The longstanding head Emma McKendrick (known affectionately to the girls as ‘Kenny’) is ‘outstanding’, taking a real interest in all her girls and their individual pursuits. As does the ‘passionate and open’ head of pastoral, who often tells parents that they need to ‘strap in tight’ for bumpy teenage years: the staff understand that girls can be tricky but ‘it’s a life lesson to work through these issues’. One parent remembers first looking around: the girls ‘didn’t have their heads stuck in their phones, like other schools’ – so that was a big tick. And our researcher observed that Downe is consistently turning out ‘confident and articulate’ girls. Life here feels ‘as busy as a small town’. There’s no shortage of extracurriculars, and a parent tells us that it’s the norm for your daughter to ‘represent Downe House in a variety of situations that boost confidence and self-esteem’. The school’s well-established collaboration with Radley has recently been even more firmly cemented, and now involves pupils from both schools regularly collaborating across a range of academic, co-curricular, sporting and social activities. Students benefit from a unique programme of extra events and pursuits designed to inspire, stretch and challenge. (Last year, 27 of them were on means-tested bursaries.) Destination universities speak for themselves: in 2021, 92 per cent of their UK places were Russell Group. But this school is not just for the super-bright: your daughter will get support and be pushed where needed.
Location: Thatcham, Berkshire RG18 9JJ
Website: downehouse.net
Head: Emma McKendrick, PGCE, since 1997; previously Head of the Royal High School, Bath
Pupils: 568 girls: 30 day, 538 boarding
Ages: 11–18
Term fees: Day: £10,435; boarding: £14,730
Oxbridge: 5%
Admission: School’s own exam and interview
Alumnae: Clare Balding, Miranda Hart, Geraldine James
