Heathfield School is a girls' independent boarding and day school in

Ascot, Berkshire Ascot () is a town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is south of Windsor, east of Bracknell and west of London. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the Royal Ascot meeti ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 2006, the school absorbed St Mary's School, Wantage and was briefly named Heathfield St Mary's School but reverted to Heathfield School in 2009 to prevent confusion with another local girls' school

St Mary's School, Ascot St Mary's School Ascot is a Roman Catholic independent day and boarding school for girls in Ascot, Berkshire, England.2011 ISI InspectioReport/ref> It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association. It was named 2015 " Public School of the Ye ...

. The school's grounds cover situated on the edge of Ascot (actually in

Bracknell Forest Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority area in Berkshire, southern England. It covers the two towns of Bracknell and Sandhurst and the village of Crowthorne and also includes the areas of North Ascot, Binfield, Warfield, and Winkfield. The b ...

), providing access from London, the major airports, the M3 and

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

History

Heathfield Ascot

The school stands in 36 acres of grounds on the outskirts of Ascot and has done so since Heathfield School was founded in 1899 by Eleanor Beatrice Wyatt, its first headmistress. In 1882, at the age of 24, Miss Wyatt and her mother had opened

Queen's Gate School Queen's Gate School is a private day school for girls aged 4–18 in Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London, England. The '' Good Schools Guide'' described it as a "Charming popular school, with a mixed intake, which does jolly well by its gi ...

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

, London.

St Mary's Wantage

The Reverend William John Butler became Vicar of Wantage on 1 January 1847. His main aims were, first, to revive the religious life in England and second, to improve education. He hoped to achieve these aims by setting up an order of teaching sisters, but he faced many disappointments and spent 25 years trying to improve various day schools in the parish before St Mary's School was founded in 1873. The school was run by the sisters of the

Community of St Mary the Virgin The Community of St Mary the Virgin (CSMV) is an Anglican religious order based at Wantage in Oxfordshire, England. It was founded in 1848 by the vicar of Wantage, the Reverend William John Butler and is one of the oldest surviving religious commu ...

and was based in the Queen Anne house on Newbury Street. Sister Ellen was the first Sister-in-Charge and Sister Juliana succeeded her in 1887. Sister Juliana had studied at Cambridge and set a high standard for the girls, entering them for the Oxford and Cambridge local examinations. Sister Annie Louisa joined the school in 1898 and started a guide movement called Scout Patrols in 1899 before Boy Scouts had even begun. She succeeded Sister Juliana as Headmistress in 1903. Sister Annie Louisa was responsible for the chief structural improvements at St Mary's including a science wing and the conversion of an old barn into a gymnasium. By the time Sister Annie Louisa left in 1919, St Mary's was recognised as a "public school with an unusually high standard of scholarship".

Facilities

The school is equipped with teaching, sporting and leisure facilities. In 2000, the school opened a 25m indoor heated swimming pool. In the summer of 2014, work started on a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) building, providing a hub for the girls to study science subjects.

Academic

The 2018 ISI Inspection report noted that "The quality of pupils' academic and other achievements is excellent" and commended the pupils' enthusiastic committed approach to their learning. It also found the quality of the pupils' personal development excellent. "The overall achievement of the pupils is excellent and represents the successful fulfilment of the school's ambitious aims."

Houses

All girls are placed in one of the four houses upon entry. A Head of House looks after the girls and is the first point of contact for parents and girls on issues.

Boarding

The boarding houses are separate from the house system. Instead, boarders are grouped into houses by years; Bronte Form I-II, Wantage Form III-IV, Phoenix Form V and LVI, Wyatt UVI. Girls in Wyatt House live in separate accommodation similar to that of a

hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

to prepare them for

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

life. Having been one of the few full boarding schools for girls remaining in the country, Heathfield School started accepting day girls who resided locally from the 2015–16 academic year onwards.Day Boarding
/ref>

Notable former pupils

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* Eileen Agar, surrealist artist * Alexandra, Queen Consort of Yugoslavia *

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* Nina Campbell, interior designer * Susannah Constantine, fashion advisor and author *

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, novelist and broadcaster * Lucinda Green, three-day eventer *

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, poet *

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, quiz panellist, first million-pound winner of ''Who wants to be a millionaire?'' * Amber Le Bon, daughter of

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and

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* Tara Lee, yoga instructor *

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to Princes

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and Harry * Serena Armstrong-Jones, Countess of Snowdon *

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, actress * Tessa Montgomery, Viscountess Montgomery of Alamein *

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* Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, daughter of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and interior designer * Rosie Stancer (née Clayton), polar adventurer * Tara Summers, actress *

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* Susan Travers, served with the French Foreign Legion *

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* Dame Jane Whiteley * Judith Wilcox, Baroness Wilcox *

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, actress

References

External links

School website

Heathfield Old Girls

St Mary's Wantage Old Girls

Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...

website * ISI Inspectio
Reports

Charity Commission Report

Profile
on

Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and private. The guide's contributors are predominantly parents, but include researchers and former headteachers. It uses a conversational tone. Selection of schools is made ...

Profile
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 ...

Heathfield Conference Centre
{{authority control Private schools in Bracknell Forest Boarding schools in Berkshire Girls' schools in Berkshire Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Educational institutions established in 1899 1899 establishments in England Church of England private schools in the Diocese of Oxford Winkfield