Our Senior School is an ambitious, challenging, varied and supportive learning environment for students of Year 7 (Lower 4) through to Sixth Form.
There is a global perspective to learning at Habs Girls, where students achieve excellent GSCE and A Level results. The rounded nature of education encourages a deep sense of responsibility for a world students can expect to lead and succeed in.
The school day is divided into five periods of one hour, each interspersed with short breaks so that students can move between classes.
We also give our students a longer than average lunch break so they can relax, eat their lunch and take part in a range of co-curricular activities.
Our students enjoy learning actively and independently, with plenty of practical and problem-solving tasks involving fun, discussion and debate. In every subject area, they are encouraged to take risks, investigate and explore – helping them become lifelong learners.
We expect students to throw themselves into all areas equally. They become linguists, scientists, mathematicians, athletes, musicians, performers, technologists, historians, artists and true polymaths.
Formal lessons end at 4.00pm, but students can choose to stay behind for clubs and societies until 5.15pm.
All students from Year 7 (Lower 4) to Year 11 (Upper 5) study a core range of subjects to give them an outstanding educational foundation, all while intertwining enrichment into subjects. This allows them to explore new ideas and topics outside the confines of the traditional curriculum.
As an independent school, we are not required to follow the National Curriculum. Yet in practice, all our departments stay up to date on the latest National Curriculum developments. As a result, our curriculum is ambitious and innovative, valued equally at national and international level.
For students in Year 7 (Lower 4) to Year 9 (Lower 5), we provide a full programme of personal, social, health and citizenship education. Usually delivered in Form Times however certain topics are taught in whole year groups too. As part of this, our students also have the chance to work alongside their peers from the Boys’ School.
In the lower part of the Senior School, students also follow a set but flexible curriculum. This includes:
At every stage, the curriculum is designed to prepare our students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of the next stage of their education and lives.
Beyond the classroom, your child can choose from a wide variety of co-curricular clubs that spark their imagination and interests. Each club offers a fun, engaging way to further enhance their development.
At Habs, your child can look forward to a calendar of big, exciting events, including house debating, battle of the houses singing and dancing competitions, sports day and a school favourite of celebrating our patron saint, St Catherine’s Day.
Learning involves everyone, and we know students perform best when their school and parents work in partnership. This is why we put so much focus on parental engagement:
Moving up to Sixth Form is an important moment, and we provide personalised support for each student. Starting around the mid-point of Senior School, our staff gently help students to think about their interests, their preferred subjects for A Level, their ideas about university and any career ambitions they may already have.
The intention is always that students move into Sixth Form here at Habs. Yet we know this will not be the right choice for a very small number of students. Closely monitoring each student’s academic progress and emotional wellbeing allows us to form partnerships with parents, so we can all come to the right decision for each student.