St Helen's School, Northwood

If you want your daughter stretched academically but would hate to see her become a child who only ever has her head in a book, St Helen's is built for exactly that balance. It is a girls' day school in Northwood, and the Good Schools Guide describes a place full of ambition, academic and otherwise, that openly cares as much about value added and happy girls as about league-table position. A 'superb' extracurricular offering is a big part of why parents choose it. Staff count more than 200 clubs and societies, and one teacher put it bluntly: a committed bookworm with no interest in life beyond the classroom would be wasted here.

The school was founded in 1899 by May Rowland Brown, a young Cambridge-trained teacher who set up her own school at the age of 25, and it has long worked closely with the Merchant Taylors' Company and the neighbouring boys' school of the same name. It sits on a surprisingly vast green site for a place so close to a town centre, with playing fields, floodlit courts and pitches across that end of Northwood. Behaviour is described as exemplary, driven by high expectations and clear boundaries rather than long lists of rules, and most girls go through school without ever picking up a detention. A Yondr phone-pouch policy keeps Years 7 to 11 phone-free through the school day, which parents tend to be quietly grateful for.

Led since September 2024 by head Bridget Ward, and part of the London 11+ Consortium for senior entry, St Helen's suits an all-rounder who wants to be pushed while throwing herself into sport, the arts and clubs. It draws families from a wide area, and supports many girls on means-tested bursaries, just under half on full awards.