Days at SPGS are certainly varied: Paulinas might start the week with a Monday morning dance work-out, go to a midweek bio-ethics lecture, pop along to a lab to help programme a robot, and relax at the end of it all with a movie night. ‘The girls can explore many ways to be engaged, to grow and shine,’ says one parent. ‘In parallel, [the school] is thoughtful in its approach to pastoral care.’ This is an important point. SPGS makes great efforts to balance its reputation for being cerebral and very high-achieving with caring for each of its students: peer-support is part of the school’s ethos, as is a ‘big sister’ programme. The importance of kindness and social responsibility fans out into a number of community initiatives: in tandem with criminal justice experts, students have been working on projects to encourage entrepreneurship among prison-leavers, as well helping them in the challenges they face in rehabilitation. Music is strong: The Planets composer Gustav Holst was a long-time teacher here, and the school has recently re-acquired his old piano. Meanwhile, actors can smell the greasepaint in the brilliant theatre, and collaborate with the new director in residence. Sport is very much for all, and options range from Zumba to Boom Cycle. Tandoori chicken, Caesar salad, the ‘legendary’ lemon drizzle cake and churros are firm favourites on the menu here. It ‘is the most scrumptious, delicious, mouth-watering, flavourful and appetising food you could ever find’, according to one enthusiastic Year 7 student.
Location: Brook Green, W6 7BS
Website: spgs.org
Head: Sarah Fletcher, MA, since 2017; previously head of City of London School
Pupils: 799 day girls
Ages: 11-18
Term fees: £9,264
Oxbridge: 40%
Admission: Pre-test, school’s own exams and interview
Alumnae: Blanche McIntyre, Dame Kate Bingham, Allegra McEvedy
