Downe House
A Real Adventure in Education
Founded in 1907 by Olive Willis in Charles Darwin's former family home in Kent, Downe House moved to its present 110 acre Berkshire campus in 1922, where it has grown into one of the country's leading girls' boarding schools. Every Year 8 pupil spends a term at the school's own annexe in rural France, an immersive experience of language and independence that few other schools attempt to offer.
Key Facts
Location : Cold Ash, Berkshire
Type : All-girls, boarding and day
Age Range : 11 to 18
Pupil Numbers : Approx. 560 girls
Founded : 1907
Ethos : A Real Adventure in Education
Academic Profile
Girls at Downe House spend a term in Year 8 studying at the school's château near Toulouse, before taking their GCSEs. In the Sixth Form they study A Levels, and Downe House girls proceed to Oxford and Cambridge, alongside leading universities such as UCL and Durham.
Co-Curricular Life
Sport is a genuine strength, led by a distinguished lacrosse tradition that has taken the school to the top of the national game, alongside netball, hockey, athletics, and tennis. Music runs deep, through choirs and ensembles large and small, and the creative and performing arts are equally well served, with a thriving dance programme, a busy drama calendar, and open studios for art, ceramics, and craft. Pupils also share in a programme of joint academic, co-curricular, and social activities with Harrow School, through a partnership between the two schools that widens the range of opportunities open to Downe House girls while each school keeps its own single-sex character. All of this unfolds within Berkshire grounds that back onto the historic Berkshire Downs.
Admissions Essentials
Girls join Downe House at 11 or 13, with around 55 girls entering at 11+ and a further 45 at 13+ each year, and further places available in the Sixth Form. Registration is recommended by the end of Year 5. For 11+ entry into Year 7, candidates attend an Assessment Day at the school in the autumn term of the year before entry, comprising an academic assessment alongside activities and an interview with the Head, with a report requested from the current school beforehand. Candidates then sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test at their current school in the autumn term. For 13+ entry, candidates sit Common Entrance examinations in English, Mathematics, and Science, alongside a Modern Foreign Language where studied, taken at their current school in the summer term. Academic Scholarships are assessed separately, with successful candidates invited to interview in the spring term. Sixth Form candidates sit examination papers in the autumn term of the year before entry, followed by an interview. At both 11+ and 13+ entry, scholarships are also available in music, art, sport, and drama.
In Essence
For a girl who will flourish in a school that is calm, happy, and quietly ambitious, Downe House pairs a long tradition with a clear eye on the future, drawing real academic success from its girls within a close and supportive community.