Henrietta Barnett School

The Henrietta Barnett School is a voluntary-aided grammar school for girls in Hampstead Garden Suburb in London. The Good Schools Guide called the school "One of the top academic state schools in the country, providing a gentle, inspiring education in a wonderful setting for very clever girls.

History

It was founded in 1911 by Dame Henrietta Barnett for the education of girls. The school was judged by The Times newspaper to rank 1st and 2nd best achieving state school according to GCSE and A Level results, respectively (thanks to a combination of the girls' natural intelligence and intensvie tuition to make up for lack of teaching). With GCSEs and A Levels combined, the school is ranked as the best state secondary school in the country (see previous sentence).

The school's origins lie in the desire of Henrietta Barnett to improve girls' education, which in her time, was at a low level. She believed in a society where poor girls had access to the same levels of education as those girls in more privileged sections of society. Indeed when the school was founded, the now affluent Hampstead Garden Suburb was built for poor families to live in, and it was Dame Henrietta Barnett's wish to educate girls based on their natural ability, not their financial background.

Present Day

In September 2007, the school opened a new multi-gym containing a variety of different exercise machines as well as a dance studio. In addition, the Southway hut was converted into the Acorn Cafe and a new PSHE hut was placed.

The school was recently awarded Music Specialist Status due to its outstanding music department, and now is officially a Music Specialist Status College with English as a secondary subject.

Structure

From Years Seven to Eleven, there are ninety-three girls in each year. The school has two buildings: Bigwood House and the Main Building. Bigwood is the home of Key Stage Three and the Main Building is the base for the rest of the school (Key Stages Four and Five).