Leading girls' education 

The Girls’ Day School Trust is the largest single educator of girls in the UK (and the UK’s largest educational charity). We know more about the education of girls than any other group of schools – we understand how girls learn, we know the importance of building resilience and intellectual risk-taking, we have a deep understanding of girls’ educational and pastoral needs at every stage in their development. 

At the same time, because we have 26 schools, we are an extraordinarily effective network for knowledge sharing and for the dissemination of best practice (whether it is excellence in hockey, getting all our applicants to medical school to get places, maximising our girls’ potential in public exams). We are also able to develop and promote talented teachers through our network. In our schools girls can find their ‘maximum stretch’ – in academic, musical, sporting, acting ability – and being able to develop their talents uninhibitedly in a single sex environment is enormously important for them. 

The results speak for themselves – GDST girls outperform the independent school sector as a whole at GCSE and A Level by a significant margin. Our Oxbridge and Russell Group results continue to be impressive, even as competition in higher education mounts. And our Key Stage 2 results show the outstanding performance of our junior schools. 

All but two of our schools are all-through – 3-18 – and this gives us the unique advantage of being able to help a girl develop from the earliest years, building the foundations of curiosity, love of learning and adventurousness in the classroom and the sports field that will make the GDST school leaver so recognisable both to university tutors and future employers, for her confidence without arrogance, and her ability to take on every challenge, to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’.

Helen Fraser CBE - Chief Executive

The Girls' Day School Trust is a limited company registered in England (company number 6400 and registered charity number 306983).