T at plays out clearly in STEM subjects too. Nationally, fewer
than 2% of girls take A Level physics compared with 6.5% of boys, according to the Institute of Physics. In single-sex independent schools, that fi gure jumps to 7.5%, a gap highlighted in GDST’s Designing the Future of Girls’ Education report. Across the Trust’s own schools, more than 60% of Year 13 students sit at least one STEM A Level, and 39% take maths, proof that ‘subjects for boys’ simply doesn’t register as a category.
An outdoor, hands-on approach to building self-belief The Made for Girls ethos is not confined to the classroom. At Northampton High’s Forest School, a weekly fi xture for every girl up to the end of Year 8, the link between physical confi dence and academic confi dence is taken seriously. Climbing, den-building, fi re-lighting and mud-kitchen play are not simply outdoor fun. T e school points to research connecting physical skills such as balance and cross-body coordination with the fi ne motor development needed for writing. Time outdoors also appears to lower anxiety and improve mood and memory, useful groundwork for a child about to head back into a maths lesson. It is also, the school suggests, where some of the most natural
mentoring happens. Older girls lead younger ones through a den- building challenge or a nature trail, building leadership instincts long before anyone puts a label on it.
Free to be themselves T ere is also a quieter benefi t that rarely makes the prospectus headlines: girls in single-sex schools are not making decisions, in class or out of it, with half an eye on how they will be perceived by boys. Gender stereotypes have less room to shape who puts their hand up, who chooses physics over art, or who feels able to be loud, messy, competitive or simply themselves. Pastoral and wellbeing programmes can be built around the priorities of girls specifi cally, rather than adapted from a generic template, which matters at an age when so much of growing up is about working out who you actually are, rather than who you think you are supposed to be. What ties all of this together is a simple design principle: build the whole school environment, from nursery through to Sixth Form, around what helps girls fl ourish, rather than retrofi tting a mixed model after the fact. The Good Schools Guide described Northampton High in 2023 as the only all-girls, all-through school in the county, noting that it gives girls ‘a cracking start’ towards becoming the leaders of tomorrow. For families weighing up school choices this year, the case is
not purely sentimental. It is increasingly backed by data on confi - dence, leadership opportunity and academic performance: three things most parents would put near the top of their list, whatever school they eventually choose. Northampton High School off ers personal tours throughout
the year, giving prospective families the chance to see the Made for Girls ethos in action, from the Forest School to the Sixth Form common room.
Scan the QR code to book a personal tour or visit
www.northamptonhigh.co.uk for further information.
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