Putney High School GDST Review 2026: The Top 2% for Girls

From its founding in 1893 as East Putney High School with just 54 fearless pupils, Putney has grown into one of England's most impressive girls' schools, educating over 1,000 students across Junior, Senior, and Sixth Form divisions. Positioned on Putney Hill in southwest London, the school blends Victorian architecture with strikingly modern facilities, including the recently completed Athena Centre housing nine cutting-edge science laboratories, a professional drama studio, and purpose-built music spaces. With academic results placing it in the elite in England (top 2% for GCSEs, FindMySchool ranking) and a reputation as the country's top girls' school for sport in 2023, Putney manages the rare feat of combining intellectual ambition with genuine, down-to-earth warmth. Nearly one in five students receives a bursary or scholarship as part of the GDST commitment to accessibility, making this exceptional education available beyond affluent backgrounds.

The school occupies a sprawling 35-acre leafy campus within walking distance of the River Thames, yet feels remarkably cohesive despite housing three distinct sections. The Senior School and Sixth Form Centre adjoin the Junior School, enabling girls to develop lifelong friendships across age groups while enjoying shared resources and consistent pastoral culture. According to the Independent Schools Inspectorate, which awarded Putney Excellent ratings across all categories in its April 2023 inspection, pupils here possess genuine intellectual curiosity and are unafraid to tackle challenging ideas.

What distinguishes Putney's atmosphere most is its rejection of pretension. Yes, the school uniform has been purple since its inception, and girls move purposefully between lessons. Yet there's an infectious sense that learning should be adventurous, not merely obedient. The school's ethos of "modern scholarship" actively encourages girls to question voraciously, think differently, and explore ideas beyond the examination syllabus. Under the leadership of Headmistress Jo Sharrock, the school has doubled down on research into how girls learn best, integrating neuroscience into teaching practice and pioneering biophilic classroom design (work so distinctive it earned recognition at the Chelsea Flower Show).

Diversity and inclusion are genuine institutional priorities, not afterthoughts. The school has created dedicated roles including Diversity Ambassadors, a multi-faith prayer room serving all religions, and POCSOC (People of Colour Society) alongside LGBTQ+ Society and Diversity Society. Teaching departments have systematically reviewed curricula to ensure texts, case studies, and examples reflect diverse experiences, and mathematics problems now routinely feature scenarios normalizing same-sex partnerships and disability. The result is a school community where girls from varied backgrounds feel genuinely welcomed rather than tolerated.

GCSE Performance

Putney's GCSE results represent among the strongest in the country. In 2024, 92% of grades achieved the top levels of 9-8, compared to 22% in England. This places the school at rank 30th in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking), positioning it in the elite. Nearly three-quarters of entries met grades 9-8, demonstrating remarkable consistency across the curriculum rather than strength in isolated subjects.

The Attainment 8 score and strong English Baccalaureate entry rates reflect a broad, ambitious curriculum. Girls study separate sciences, access languages from Year 7, and develop fluency in subjects ranging from Mandarin to Government and Politics, Psychology, and Computer Science. The progress students make from entry to GCSE systematically exceeds expectations, validating the school's teaching quality and support systems.

A-Level Performance

Sixth Form results sustain this exceptional standard. Three-quarters of A-level grades achieved A* or A in 2024, compared to 28% in England. Eight students secured Oxbridge places from 28 applications across Oxford and Cambridge in the measurement period, indicating a strong but selective pipeline to the UK's most competitive universities. The school ranks 33rd in England for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking), maintaining its elite status across all phases.

Subject-specific strengths in STEM are particularly notable. Recent A-level cohorts achieved 57% A* grades in Biology, 95% at A*-A in Chemistry, and 73% at A*-A in Physics, positioning science as a genuine school strength. Notable university destinations include Imperial College, UCL, Durham, Edinburgh, and Bristol alongside the Oxbridge numbers. The school maintains dedicated coordinators for US university applications, with students regularly securing scholarships to Princeton and Duke.

The curriculum balances academic rigour with genuine intellectual curiosity. Teachers are explicitly encouraged to model their own scholarly pursuits; many engage in research projects and publish their own educational findings, creating a culture where learning is not something inflicted upon students but genuinely modelled by adults. The school's distinctive "Science of Learning" approach teaches girls the neuroscience behind how memory and comprehension function, enabling them to study more effectively and understand their own cognitive strengths.

Class sizes remain manageable across most phases, though Sixth Form seminars average eight students, allowing detailed discussion and personalized feedback. The curriculum design emphasizes connections across disciplines. A bespoke design-thinking course introduces entrepreneurial approaches to problem-solving, while the Innovation Centre provides hands-on exploration of artificial intelligence and robotics applications. History of Art, Economics and Business, and Government and Politics sit comfortably alongside traditional humanities, offering breadth that appeals to intellectually curious students.

Teaching spaces have been thoughtfully enhanced. The recently completed Athena Centre housing science, music, drama, and debating facilities reflects the school's commitment to learning environments that actively support student wellbeing. The Music Department features acoustically engineered studios, the Drama Studio employs professional-standard sound and lighting, and science laboratories incorporate flexible grouping to support collaborative investigation. Beyond these formal spaces, girls work outdoors regularly; the Junior School operates a dedicated Forest School curriculum encouraging nature-based learning.

The 2024 leavers cohort demonstrates the breadth of Putney's destinations. 69% of pupils progressed to university, with 5% entering further education and 2% beginning apprenticeships. These figures reflect a genuine pathway to higher education rather than universal university progression, acknowledging that some students pursue alternative routes including degree apprenticeships with major employers like Goldman Sachs.

Beyond Oxbridge, leavers gain entry to Russell Group universities with notable regularity. Imperial College, UCL, Durham, Edinburgh, and Bristol feature prominently in typical cohorts. The Sixth Form maintains dedicated university coordinators who guide students through both UK UCAS applications and US university processes, ensuring families have full support navigating these complex pathways. The Arts remain a significant destination, with the Music and Art Departments reporting exceptionally high acceptance rates at specialist conservatoires and art colleges.

This represents Putney's greatest strength: the sheer breadth of genuine opportunities available outside formal lessons. The school offers over 150 clubs and societies, with approximately 100 international trips running annually. Rather than representing superficial enrichment, these activities are integral to school identity, with sixth formers leading many clubs and student-designed initiatives becoming standard features.

Music: Embedded in Daily Life

Music permeates the school in ways that extend far beyond traditional concert performances. Nearly half the senior school participates in formal ensembles including chapel choir, symphony orchestra, chamber groups, jazz bands, and rock bands. The annual Music Festival hosts over 450 entries from budding performers. Specific named ensembles like Putney Perform, Battle of the Bands, and Putney Proms feature prominently in the school calendar, offering performance opportunities across genres. An annual Music Festival showcases breadth from chamber music to rock, and students regularly compete at regional and national level. Individual music tuition spans the full orchestra plus voice, drums, and specialist instruments, with forty-minute lessons available to senior students at £35 per lesson.

Drama: Accessible Excellence

The Performing Arts Centre, completed in recent years, provides a professional 300-seat venue with gallery, balcony, and roof terrace. Multiple whole-school productions run annually, from large-scale musicals to smaller experimental pieces, ensuring roles exist for performers of all levels. The Drama Studio within the Athena Centre offers flexible studio space for rehearsals and smaller productions. Beyond formal productions, the school supports student-designed drama projects, collaborative work with music and dance, and connections to professional theatre practitioners. Girls regularly perform work from well-known dramatists and contemporary pieces, developing interpretive skills alongside technical theatre knowledge.

Sport: Named Top in the Country

Putney was recognized as the country's top girls' school for sport in 2023, a distinction reflecting both elite pathway opportunities and genuine accessibility. The school operates an Elite Sportswoman Programme providing mentorship, support workshops, and flexible timetables for girls pursuing competitive training. Equally, a robust "sport for all" policy ensures recreational participation across the student body.

Rowing stands as the school's flagship sport. In 2018, Putney acquired a rare all-girls boathouse on the Putney Embankment of the Thames, providing direct river access for daily training and competition. The boathouse operates as a serious competitive facility, with girls regularly training at dawn and competing at regional and national level. Lacrosse, netball, tennis, gymnastics, athletics, football, and cricket field strong teams, many competing at county and national level. The school holds multiple tennis and netball courts on-site, a sports hall suitable for volleyball, badminton and basketball, and access to off-campus playing fields and athletics track.

STEM & Innovation

The Innovation Centre serves as a dedicated learning hub for girls exploring artificial intelligence, robotics, and computational thinking. Named science clubs including dissection groups and mathematical societies allow deeper exploration. The Athena Centre's nine new science laboratories support hands-on practical work alongside traditional teaching, with separate sciences offered throughout secondary education. Coding has been integrated into the curriculum, with Python now taught in Year 9 as part of forward-looking digital literacy.

Named Clubs & Societies

The breadth is genuinely impressive. Medical Society attracts girls exploring healthcare careers, offering workshops from dissection to first aid and visits from medical professionals. Knitwits provides creative expression through textile crafts. Corset-making (offered Friday lunchtimes) attracts girls interested in design and historical tailoring. Taekwondo offers physical challenge outside traditional sports. Gardening Club maintains the school's commitment to environmental learning. Photography Club, Chess Club, Scrabble, and Bridge Club cater to quieter intellectual interests. Newer additions including POCSOC, Diversity Society, FemBookSoc, and LGBTQ+ Society create safe spaces for identity exploration and social justice dialogue. Mathletes, Engineering Clubs, Forensic Psychology society, and entrepreneurship groups serve girls with STEM interests. The Debate Society engages girls in competitive discussion and public speaking through partnerships with other GDST schools via the West London Partnership.

International Learning

The school maintains an ambitious global outlook reflected in 100 annual trips. Recent destinations have included Mount Kilimanjaro (Outlook expeditions), Shanghai (cultural exchange with partner schools), Amsterdam (History of Art), Costa Rica and Spain (language and cultural immersion), Paris and Tübingen (language trips), NASA headquarters in Florida, and CERN in Switzerland. Regular rowing camps in France, history trips to Florence, Berlin, and elsewhere combine academic deepening with cultural immersion. Sport tours add numerous additional destinations, ensuring girls develop global perspectives and independence.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Gold-level Duke of Edinburgh programs culminate in celebration at Buckingham Palace. Bronze and Silver programs provide pathways for younger students, with 965 hours of volunteering through DofE last year alone. This volunteering extends beyond formal programs; girls actively engage with local hospitals, environmental work on Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common, and partnership initiatives with nearby primary schools through the Horizons and West London Schools Partnerships.

The ISI inspection specifically noted that "there is a caring and holistic approach to the health and wellbeing of pupils, who are supported academically and emotionally by the school's pastoral team." This commitment translates into practical systems. The school operates the Opening Minds program in the Junior School, developing emotional literacy and self-awareness from age four. Sixth formers receive dedicated wellbeing support through trained pastoral staff, and the entire school participates in the Breathe environmental program and Positive Schools initiatives promoting wellbeing habits.

Mobile phone policy reflects thoughtful consideration of adolescent development. Year 7 pupils are asked not to bring smartphones to school; families wishing children to have phones for safety should provide basic "brick" models without internet access. Year 9 onwards may bring smartphones, but policies encourage mindful use. This measured approach acknowledges both genuine digital concerns and the reality of teenage life.

Physical wellbeing receives equal attention. The Sixth Form Centre includes its own dedicated fitness suite, and the school maintains partnerships with professional sports coaches, including Olympic rowers on staff. Mental health support is available through trained counsellors and staff trained in Paws B mindfulness. The school actively monitors for anxiety and eating disorders, offering early intervention through various support pathways.

School Day & Schedule

The school day runs from 8:50am to 3:20pm for Senior pupils, with Sixth Form following modified timetables allowing greater independence and study periods. Junior School operates slightly shorter hours appropriate to younger pupils' needs. Four bus routes operate from key London areas including Kensington, Richmond, Chelsea, and Sloane Square, supplementing excellent public transport access via East Putney tube station (District Line) and Putney mainline station serving Waterloo line.

Fees & Financial Support

For 2025-26, Junior School fees are £8,009 per term, Senior School £9,669 per term, and Sixth Form £9,659 per term. These fees are inclusive of curriculum, books, stationery, some lunches (Reception through Year 2 at £308 per term; Years 3-11 at £364 per term), games, and many co-curricular activities. Public examination fees and optional music tuition are charged separately. A registration fee of £250 (£350 for overseas applicants) processes applications, though this may be waived for families applying with bursaries.

Financial support is genuinely substantial. Nearly one in five Putney students receives a bursary or scholarship, with awards available covering up to 100% of fees for families with demonstrated need. Scholarships for academic excellence, music, sport, art, and drama offer 10-25% fee reductions and are awarded on merit. Sibling discounts provide 20% reduction for a third (or subsequent) child studying concurrently. This represents serious institutional commitment to accessibility rather than tokenistic gestures.

High fees demand genuine financial commitment. While bursaries are generous, families cannot access this education without either substantial independent means or successful scholarship/bursary application. The school maintains means-blind admissions for Senior entry, but families should budget for associated costs including optional music lessons (£35 per 40-minute lesson for seniors), uniform, trips, and the cultural expectation of engagement with numerous activities.

Selective entry from Year 7 is highly competitive. Entry at 11+ requires success in mathematics and English entrance examinations. The school's reputation attracts exceptional candidates; securing a place demands both strong academics and demonstrated intellectual curiosity. No formal entrance test is required for Junior School entry (informal assessment at Reception and Years 4/7), but families seeking places beyond Reception should expect thoughtful evaluation of children's learning readiness.

The school's intellectual culture may not suit all learners. This is explicitly a school for curious, ambitious girls who thrive on challenge. Girls who struggle with unstructured learning opportunities, who prefer clear right/wrong answers to open-ended exploration, or who find constant enrichment exhausting may find the relentless emphasis on intellectual development somewhat demanding. The school is deeply invested in individual support but assumes baseline confidence in classroom engagement.

Purple uniform tradition is non-negotiable. The school takes uniform seriously; girls wear purple uniforms from Foundation Stage through Year 11 (Sixth Form dress code emphasizes individual style while maintaining professional workplace standards). This represents genuine school pride and identity, but families should confirm comfort with this approach.

Putney High School GDST represents excellence at scale: a school achieving top 2% GCSE results while simultaneously operating an all-girls boathouse, maintaining 150+ student-led clubs, and ensuring nearly one in five pupils receives financial support. The combination of academic ambition, pastoral care, and genuine belief in girls' potential creates a distinctive community where girls flourish intellectually and personally.

The school suits families seeking serious academic education balanced with breadth; girls who thrive on challenge and intellectual curiosity; and families willing to invest substantially in education but guided by genuine commitment to accessibility rather than exclusivity. It particularly suits girls drawn to science, music, sport, or the arts, given the exceptional facilities and specialist staffing in these areas.

Entry remains competitive, fees substantial, and the intellectual pace demanding. But for the right family and student, Putney represents a truly outstanding educational investment.