South Hampstead High School

Overview of South Hampstead High School and 11 Plus information

South Hampstead High School – Overview

South Hampstead High School was founded in 1876. It moved to its present site in 1882.  The junior school has two buildings on opposite sides of a road, and the senior school is a short walk away.  The overall school leadership and management is in the hands of the headmistress based on the senior school site.  On a day-by-day basis the junior school is led and managed by the junior school headmistress.  The school is a member of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) which provides the governance and overall strategic planning.  Legal responsibility for the school is vested in the GDST Council with a group of local governors, who have no legal powers, providing informal advice and local oversight.

The aim of the school is to strive to provide an excellent academic education for all, fostering individuality, creativity, intellectual rigour and enthusiasm. It is hoped that the girls will have the courage ‘to make a difference’.  It is intended that each girl should develop a sense of awareness and responsibility and to show tolerance and respect for the diverse cultures and traditions that are represented in the school.  The school motto is ‘Mehr licht’ more light, symbolised by a torch of learning.

Girls enter the Reception and Year 3 classes of the junior school on the basis of interview and an assessment. Entrance into Year 7 in the senior school follows selection based on an examination common to several girls’ schools in this area of London and an interview.  Girls come from a range of local preparatory schools. Transfer from the junior school to the senior school is anticipated for most if not all of the girls, as it is into the sixth form from Year 11.  Direct entry into the sixth form is dependent upon examination success at GCSE or similar examinations, subject tests and interviews.  The entry profile of junior and senior school girls is far above the national average.  If junior school girls perform in line with their abilities in public examinations, their results will be far above the average for all maintained primary schools.  If senior girls are performing in line with their abilities in public examinations, their results will be above the average of maintained selective schools.

For about 10 per cent of the girls, English is an additional language, with a very wide range of languages spoken at home, particularly Russian, Japanese, Hebrew, Mandarin, Farsi and some Indian sub-continent languages. All girls are fluent English speakers.

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