Downe House

Disillusioned by the independent education that existed for girls at the time, our founder, Miss Olive Willis, held the strong belief that a school should meet the needs of young women by valuing and prizing individuals and engendering a strong sense of community. She believed that excellence, excitement and enthusiasm for the world around should be hallmarks of that school community, that teachers should not be placed on pedestals and that girls should not be expected to rush around in a feverish attempt to behave like boys.

Consequently, Downe House was established as ‘a school where each individual within the community matters and where relationships between staff and pupils are normal’. Our values have not changed since the School opened in 1907; kindness and respect for others are as valued today as they were when the School was founded. Downe House’s aim has always been to enable, encourage and prepare girls to play a full and positive part as citizens of a global community and as outstanding women of the future.

Wander around our calm, collected, extremely happy boarding school environment and you will see that those founding principles are very much in place today. We understand that choosing a school for your daughter is a huge decision and that your daughter’s interests, talents and needs will look different to those of another girl. When a girl joins Downe House we provide an environment that both supports her development and celebrates her individuality – there is no such thing as a ‘typical Downe House girl’.

What girls do have in common however, is that they are challenged academically and are given as many opportunities as possible to become the women that they want to be. We encourage and support girls as they identify and develop their academic strengths, and we provide almost limitless opportunities to become accomplished musicians, actors, athletes, artists – wherever their talents and ambitions take them.

Downe House girls excel, and they do so because they enjoy what they do. As one parent said, ‘we couldn’t be more thrilled.’ Be kind, work hard, aim high; We want to ignite a love of learning and be sure that when your daughter leaves Downe House, she will believe that there is nothing she cannot achieve in the world.

Of course, academic results matter greatly to us and we expect girls to aspire to excellence in all they do, both in the classroom and beyond. However, we place equal importance on equipping every girl with a well-established work ethic and a core set of traditional values, skills and beliefs that will allow her to flourish in today’s rapidly changing world. With only girls in the classroom, in the science labs, on stage and on the sports field, both intellectual and physical confidence can grow without any stereotyping or gender-weighted expectations.

There are so many things that make the difference at Downe House. For girls in the Lower School, it includes the term spent in France by all Lower Fourth girls. The Upper School and Sixth Form have the opportunity to take part in our far-reaching Global Student Exchange Programme with 16 partner schools across six continents. Not to mention our Elective Programme which provides ‘super-curricular’ academic enrichment to challenge and stretch able girls.