St Helen's School London is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

day school for girls aged three to eighteen in Northwood, North West London. It is associated with the

Merchant Taylors' Company The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prior to 1300, first in ...

and works in close collaboration with the local Merchant Taylors' School in a range of areas.

History

St Helen's School was founded by May Rowland Brown in 1899. Having been trained as a teacher at Cambridge Training College for Women, she began to teach at

Northwood College Northwood College for Girls is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for girls aged 3 to 18. The school was founded in 1870 and is located in Northwood, London, Northwood, London, England. History Northwood College for ...

, which at the time, refused to take in any students that were connected with trade. Whilst still at Northwood College, a group of local businessmen persuaded her to start another school, and at the age of 25, she founded Northwood High School, later named St Helen's School.

Facilities

St Helen's school occupies a twenty-two acre

greenfield site Greenfield land is a British English term referring to undeveloped land in an urban or rural area either used for agriculture or landscape design, or left to evolve naturally. These areas of land are usually agricultural or amenity properties ...

. The Senior school,

Junior School A junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at an infant school, which covers the age range 5–7. Since both infant and junior schools provide pri ...

and Little Saints occupy separate buildings within the site with their own specialised facilities for their students. A new Junior School building opened in September 2016. There are science laboratories, art rooms, a drama studio, a language laboratory, computer rooms, a recital hall and a library.

Sports Complex

In July 2004, phase I of the sports complex was completed and was opened by Steve Parry, Olympic bronze medalist. It consists of a 25m swimming pool and a fitness suite. Phase II was finished in summer 2006. This includes the multi-gym, dance studio, treatment rooms and observation areas. In 2005, the new swimming pool was used by the female celebrity competitors from '' The Games'' television programme for training. In December 2006, the final phase II of the sports complex was also completed and was opened by Olympic silver medalist, Roger Black. The Centre was opened in 2014 and provides space for drama, music and gymnastics as well as a recording studio.

House system

The house system was established in 1927 with three houses named Scott, Shackleton and Bruce. Two of the houses were named after

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

explorers – Captain

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova Expedition ...

and Sir

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarcti ...

, with Bruce named after the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n explorer Brig. Gen. Charles Bruce. A fourth house, Bonington, also named after a

n explorer, has since been added. The houses have now been changed to Seacole (Bruce), Kahlo (Scott), Brontë (Shackleton), and Franklin (Bonington). Each year the House Cup is awarded to the house with the most points, which can be earned through commendations, Sports Day, House Arts and other achievements. In 1999, to mark the centenary, Junior School adopted a new house system consisting of 3 houses. The Houses, nominated by the Junior School students, were named after pioneering women in history. Later in 2012 the fourth house was added, named after the American female pilot Amelia Earhart.

Curriculum

Pupils in Middle School (Years 7–9) follow a broader version of the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or othe ...

. Upper School pupils (Years 10–11) take English Language and Literature, Mathematics, the Sciences, and at least one Modern Foreign Language and one Humanity course. Students take both

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

and

IGCSE The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising ...

courses, with core subjects studied at IGCSE.

Sixth Form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

ers sit

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 a ...

. St Helen's has regularly performed well in

and

examination league tables. In 2009 candidates achieved a 100% pass rate, all A*-C grades. In 2010 they achieved a 99% pass rate with 96% receiving all A*-B grades. In 2015, the school achieved some of its best results to date with 53% of entries graded A* and 84% graded A*-A. The pass rate was 99%.

Notable former pupils

Arts and entertainment *

Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge (born 29 September 1946) is an English actress. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in '' Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Miranda ...

, OBE, actress in BBC sitcom Miranda * Penny Johnson, Director of the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in the UK and ...

* Joan Eardley, painter * Helen Grace, actress * Rachel Petladwala, actress * Dame Ingrid Roscoe, art historian Business * Paula Nickolds, former Managing Director of

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Sport * Jessica Gordon Brown, Commonwealth Silver Medalist for Olympic Weightlifting Journalism and media *

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, film director, and producer. She is best known for ...

, journalist * Caroline Daniel, journalist * Magenta Devine, journalist & TV presenter * Luisa Baldini, former BBC News correspondent Law * Barbara Calvert, barrister and first woman to become a Head of Chambers *

Barbara Mills Dame Barbara Jean Lyon Mills DBE, QC (''née'' Warnock; 10 August 1940 – 28 May 2011) was a British barrister. She held various senior public appointments including Director of Public Prosecutions, and was widely seen as a pioneer for women ...

, former Director of Public Prosecutions Military * Daphne Blundell, former Director of the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

References

External links

School Website
* ISI Inspectio
Reports

Profile
on the ISC website
Profile
on the

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Helen's School Private schools in the London Borough of Hillingdon Educational institutions established in 1899 Private girls' schools in London International Baccalaureate schools in England Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association 1899 establishments in England