Sheffield High School for Girls is the leading South Yorkshire private school, offering an engaging and enriched education for girls from age 4 right through to 18. At Sheffield Girls', we aim to bring out the best in all our pupils and encourage them within a happy, structured and nurturing environment. Our ethos is one of mutual respect and care: every girl is valued for her own talents and interests and encouraged as an individual so that she can thrive.
The school celebrated a glowing report following its Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspection in December 2024. The report highlighted the school’s exceptional academic standards, dynamic teaching, and strong pastoral care, reinforcing its reputation as one of the leading independent schools in the region.
The inspectors recognised the school’s successful growth of pupils’ self-esteem, self-reliance, self-knowledge and leadership potential from Year 2 to Year 13 as a significant strength.
Among the many highlights, the report noted:
Outstanding teaching: ‘Well-qualified and passionate teachers deliver vibrant, engaging, and challenging lessons.’
A supportive environment: ‘Pupils are encouraged to take academic risks, learn from mistakes, and share ideas with confidence.’
A culture of collaboration and respect: ‘Opportunities for debate and discussion allow pupils to value diverse viewpoints.’
Inspirational leadership development: ‘The well-established Girls of Steel programme fosters confident and mature female role models.’
Enriching co-curricular activities: ‘Pupils engage in a wide variety of opportunities that develop teamwork, resilience, and personal growth.’
Exceptional pastoral care: ‘A nurturing, inclusive community where every pupil is supported to thrive.’
The report also commended the highly effective teaching, engaging curriculum, and extensive co-curricular opportunities that allow pupils to develop independence, confidence, and resilience.
In 2023, Sheffield High School for Girls was named the Top Independent Secondary School of the Year in the North by the Sunday Times. In this same year, the School was also named Independent Prep School of the Year 2023 by the Independent School Parent Magazine.
The GDST. Sheffield High School for Girls is part of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST). The GDST is the leading network of independent girls’ schools in the UK. As a charity that owns and runs 24 independent schools and two academies, it reinvests all of its income in its schools. For further information about the Trust visit www.gdst.net.
Number of pupils. 700 (150 in Sixth Form).
The School was opened in 1878 and has occupied its beautiful leafy site in the suburb of Broomhill close to the city centre since 1887. It draws its pupils from all parts of the Sheffield City region. Transport to and from school is available from a wide area.
The Infant School, which is located on Melbourne Avenue, is home to Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 girls. They benefit from specialist teachers and teaching facilities, enabling them to develop an early love of music, languages, sport and drama. The facilities include the Infant School Library, Music rooms, a Science room and an Art room where we deliver our unique fusion curriculum. Our outdoor play area was fully refurbished in 2021.
The Junior School, also based on Melbourne Avenue, is surrounded by outdoor learning spaces as well as easy access to the wider facilities in the Senior School, including indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Learning is enhanced by enrichment beyond the curriculum, which includes speakers and visitors into school, and trips to theatres and museums. In 2020, the school was named as the first World Educational Robotics (WER) UK robotics HUB for Primary School children and we offer our robotics curriculum from Year 5 onwards alongside a leading regional robotics outreach and partnership programme across the city.
In the Senior School, a £3.5 million pre-Covid development saw the addition of a new cookery suite, a new drama studio and a complete refurbishment of the gym, which now incorporates a state-of-the-art fitness suite and accommodation for trampolining, gymnastics and dance. The school installed brand new Biology labs in summer 2021 and recently completed work to replace the main building roof, demonstrating the school’s and wider Trust’s commitment to maintaining exceptional spaces for pupils to study.
A separate Sixth Form building, close to the Senior School buildings, offers well-furnished and comfortable common rooms for Years 12 and 13, a Learning Resource Centre with laptops, printers and high-speed Wi-Fi, and a fully equipped kitchen. We are very proud of our national reputation for achieving excellent results academically, but also for our outstanding success in sport, music, art and drama and for our work within the local community.
Beyond the school day. Food and refreshments are available in the dining hall from 7.30 am every morning. In the Infant and Junior School, after-school care is available daily from 3.15 pm until 5.30 pm in Tea Time Club.
Between 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm every Monday to Friday during term time, Senior pupils can stay in school, for free, to devote time to homework tasks or revision. Over 100 co-curricular clubs and programmes are on offer and many pupils stay in school after 3.30 pm to take part in a wide range of activities led by staff and senior students.
The school’s unique Girls of Steel programme of character education, which starts in Year 3 and runs to Year 13, encompasses a range of activities, and a process through which pupils develop the essential skills and characteristics to support their future choices and career paths. The programme also reflects the school’s values of positivity, kindness and courage as well as its aims and ethos to:
•nurture a love of learning and curiosity, encouraging pupils to explore, question and challenge
•support pupils to be confident, to flourish and be ready to take their place, and make a difference, in an ever-changing world
•encourage students to be proud! Proud of themselves, proud of each other, proud to be forged at Sheffield Girls’.
Curriculum. School life at Sheffield Girls’ centres on an exciting and challenging curriculum. As well as the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science, the broader Infant and Junior School curriculum includes History, Geography, Drama, Religious Studies and PSHE, with specialist teaching in Music, Modern Foreign Languages (French, Spanish or German), Art and Design Technology and Physical Education.
In the Senior School, a challenging and up-to-date curriculum combines the best of traditional, modern, scientific, creative and practical subjects to provide a broad, balanced and inspiring Secondary School education. From Year 7, girls study three separate Sciences, two Modern Foreign Languages and Latin (from Year 8) in addition to the standard national curriculum. There is a full range of options in languages, humanities and technical and aesthetic subjects. Most girls study nine GCSE subjects. We are one of the only providers of the Pre-Senior Baccalaureate in the region, offered to girls in Year 7 and Year 8 in preparation for their continued studies in the upper school.
In the Sixth Form, the school offers a bespoke curriculum tailored to the needs of each individual, with a personalised timetable for each girl. The majority of Year 12 students study 3 A levels. Students can also opt to do the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Our Forging Futures programme provides timetabled courses and standalone events for Years 12 and 13 pupils throughout the year, focusing on skills for life and skills for success.
The school has received a string of prestigious national awards for the exceptional quality of its extracurricular provision, such as PE Quality Mark with Distinction, Artsmark (Gold), GO4it, ICT Quality Mark, Eco-Schools Award and Career Mark Platinum Award, making it the only school in South Yorkshire to be so accredited for the quality of its careers provision. In September 2021, the School achieved the top standard in the ISI Inspection. Our pupils’ academic and other achievements were rated ‘Excellent’ and the quality of pupils’ personal development was also rated ‘Excellent’.
The school is one of only two Google Reference Schools in the region, reflecting their approach to embedding Edtech into all areas of provision across all year groups.
The School academic teams and clubs often reach national competition finals in STEM subjects and debating. In September 2022, our Year 13 Economics students won the International Award at the Youth Economic Summit in Hamburg. The School’s many lunchtime and after-school clubs encourage excellence in sport, music, drama and art, and we offer the full Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. A varied programme of residential trips and expeditions at home and abroad is available, including Sport, Music, Foreign Language and Art tours. The School has strong community links and has recently received four Independent School Awards as well as being shortlisted in two further years. Awards have been for: Best Independent-Maintained School Collaboration, Outstanding Community Initiative and Best Leadership Team.
The fees cover the regular curriculum, school books, stationery and other materials, most extracurricular activities, but not school lunches. Girls are required to stay for school lunches up to Year 7 and these are charged separately per term.
Scholarships and bursaries. The GDST makes available to the school a substantial number of scholarships and bursaries. In particular, it aims as far possible to focus its support on girls for whom the chance of a GDST education would be a transformative, life-changing prospect.
Bursaries are awarded to pupils in the top 30% of performance in the entrance examinations. All bursaries are means tested.
Scholarships are awarded on merit, irrespective of financial means. Offers are made based upon performance in the entrance examinations or audition for Year 7, or in the case of Sixth Form scholarships for outstanding ability demonstrated in individual subjects and disciplines. A Scholarship can be combined with a bursary where there is financial need.
Charitable status. Sheffield High School is part of The Girls’ Day School Trust, which is a Registered Charity, number 306983.