Key facts:

·          Single sex, girls only school

·          Connections with the British Royal Family

·          Set in beautiful countryside but still just 1 hour from London’s main international airports.

·          Small school with friendly, personal environment

·          Very good exam results (2007: 98% GCSEs grade A*-C, 72% A levels grade A or B)

·          Mixed ability intake

·          Many extra-curricular activities available, including excursions

·          Excellent sports, music, drama and art facilities 

                The Royal School, in Haslemere, Surrey, is one of the oldest girls’ schools in England, founded in 1840 under royal patronage. Her Royal Highness The Queen of England is the patron of the school and has visited the school several times. Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal is the current President of the school and most recently visited the school in 2004.

Students here regularly achieve top grades in GCSE and A level exams, despite the school adopting a mixed ability admissions policy.

In 2007, 98% of all GCSEs were A* - C grades and 60% were either A* or A grades; placing the school far, far above the national average and comfortably in the top half of all UK independent schools. In addition a number of girls took some of their GCSEs 1 or even 2 years early and over 25% of all girls achieved straight A* or A grades.

2007 also saw a 100% pass rate for A levels, with 72% A or B grades. This meant that the vast majority of girls leaving the school in this year gained entrance to their first choice university, including many of the top 20 universities in the UK.

Classes are small and a range of teaching techniques are used including, whole class teaching, 1 to 1 instruction, group discussions, project work, field trips and internet research. At the Royal School, the sciences are taught by specialist teachers and students are encouraged to enter regional and national science and technology competitions. Girls at the school have even built their own car! For more information about courses available at The Royal School, see the list at the bottom of this page.

Music is taught throughout the school and all students are highly encouraged to nurture their musical talents. The school even has its own Composer in Residence. In addition, girls are encouraged to participate in a wide range of other extra-curricular activities, including lacrosse, fencing, rugby, karate, arts, dance, drama and many more. The school also regularly organises weekend and holiday excursions to places of interest in the UK and sometimes abroad.

The school boasts a wonderful mixture of old traditional buildings plus newer, modern buildings and facilities, spread across the school’s safe and secure grounds. The spectacular new “Millennium Library and Resource Centre” is enjoyed by the whole School, as is the installation of high speed internet access throughout the school, including the boarding houses. 

                In addition to the senior school (which includes the 6^th form), for girls aged 11 to 18, the school also has its own prep and pre-prep school for younger girls as well as an International Study Centre (ISC), for overseas students. The ISC, which has its own teaching building on the main school site, caters especially for overseas students that need ESOL preparation before entering a mainstream UK independent school. For more information about The Royal School’s International Study Centre and the courses they offer, see The Royal School ISC.

                Overall, this is not a large school, with around 350 girls in total, of which about 40 are international students. The school’s ability to expand any further is limited by local building regulations, although this means that the school can maintain its friendly and personal nature, part of what makes this such a pleasant place to live and study. 

                The school is situated in beautiful English countryside on the edge of the small town of Haslemere, in Surrey, South East England. This is an exceptionally nice area of the UK. By train, it is under 1 hour from central London and about 1 hour from the main London international airports, Heathrow and Gatwick.

                Senior boarding students are accommodated in one of two boarding houses, both of which are on the main school site. As one would expect, both offer very high levels of pastoral care as well as clean, bright, well equipped rooms (some single, some shared) and excellent food. The school also has its own medical centre.