Channing School

If your daughter does her best work when she feels encouraged rather than pushed, Channing in Highgate is worth a serious look. It is an independent day school for girls aged 4 to 18, set on a hill in north London with a genuinely warm culture and results — 94% A*-B at A-level — that prove warmth and academic stretch are not mutually exclusive. Girls from outside the school join at 11+ via the London Consortium tests, sat in January of Year 6 — a practical relief for families also considering South Hampstead, Francis Holland and other Consortium schools, as one test covers all of them.

What gives Channing its particular character is a philosophy it calls "ten per cent braver" — the idea that girls should push themselves just beyond their comfort zone, try things they might get wrong and find that failing at something is where the learning actually starts. That sits naturally alongside its Unitarian roots, which bring a genuinely open-minded, inclusive spirit to the place. The motto is Conabor — "I shall try" — and it means what it says. Art is a visible strength, sport has been growing and the performing arts have a proper home in the Arundel Centre. Beyond the school gates, sixth formers run breakfast and reading clubs at local primaries, the school sponsors a community fair in Highgate and girls have worked on ceramics and bronze sculpture with students from neighbouring schools.

It suits a girl who responds to encouragement over pressure, and who wants to be part of a school that takes her seriously as a whole person — not just as a set of results waiting to happen.