| St Paul's Girls' School | |
| Established: | 1904 |
| Type: | Private day school |
| Head Label: | High Mistress |
| Head: | Sarah Fletcher[1] |
| Chair Label: | Chairman of Governors |
| Chair: | Simon Wathen |
| Founder: | Worshipful Company of Mercers |
| Address: | Brook Green |
| City: | London |
| Country: | England |
| Postcode: | W6 7BS |
| Local Authority: | Hammersmith and Fulham |
| Urn: | 100366 |
| Enrolment: | 808 |
| Capacity: | 825 |
| Gender: | Girls |
| Lower Age: | 10 |
| Upper Age: | 19 |
| Free Label 1: | Former pupils |
| Free 1: | Old Paulinas |
St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.
The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top 30 UK senior schools.[2]
St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part of the endowment of the foundation set up by John Colet, to create a girls' school to complement the boys' school he had founded in the sixteenth century. The governors hold proprietorial responsibility, and some are representatives of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London.
The buildings for the school were designed by the architect Gerald Horsley, son of the painter John Callcott Horsley and one of the founder members of the Art Workers Guild.
The school has had several distinguished directors of music, most notably Gustav Holst (1905–34) and Herbert Howells (1936–62). Holst composed his St Paul's and Brook Green suites for the pupils at the school. Holst also composed what is arguably his best known work, "The Planets", while teaching at St Paul's. John Linton Gardner held a part-time position as director of music at the school.
St Paul's girls regularly perform extremely well in the GCSEs and A Levels.[3] In 2014, 99.3% of GCSEs were graded at A*s or As with 93.6% graded at A* alone. This was the highest ever A* percentage achieved by the school and in the country. In 2016, the school achieved the highest A Level results in its history with 60.0% of entries achieving an A* grade and 93.8% of entries achieving A* or A grades.In 2023, 80.5% of GCSE entries were awarded a 9 grade and 94% of entries gained an 8 or 9 (which are equivalent to the old A* grade). This is the eleventh consecutive year that the proportion of A* equivalent grades has exceeded 90%.
In the 2023 A level and Pre-U results, 53% of entries attained an A* grade (or the Pre-U equivalent D1 or D2). 87.04% of entries achieved an A* or A grade and 97.1% a B grade or higher (or the Pre-U equivalent of M1 or M2).
Gustav Holst was director of music at the school from 1905 to 1934 when he died, including the period he composed his orchestral suites, including St Paul's Suite and The Planets. He was succeeded by Herbert Howells before John Gardner followed in the 1960s. Gardner wrote many memorable pieces for the school, including his popular Christmas carols Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day and The Holly and the Ivy. Hilary Davan Wetton was director of music from 1979 to 1994. In 1988 a CD with Children's favorite songs was released on the label Spectrum records.
The school's main theatre, where most school productions are staged, is named after alumna Celia Johnson. Other productions are staged in the drama studio which is a smaller space.
The school has an active rowing club called the St Paul's Girls' School Boat Club which is based on the River Thames. The club is affiliated to British Rowing (boat code SPG)[4] and has produced four British champion crews at the 1992 British Rowing Championships,[5] 2002 British Rowing Championships,[6] 2003 British Rowing Championships[7] and 2011 British Rowing Championships.[8]
The headmistress of St Paul's Girls' School is known as the High Mistress.
Alumnae of the school, known as "Old Paulinas", include:
The school was in the news in November 2017 with allegations of sexual abuse between the 1970s and 1990s.[19] One teacher resigned on 22 November 2017 amidst these allegations.[20]