Every family arrives at this decision differently. Some want academic stretch, some want a school where a quiet child will be noticed, some are looking for sport at a serious level, and most want all of it. When we ask our parents why they chose Surbiton High, five answers come back again and again.
1. YOUR DAUGHTER WILL BE KNOWN
This is the one that matters most, and it is the hardest to prove on paper. We delight in the individual — in practice, that means form tutors, subject teachers and pastoral staff who talk to each other about the same child, and who spot the dip in week three rather than at the end of term. A school can be busy, ambitious and full of noise and still know every pupil in it. That is what we are aiming for.
2. AMBITION WITH REAL SUPPORT UNDERNEATH IT
We expect a lot, and we build the scaffolding to match. That means teaching that stretches the strongest without leaving anyone behind, honest conversations about where a pupil actually is, and subject specialists who are genuinely enthusiastic about their field. Our Sixth Form offers 32 A-level subjects, one of the largest choices in the area, and guidance on universities, apprenticeships and careers starts early rather than in the final term, so decisions are made with time to spare.
3. WELL-BEING IS NOT AN ADD-ON
Girls do their best work when they feel safe, known and rested. Our well-being provision runs across every age group, from the youngest Prep pupils to Year 13 — and it is led by our senior leadership team rather than delegated. Families tell us they notice it in small ways: how quickly a worry gets picked up, how carefully transitions between schools are handled, how normal it is here to say you are struggling.
4. EXTRAORDINARY BREADTH BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
There are over 150 different opportunities across the School — music, drama and dance, leadership, charity and service, societies, trips, clinics and visits. On the sporting side, our Super Eight sports are cricket, football, netball, hockey, gymnastics, rowing, tennis and skiing, played across a 39-acre sports ground at Hinchley Wood. Our footballers have collected eight ESFA national titles, and the same programme runs teams for pupils who simply love the game. Both things are true at once, and deliberately so.
5. AN EDUCATION THAT LASTS LONGER THAN THE EXAMS
A good education should last a lifetime. Our Boys’ Prep, Girls’ Prep, Senior School and Sixth Form form one long journey, so children can grow up here without a fresh start every few years — and the habits they leave with, of curiosity, kindness and ambition, are the ones that keep paying off long after the results are in.
COME AND TEST IT
Read the league tables, by all means. Then come and walk the corridors, talk to our pupils and ask them the awkward questions. We arrange personal visits throughout the year, and our Boys’ Prep and Girls’ Prep hold their open mornings on Saturday 10 October.
Book a visit through our website; we would love to meet you.