St Swithun's School is an independent day, weekly and full-boarding school for girls in Winchester, Hampshire. It is named after Saint

Swithun Swithun (or Swithin; ang, Swīþhūn; la, Swithunus; died 863 AD) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for pos ...

, a Bishop of Winchester and patron saint of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

History

St Swithun's was founded as "Winchester High School" by Miss Anna Bramston, daughter of John Bramston, the then

Dean of Winchester The Dean of Winchester is the head of the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral in the city of Winchester, England, in the Diocese of Winchester. Appointment is by the Crown. The first incumbent was the last Prior, William Kingsmill, Catherine Ogl ...

, 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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 on the edge of Winchester in 1931. Princess Mary the Princess Royal opened the new buildings formally in 1932, but the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 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 In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

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 tradition through its links with

. 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 GCSEs, it topped the results table for the city of Winchester with a 100% passing rate and all candidates achieving at least 5 A*-C grades, surpassing

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

. The same year, it broke its records in the A Levels 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 Common Entrance Examinations (commonly known as CE) are taken by independent school pupils in the UK as part of the selective admissions process at age 13, though ten independent schools do select at 11 using different test papers. They are set ...

. The Junior School is a member of the

Independent Association of Preparatory Schools The Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS, formerly Independent Association of Preparatory Schools) is a schools association, representing around 670 preparatory schools. The majority of IAPS' schools are in the UK, with other locations ...

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 The Office of Mayor of Winchester is the second oldest mayoralty in England, dating back to the period when Winchester was the capital of Wessex and England. The Mayor of Winchester thus stands second only to the Lord Mayor of the City of Lond ...

Chris Pines and The Very Rev James Atwell,

. 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 Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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 str ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

, 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

. 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 The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

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 Sheila Winifred Gordon Scotter, AM, MBE (2 December 1920 – 6 April 2012) was an Australian businesswoman. She was a fashion designer and third editor of the ''Vogue Australia'' magazine. She also founded the '' Vogue Living'' magazine. ...

(1920–2012), Australian fashion designer *

Mary Warnock Helen Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock, (née Wilson; 14 April 1924 – 20 March 2019) was an English philosopher of morality, education, and mind, and a writer on existentialism. She is best known for chairing an inquiry whose report formed the ...

(1924-2019), philosopher * Alex Mitchell, née Beale (1947–2010), editor of Christian magazine ''

Third Way The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born from ...

'' * Vivienne Parry (1956-), journalist and author * Arabella Pollen (1961-), fashion designer *

Emma Chambers Emma Gwynedd Mary Chambers (11 March 1964 – 21 February 2018) was an English actress who performed in television, film, and the theatre. Beginning her career in 1987 on the British stage, Chambers first drew critical attention for her portr ...

(1964–2018), actress *

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(1969-), CEO, GlaxoSmithKline *

Fi Glover Fiona Susannah Grace "Fi" Glover (born 27 February 1969) is a British BBC journalist and presenter who formerly presented the ''Fortunately'' podcast, '' The Listening Project'' for BBC Radio 4 and ''My Perfect Country'' for the BBC World Ser ...

(1969-), BBC radio presenter *

Lady Camilla Bloch Lady Camilla Bingham KC (born 30 June 1970) is a British barrister. Her practice is in corporate and commercial law, in litigation and arbitration, specialising in jurisdiction and conflict of laws. She works mostly in England and Wales and is a ...

(1970-), barrister *

Gabriella Wilde Gabriella Zanna Vanessa Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe (born 8 April 1989), known professionally as Gabriella Wilde or Gabriella Calthorpe, is an English actress and model. She has appeared in the films '' St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Go ...

(1989-), English model and actress *

Zara Rutherford Zara Rutherford (born 5 July 2002) is a Belgian-British aviator. At age 19, she became the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world and the first person to complete a circumnavigation in a microlight aircraft after a five-month journ ...

, (2002-), aviator

References

External links

School websiteProfile
on

MyDaughter MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Scho ...

*2011 ISI Inspection Reports for th
Junior
an
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