Excellence Girls Academy Review 2026: A small, values-led independent girls school with an Islamic ethos

A small, girls-only independent school for ages 9 to 16, Excellence Girls Academy sits in a niche that will feel very deliberate to the right family: strong structure, clear expectations, and an explicitly Islamic ethos while welcoming pupils of all faiths and none.

Scale is a defining feature. The latest inspection record shows 79 pupils on roll at the time of inspection, against a registered capacity of 150, so class sizes and cohort sizes are likely to feel compact.

The latest Ofsted inspection (14 to 16 May 2024) judged the school Good overall and confirmed that the independent school standards are met.

Fees are published as £3,600 per year (VAT inclusive), with termly and monthly instalment options, plus a separate £120 administration fee for new applications.

The school’s identity is unusually explicit for an English independent day school. Its stated aim is “educational and Islamic excellence”, and that positioning runs through curriculum framing, pastoral expectations, and how leadership describes the purpose of the school.

One distinctive feature is the Tarbiyah programme, which the school describes as encouraging Islamic etiquette and developing character through tutorial content, including engagement with current news and events. For families who want faith and personal development to sit alongside mainstream academic subjects, this integrated approach is the point. For families who prefer a more neutral framing, it is a substantive part of daily life rather than an optional add-on.

Community structure is also formalised through a three-house system: Al-Fihri, Tawakkol, and Rufaida, each named after an “inspirational Muslimah” with an emphasis on legacy and service. It is a simple device, but it gives pupils a stable identity group across year lines, which can matter in a smaller school.

Uniform expectations are clear, and for many families that clarity is reassuring. The published uniform list includes a blazer and a maroon abayah or jubbah, a plain headscarf, and restrictions on make-up and jewellery. That explicitness tends to reduce daily negotiation, but it also signals that families should be comfortable with a more prescriptive approach to presentation than many mainstream schools.

Leadership information is openly presented. The school identifies Samia Haroon as Headteacher, with a senior leadership structure that includes responsibilities for safeguarding and curriculum leadership.

This is a school with published GCSE participation but not a published sixth form, so the academic story is primarily about Key Stage 3 development and Key Stage 4 outcomes.

On the FindMySchool GCSE benchmarks (based on official data), Excellence Girls Academy is ranked 1,489th in England and 7th in Stoke-on-Trent for GCSE outcomes. This places it in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), a profile that is typically described as solid rather than elite.

Attainment data shows an Attainment 8 score of 49 and an EBacc average point score of 4.35.

A key interpretive point is scale. With small cohorts, year-to-year swings in headline metrics can be larger than in bigger schools, so parents should look for consistency in curriculum sequencing, teaching quality, and pastoral culture rather than relying on any single data point.

The school also publishes GCSE outcomes on its own website for recent years, including 2023 headline indicators such as Progress 8 and Attainment 8. Where these are used, they should be read as the school’s published presentation of outcomes rather than as a replacement for the dataset rankings.

A practical approach for parents comparing local options is to use FindMySchool’s Local Hub Comparison Tool to view nearby schools side-by-side, then sanity-check fit factors like scale, ethos, and admissions process before over-weighting marginal differences in headline metrics.

The published curriculum framing is broad and conventional in its academic core, with an emphasis on planned learning plus what the school describes as a “hidden curriculum” shaped by expectations and behaviour norms.

At GCSE, the options model prioritises a traditional core. The school outlines a pathway that typically supports the English Baccalaureate, including English Language and Literature, Mathematics, Science (combined or separate sciences, with Computer Science referenced as part of the science pathway), a humanities choice (History or Geography), and a language. Religious Studies and Citizenship are also listed within the GCSE offer.

Reading appears to be treated as an explicit priority. The latest inspection record describes confident readers and regular reading competitions, which usually indicates that reading practice is structured rather than left to chance.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education and relationships and sex education are described in the inspection narrative as planned carefully and taught in a way that helps pupils understand safe relationships and online and community risks. For many parents, that matters because a faith-ethos school can vary widely in how it balances safeguarding education with values teaching.

With an upper age of 16, the immediate destination question is post-16 education rather than university pathways. The school’s published GCSE outcomes page includes statements about pupils “staying in education” for recent cohorts, and careers education is described as a structured strand linked to the taught curriculum, with an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and on building links with employers and community speakers.

The May 2024 inspection identifies a development point that is useful for parents to probe: some pupils were unclear on their next steps, and the school was advised to strengthen curriculum support so that students are better able to identify post-16 routes.

In practical terms, families considering Year 10 or Year 11 entry should ask how the school supports the transition into local college and sixth form pathways, what guidance is available on course selection, and how the school engages parents in those decisions.

Admissions are handled directly by the school rather than through local authority coordinated admissions. The application process is described as submitting an application form with the child’s original birth certificate and an administration fee of £120 for each new application.

The school advises applications to be submitted as early as possible prior to the beginning of the academic year. No fixed annual admissions deadline is published on the admissions page, so parents should treat admissions as potentially rolling, dependent on year-group capacity.

Entry points will vary by child’s age. The published age range is 9 to 16, which aligns to entry opportunities beyond the standard Year 7 point found in many secondary schools. Families considering a move in Years 5 or 6 should clarify how the school structures Key Stage 2 content within a secondary-designated setting, and how transition into Key Stage 3 is handled for internal pupils compared with external joiners.

For families weighing local options, FindMySchool’s Map Search is still useful even for independent schools, primarily to evaluate journey time and day-to-day practicality rather than catchment priority.

A school this size often succeeds or fails on relationships and consistency. The inspection narrative describes pupils feeling safe, staff listening and caring, and bullying being rare with adults intervening quickly when unkindness occurs.

The May 2024 inspection confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

One area to watch is attendance. The inspection record flags that, for a small number of pupils, attendance was too low and this affected achievement, with an expectation that leaders review practice and strengthen engagement with parents. For prospective families, this is less about blaming children and more about understanding how the school’s attendance culture is managed, particularly for pupils who are anxious, adjusting after a move, or juggling external commitments.

The school frames enrichment as a deliberate counterweight to lessons, describing themed days and weeks, trips, guest speakers, charitable work, and pupil leadership through councils, including a school council and eco council.

What is especially useful is that the school’s news feed provides concrete examples of the kinds of trips and enrichment experiences pupils actually receive. Recent and historical examples include:

• A Year 11 Geography trip to Manchester focused on urban regeneration fieldwork, using environmental quality surveys in two areas of the city.

• Geography fieldwork at Carding Mill Valley to support GCSE course requirements.

• Local heritage visits such as Etruria Industrial Museum and The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, which tie into place-based learning in Stoke-on-Trent.

• An enrichment programme offering activity choices such as Ninja Warrior, Inflato, and Tenpin Bowling, framed as rewards and character-building experiences.

In a smaller school, these shared experiences can do disproportionate work in building peer relationships and giving pupils common reference points beyond assessments.

The school publishes fees as £3,600 per pupil per academic year (VAT inclusive), with payment options designed to spread the cost: yearly, termly, or monthly instalments.

It is also clear about what fees do and do not cover. The published fees include necessary resource fees, while costs such as official examination fees, uniform, food, trips, and revision guides are listed as additional.

The admissions page states an additional £120 administration fee for each new application, paid at the point of application and described as non-refundable.

The website does not publish a bursary or scholarship programme. That does not necessarily mean support is unavailable, but it does mean families who require fee assistance should ask early and directly, alongside clarifying what flexibility exists beyond instalment plans.

The school publishes a detailed daily timetable. The day begins at 08:45 with tutorial at 09:00. Key Stage 3 ends at 15:30, and Key Stage 4 ends at 16:30.

Wraparound care (breakfast club and after-school care beyond the published end times) is not described on the school’s published practical information pages. Families who need early drop-off, later collection, or holiday cover should ask directly what is available and whether provision varies by age group.

For travel, Stoke-on-Trent is well served by rail, and Stoke-on-Trent station is the nearest mainline station for families coming from further afield.

• Small cohort effects. With a relatively small roll, friendship groups, subject groupings, and year-to-year results can feel more variable than in a larger school. This can suit pupils who prefer a more contained setting, but it can feel limiting for those who want a wider social pool.

• Post-16 guidance needs to be probed. External evaluation highlights that some pupils were unclear on next steps, and the school was advised to strengthen the support around choices after Year 11. Ask what this looks like in practice for your child’s year group.

• A clearly faith-framed environment. The Tarbiyah programme, uniform expectations, and school-wide ethos are not peripheral. Families should be confident that this values framework aligns with home expectations and the child’s comfort.

• Financial support is not set out publicly. Fees and payment plans are published, but bursaries and scholarships are not described online. Families needing means-tested help should clarify the position before progressing too far.

Excellence Girls Academy is best understood as a tightly defined offer: a small independent girls school, ages 9 to 16, with a clear Islamic ethos, strong routines, and a community structure that emphasises character and leadership. The latest inspection outcome supports a picture of a safe, orderly setting with positive relationships, while also pointing to improvement work around attendance and helping pupils clarify post-16 pathways.

It suits families who actively want a faith-aligned, girls-only environment and who value close adult oversight in a smaller setting. It may be less suitable for families seeking a larger peer group, extensive published financial aid, or a school that can offer an on-site sixth form route through to Year 13.