Francis Holland School

"That our daughters may be as the polished corners of the temple" has been the Francis Holland motto since the school opened in 1878, and it still captures the quiet ambition of this compact Church of England girls' day school beside Regent's Park. Around 570 girls aged 11 to 19 are taught on a purpose-built site near Clarence Gate in Marylebone, led since September 2022 by Head Katharine Woodcock. Academically it sits among the strongest schools in England: the top 3.1% at GCSE and the top 6.0% at A-level, and third in Westminster on both. The March 2025 ISI inspection confirmed every Independent School Standard met, from teaching to safeguarding. Small enough that staff know each girl by name, it pairs serious results with a settled, respectful culture. Day fees run to £10,845 a term. For families who want rigorous academics without a sprawling campus, it is a distinctive central London choice.

Scale is the first thing to understand about Francis Holland. With roughly 570 girls spread across seven year groups, it is small by London standards, and almost everything about the culture follows from that. Staff work with individuals rather than cohorts, year groups are small enough that most girls know one another, and the tone is close and personal. Inspectors described a harmonious and respectful community in which pupils feel that their voices are heard, and their identities are respected. That is the texture of daily life in a building compact enough to hold a whole year group along a single corridor.

Four values anchor the school: Compassion, Knowledge, Perseverance and Spirit. They are backed by a clear mission to give every girl a personalised education that develops character as much as attainment, and in a high-pressure academic setting the emphasis on perseverance and effort, not only results, matters. The intellectual ambition is explicit too: girls are pushed to develop advanced critical and independent approaches to their work rather than simply to reach the right answer.

Heritage here is genuine rather than decorative. The school began on 1 October 1878 as The Church of England High School for Girls, when a small group of girls gathered outside 6 Upper Baker Street, at a time when serious academic education for girls was still unusual. It moved to its purpose-built home near Clarence Gate in 1915 and has stayed there ever since, giving it an unusual continuity of place approaching 150 years. The Church of England foundation, established by the Reverend Canon Francis Holland, is real but proportionate: Christian values run through assemblies and pastoral life, while the school is inclusive and welcomes girls of all faiths and none.

Francis Holland is a high-attaining school, and the headline grades show it. At GCSE, 66% of grades were awarded at 9 to 8, the top two grades, 21% at grade 7, and 87% reached grades 9 to 7 overall. Those are the marks of a cohort working at a high level across the board rather than a school carried by a high-flying minority.

That strength is confirmed by the wider standing. Francis Holland ranks 119th of 3,895 in England for GCSE results, placing it in the top 3.1% (ranked against all schools in England with published GCSE results, state and independent). On the blended measure it ranks 122nd of 3,887 in England, and third in Westminster. These are proprietary FindMySchool rankings built from official results, and for a girls' day school of this size they mark performance well above the England average and among the strongest anywhere in the country.

The sixth form holds that line. At A-level, 22% of entries were graded A*, 35% an A and 30% a B, so 87% reached A* to B. Set against an England average of around 47% at A* to B and 24% at A* to A, roughly 57% of grades here sat at A* to A, comfortably ahead of the typical picture. In the rankings the sixth form places 155th of 2,562 in England for A-level results, the top 6.0%, and 153rd of 2,561 on the overall measure, again third in Westminster. Taken together, the two phases rank 124th in England on the combined GCSE-and-A-level measure, which points to consistency from Year 7 through to Year 13 rather than a school that peaks in one phase.

Breadth supports that consistency. The sixth form offers 24 A-level courses, from Economics and Government and Politics to History of Art and Psychology, so strong scientists, linguists and humanities students can each find their level rather than being funnelled toward a narrow set of safe choices. At a school of this size, that range is not something to take for granted.

Teaching is the engine behind the results, and it is consistently strong. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and visible enthusiasm, they set ambitious expectations, and they build in time for girls to confront difficult concepts rather than rush past them. The effect is a classroom where intellectual risk-taking is normal: students are unafraid to hypothesise, lessons regularly push beyond the planned content, and girls are encouraged to explore, debate and refine their arguments.

Good classroom habits sit underneath that ambition. Feedback is effective in lessons and in written work, and girls are expected to use it to reflect and improve rather than simply collect a grade. Planning is adjusted for students with additional needs, and those identified make good progress from their starting points. The result is a learning culture that is demanding without being a treadmill, built around discussion and independent thought.

The school reinforces this beyond the timetable. A visiting speaker programme brings authors, engineers and architects in to work directly with students, extending their knowledge and showing them what their subjects look like in professional practice. Combined with a curriculum and co-curricular offer that genuinely meets girls' interests, the practical takeaway for parents is that the strong headline results come from teaching that develops thinking, not just exam technique.

Almost all leavers move on to higher education or further study. In the 2023 to 2024 cohort of 82 leavers, 52% progressed directly to university, with a further 6% into other further education and around 12% into employment, and others taking gap years before deferred places or competitive alternative routes. Careers education is individualised, with tailored advice that helps girls reach a wide spread of universities and courses.

On Oxford and Cambridge, the numbers are necessarily small for a sixth form this size and should be read in that light. In the most recent year tracked, ten Francis Holland students applied to Oxbridge, which produced one offer, taken up. Applying to Oxford or Cambridge is itself a marker of confidence and preparation, and the school supports strong candidates through subject-specific coaching for highly competitive applications. Parents weighing Oxbridge ambitions should view this as a school that prepares serious individual candidates well rather than one that produces large Oxbridge cohorts by volume.

Sixth-form enrichment feeds directly into these destinations. The Extended Project Qualification gives students a route into independent research that selective universities value; in August 2025, 58% of EPQ entries were graded A* to A. Alongside it, the Elective Programme and initiatives such as Young Enterprise and the Engineering Education Scheme give girls concrete experience to draw on in applications and interviews.

Francis Holland is academically selective, and entry is competitive. There are two main entry points, 11+ into Year 7 and 16+ into the Sixth Form, with occasional places in other year groups when they arise. At 11+, candidates are assessed and interviewed, and offers reflect academic potential and fit with the school's ethos. Sixth-form entry is conditional on strong GCSE results and on subject-specific assessment, discussed further below.

As a Church of England foundation, the school is inclusive: it welcomes girls of all faiths and none, so faith is not a barrier to admission. There is one faith-linked financial provision worth flagging: daughters of the clergy receive remission on one-third of the fees. The school sets no published catchment, drawing families from across central and north London who can manage the daily commute to NW1.

Prospective families should plan around the school's open events, which for 2026 entry include an 11+ Open Morning on Tuesday 15 September 2026 and an 11+ Open Day on Thursday 8 October 2026, with individual Tour and Talk visits available through the year. Because dates change annually, confirm the current calendar directly with the school. The FindMySchool map search and saved-schools shortlist can help you weigh Francis Holland against other central London options side by side while you plan visits.

Pastoral care is where a small school earns its fees, and Francis Holland leans into that advantage. Behaviour is calm: the behaviour policy and anti-bullying strategy are understood and effective, and bullying is rare. Provision for girls' physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing met every standard at the last inspection, and there are practical structures to match, including the Wellbeing Suite, described as a calm retreat for anyone simply needing to self-regulate and recharge.

The PSHE programme is a strength, deepening self-knowledge and enhanced by the visiting speaker programme and statutory relationships and sex education guidance. A separate life skills course prepares girls practically for adult life, covering personal finance and safety, the kind of provision students often value most in hindsight.

Girls are given real responsibility. They take leadership roles, support younger peers, raise money for charity and, in the senior years, volunteer in the local community. Diversity is treated as something to value and understand rather than simply tolerate, with the curriculum deliberately deepening knowledge of different religions and national backgrounds. Safeguarding is effective: trustees receive training and rigorously monitor every aspect of it, online safety is managed through filtering and monitoring software tested weekly, and the safeguarding team identifies and responds to concerns quickly.

For a small school on a constrained central London site, the co-curricular offer is unusually rich, and it refreshes rather than ossifies: recent additions such as Fencing, Esports and a Boxing Club sit alongside long-standing options from Chess and Cricket to Photography, Debate, Dance and a Sci-Fi Film club. Year 7 begins with a PGL induction trip, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award runs at Bronze, Silver and Gold. The point of the breadth is inclusion: in a school small enough that most girls know each other, the aim is a place for every interest.

Music is a genuine pillar. The department runs around 15 ensembles and stages at least six concerts a year, supported by six soundproof practice rooms and two large teaching spaces. Ambition shows in the partnerships: the Francis Holland Choirs have performed alongside Harrow School's choral society and orchestra, and the school works with the Royal Academy of Music, giving performers a bigger stage than a school of 570 could provide alone. Named ensembles such as the String Quartet and the junior Thirds Choir mean a beginner and an accomplished player can both find an appropriate group, and Organ Scholarships signal that serious musicianship is cultivated, not just tolerated.

Drama and the visual arts have proper facilities. The Helen McCrory Drama Studio provides a professional space for rehearsal and performance, while the art studios are equipped with printing presses, Macs and sewing machines for work across fine art, print and textiles. The recently transformed library and the seminar rooms of the Gloucester Wing round out a compact but well-equipped teaching estate that also includes six science labs.

Sport makes clever use of the school's location. On site there is a swimming pool, but the real asset is the setting: Regent's Park supplies grass pitches and all-weather netball and tennis courts, athletics and hockey run at Paddington Recreation Ground, netball uses the Church Street Sports Hall, and rock climbing takes place at the Westway Centre, with the annual Sports Day held at the Finsbury Park athletics track. Competitive teams span Athletics, Cricket, Cross Country, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Netball, Swimming, Tennis and Water Polo, while Yoga, Volleyball, Street Dance and Dance keep sport open to every girl rather than only the first team. International tours to Malta, Tenerife and South Africa give the strongest players a wider stage, and Sports Scholarships recognise talent at the top end. For an inner-London school without playing fields of its own, turning a royal park into the games field is a neat solution.

STEM is treated as a strength to be pushed, not a box to tick. Girls enter the UKMT Challenges, Maths Feast, the Alan Turing Cypher Challenge, NASA's Space Apps, Bebras and the Oxford Coding Challenge, and a Year 8 team won a national Innovation Award for its REMI project in the PA Raspberry Pi Competition. Clubs from Robotics and Raspberry Pi to Messy Chemistry and Green Fingers give the enthusiasm somewhere to go outside lessons. For a girls' school, the deliberate weight given to computing and engineering matters, because it keeps STEM routes genuinely open.

Day fees are £10,845 per term for Years 7 to 13, effective from September 2026, which works out at about £32,535 a year on a three-term basis. The termly figure includes lunches and personal accident insurance. A registration fee of £200 applies for UK residents on application, and a deposit of £3,150 is payable on accepting a place, most of which is refunded when a pupil leaves.

Financial support comes in two forms, and the distinction matters. Means-tested bursaries, based on family income and assets, are offered at Year 7 and Sixth Form entry and can reach up to 100% of the fees for families who qualify; daughters of the clergy additionally receive remission on one-third of the fees. Merit scholarships are separate and deliberately modest in value: at 11+, Academic, Art and Music Scholarships are worth 5% of fees; Sports and Organ Scholarships are available at Year 9 for internal candidates; and at 16+, Art, Music, Sports and Subject Scholarships are worth 10% of fees. Families who need substantial help with cost should therefore look first to the means-tested bursary route, and where relevant the clergy remission, rather than to the scholarships.

The sixth form is academically ambitious and openly preparatory for university, and it has its own home in Linhope House, a two-minute walk from the main campus. The centre pairs Georgian architecture with modern study spaces, a Think Lab and calm Scandinavian-style décor, giving Year 12 and 13 a more independent, university-style environment. Most students take three A-levels from the 24 courses on offer, supplemented by the Elective Programme, whose courses range from French for Business and a Certificate in Financial Education to a Sports Leader Award and the Engineering Education Scheme.

Intellectual life outside the syllabus is a real feature. The student-led Hale Lecture Series, named after Lady Brenda Hale, has students interview high-profile figures, developing research, confidence and public speaking; the Pioneering Lecture Series and a Weekly Lecture Programme bring in outside speakers; and projects such as CanSat, a TEDx event and the Women in Tech Initiative give ambitious girls ways to stretch themselves. The EPQ, with 58% of entries at A* to A in August 2025, anchors all of this in a piece of assessed independent scholarship.

Entry into Year 12 is selective and assessed on subject-specific terms, with offers resting on strong GCSE results and on assessment in the chosen A-level subjects. The school progresses its own Year 11 girls into the sixth form and recruits externally as well, so new joiners arrive alongside a familiar cohort. For girls who want a small, high-performing sixth form with genuine subject breadth and close individual support, this is a credible central London option. The trade-off is size: small A-level sets and close contact with teachers, but a narrower social pool than a large co-educational sixth form would offer.

Location is one of the school's strongest practical cards. Sitting beside Clarence Gate at the edge of Regent's Park in NW1, Francis Holland is well served for public transport, close to Baker Street station and to numerous bus routes running in all directions, and girls commute from across the capital. Because so much sport takes place off site, the school arranges access to venues such as Paddington Recreation Ground, the Church Street Sports Hall and the Westway Centre. The co-curricular programme, running before school, at lunchtime and after school, effectively extends the supervised day for families who want it. This is a day school; there is no boarding. For the exact daily timetable and current wraparound arrangements, confirm directly with the school.

Entry is the main hurdle. Francis Holland is academically selective and competitive at both main entry points, with all applicants assessed and interviewed. The education is strong, but securing a place is the challenge, and families should prepare for assessment at 11+ and for demanding subject conditions at 16+.

Fees are substantial, and merit awards are modest. At around £32,535 a year from September 2026, this is a significant commitment, and scholarships cap at 10% of fees. Families needing real help with cost should look to the means-tested bursary scheme, which can reach up to full fees, and to the clergy remission where relevant, rather than to the scholarships.

Early identification of additional needs. The 2025 inspection asked the school to ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified early enough during their time in school so that provision can be adapted as effectively as possible. Support for those identified is good, but families of girls who may need extra help should ask directly about how and when needs are assessed.

The site is compact and urban. This is a small school on a constrained central London footprint that relies on Regent's Park and off-site venues for sport. Families who prioritise expansive on-site grounds and large playing fields may find the setting tighter than a suburban campus, though the location and park access are part of the appeal.

Francis Holland, Regent's Park is a small, academically selective girls' day school that delivers consistently strong results, ranking in the top 3.1% in England at GCSE and the top 6.0% at A-level while keeping the personal, name-by-name culture that a school of 570 makes possible. Its Church of England foundation is genuine but inclusive, its pastoral care is a real strength, and its music, sport, STEM and sixth-form provision punch above the size of its central London site. The March 2025 inspection confirmed every standard met, with teaching that pushes girls to think independently within a harmonious, respectful community.

It is best suited to academically able, motivated girls who will thrive in a high-performing but supportive small school near Regent's Park, and to families who value individual attention and serious sixth-form preparation over a large campus. The main caveat is access: entry is competitive and fees are high, so prospective families should plan early for assessment and explore the bursary route if cost is a concern.