James Allen's Girls' School

If you have an able, motivated daughter who is ready to work hard and throw herself into everything a busy school offers, James Allen's Girls' School, known to everyone as JAGS, deserves a place on your list. It is an independent day school for girls in Dulwich, south London, sitting on a generous 22-acre site close to Dulwich Village, with girls taught across its pre-prep, prep and senior schools. The school describes itself as a happy, diverse community that values individuality, where compassion and commitment sit at the centre of things.

Founded in 1741, JAGS is the oldest independent girls' day school in the capital, though it wears that history lightly. The Good Schools Guide is warm about it, calling it forward-thinking and outward-looking, with plenty of opportunities for clever girls who have the grit and determination to succeed. There is real breadth beyond the classroom, from music and drama to sport and a long tradition of working in partnership with local state schools, so a girl here learns to look outwards as well as work hard. Head Alex Hutchinson talks about an environment where there is no limit to a girl's ambitions.

JAGS suits a girl whose family wants academic depth alongside a genuinely supportive community, somewhere she can stretch herself and still feel known. It is led by headmistress Alex Hutchinson, in post since 2020 and elected president of the Girls' Schools Association for 2024-25. For the right child, it is a school that will take her seriously and back her ambitions.