum ABRSM standard required for music scholarships is Grade 5 at 11+, Grade 6 at 13+ and Grade 7 at 16+ on two instruments. Girls can also apply for a sports scholarship, where they should be county level at two or more sports.

Former pupils

Alumnae are known as "Old Swithunites". * Sheila Scotter (1920–2012), Australian fashion designer * Mary Warnock (1924-2019), philosopher * Alex Mitchell, née Beale (1947–2010), editor of Christian magazine '' Third Way'' *

Vivienne Parry Vivienne Mary Hunt Parry (born Vivienne Mary Hunt Mills on 4 June 1956 in Portsmouth) is a British science journalist and author, currently employed as head of engagement at Genomics England. She is most well known for presenting BBC Televisio ...

(1956-), journalist and author *

Arabella Pollen Arabella Pollen (born 22 June 1961) is an English fashion designer and, as Bella Pollen, journalist and author of five novels published between 1997 and 2011. Early life Arabella Rosalind Hungerford Pollen, known as Bella Pollen, is the daughter ...

(1961-), fashion designer * Emma Chambers (1964–2018), actress * Emma Walmsley (1969-), CEO,

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...

* Fi Glover (1969-), BBC radio presenter * Lady Camilla Bloch (1970-), barrister * Gabriella Wilde (1989-), English model and actress * Zara Rutherford, (2002-), aviator

References

External links

School websiteProfile
on MyDaughter *2011

ISI ISI or Isi may refer to: Organizations * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students * Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks * Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...

Inspection Reports for th
Junior
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Senior School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Swithun's School Independent schools in Hampshire Schools in Winchester Boarding schools in Hampshire 1884 establishments in England Girls' schools in Hampshire Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Educational institutions established in 1884