St Helen's School

St Helen's School

Motto	"In hoc vincite velut illi crescite" "Conquer by the cross and grow like the daisies" (Literal: "In this [cross] we conquer and in these [daisies] grow.")
Established	1899
Closed	---
Type	Independent day school
Religion	Church of England
Headmistress	Dr Mary Short
Deputy Headteacher	Dr Arnold (Development), Mrs Parker (Pastoral) and Mr Tiley (Academic)
Founder	May Roland Brown
Location	Eastbury Road Northwood HA6 3AS England
Local authority	Hillingdon
DfE number	312/6004
DfE URN	102453 Tables
Students	1100~
Gender	Girls
Ages	3–18
Houses	Scott, Shackleton, Bruce, Bonnington
Colours	Green
Website	www.sthelens.london

St. Helen's School, founded in 1899, is an independent day school in Northwood, North West London for girls aged three to eighteen. It is associated with the Merchant Taylors' Company and works in close collaboration with Merchant Taylors' School in a range of areas.

History

St Helen’s School was founded by Miss May Rowland Brown in 1899. Having been trained as a teacher at Cambridge Training College for Women, she began to teach at Northwood College, a school which, at the time, refused to take in any students that were connected with trade. Whilst still at Northwood College, a group of local businessmen persuaded her to start another school, and so she did. At the age of 25, in January 1899, she founded Northwood High School, later named St Helen’s School. In 1999, St Helen's School celebrated their first centenary.

Facilities

St Helen's school occupies a twenty two acre greenfield site. The Senior School, Junior School and Little Saints occupy separate buildings within the site with their own specialised facilities for their students. The swimming pool is an important facility as many people come for lessons and tutoring after school hours or in the holidays. A new Junior School building is due to open in September 2016.

The Science Block, containing fourteen laboratories, supports all scientific disciplines. The June-Leader building consists of three Art rooms, three Design and Technology Labs as well as an equipped Drama Studio. The school has recently installed a Virtuoso Language Laboratory in addition to the old one. The Music Block, "Fitzwalter" or "Fitz", possesses sixteen practice rooms, where the school offers lessons for most musical instruments. The Sutherland library, run by a chartered librarian, holds a vast number of books, periodicals, newspapers and computing facilities. Support, advice and information about Higher Education and Careers are readily available and Higher Education events are regularly held.

St Helen's School possesses grounds for many sporting activities. With seven tennis courts, two lacrosse pitches, Dance Studio, swimming pool, gymnasium and fitness suite, the school has been able to offer an intensive physical education curriculum.

Sports Complex

In July 2004, phase I of the sports complex was completed and was opened by Steve Parry, Olympic Bronze Medalist. It consists of a 25m swimming pool and a "State of the Art" fitness suite. Phase II was finished in summer 2006. This includes the multi gym, dance studio, treatment rooms and observation areas. In 2005, the new swimming pool was used by the female celebrity competitors from The Games television programme for training.

In December 2006, the final phase II of the sports complex was also completed and was opened by Olympic Silver Medalist, Roger Black. A more recent development includes The Centre, which was opened in 2014 and provides space for Drama, Music and Gymnastics as well as a recording studio.

House system

The house system was established in 1927 with three houses named Scott, Shackleton and Bruce. Two of the houses were named after Antarctic explorers - Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, with Bruce named after the Himalayan explorer Brig. Gen. Charles Bruce. A fourth house, Bonington, also named after a Himalayan explorer, has since been added.

Each girl is allocated to a House on entering Year 7, and most proudly wear their House T-shirts at major House events such as House Arts, Sports Day and Calendar Sale.

Each year the House Cup is awarded to the house with the most points, which can be earned through commendations, Sports Day, House Arts and other achievements.

Junior School House System

In 1999, to mark the centenary, Junior School adopted a new house system consisting of 3 houses. The Houses, nominated by the Junior School students, were named after pioneering women in history. Later in 2012 the fourth house was added named after the female pilot Amelia Earhart.

^[1]

Curriculum

Pupils in Middle School (Years 7-9) follow a broader version of the National Curriculum.^[2] Upper School pupils (Years 10-11) take English Language and Literature, Mathematics, the Sciences, and at least one Modern Foreign Language and one Humanity course. Students take both GCSE and IGCSE courses, with core subjects studied at IGCSE.^[3] Sixth Formers sit A Levels.^[4]

St Helen's has regularly performed well in GCSE and A Levels examination league tables.^[5][6] In 2009 candidates achieved a 100% pass rate, all A*-C grades.^[7] In 2010 they achieved a 99% pass rate with 96% receiving all A*-B grades.^[8] In 2015, the school achieved some of its best results to date with 53% of entries graded A* and 84% graded A*-A.^[9] The pass rate was 99%.^[10]

Notable former pupils

• Luisa Baldini, News reader
• Caroline Daniel, Journalist
• Magenta Devine Journalist & TV presenter
• Helen Grace, Actress
• Patricia Hodge, Actress
• Penny Johnson, Director of the Government Art Collection
• Penny Marshall, Journalist
• Rachel Petladwala, Actress (M.I. High)

Notes and references

External links

• School Website
• ISI Inspection Reports
• International Baccalaureate - St. Helen's School
• Profile on the ISC website
• Profile on the Good Schools Guide
• Profile on MyDaughter

Coordinates: 51°37′N 0°25′W / 51.617°N 0.417°W / 51.617; -0.417