Schools across the country had braced themselves for the much-publicised drop in grades insisted upon by the exams regulator Ofqual to counter the grade inflation arising from two years of results based on teacher or centre assessment.  That process had already started in 2022 when 35.9% of grades nationally were A or A* compared with 25.2% in 2019 and 44.3% in 2021.  In fact, we dramatically bucked the trend and recorded outstanding results last year, placing Francis Holland Sloane Square in the top echelon of high-performing UK schools.   We are delighted that once again we have outperformed expectations, despite the inevitable downwards drag which is reflected in fewer top grades throughout the country.  62% of our students’ grades are A* or A and a superb 97% were A*-C with 100% pass.

Much has been written already about the long ‘tail’ which has been experienced universally, and it is always a source of pride to us that our students often surpass their own expectations.  We are not an academic hothouse.  We don’t accept simply the most academically able pupils in the 11+.  We passionately believe in multiple intelligences, and the power of perseverance, commitment, and self-belief.  The building of resilience and determination has been central to our steadily improving academic performance, and we are renowned for our exceptional music, drama, art and sport, as well as our distinctive emphasis on entrepreneurship.  It is therefore a source of great pride to us that significant numbers of our students will progress now to art colleges, conservatoires and drama, film or fashion school, as well as to Oxbridge, North American and European universities.  We are also particularly pleased to see the growing interest in degree apprenticeships and in alternative routes into the world of work.  Creativity, innovation and enterprise are vitally needed in this era of artificial intelligence and economic pressure.  It is our aim to send out young women equipped to generate employment not just take it, and with a desire to make a difference in the world.

The Extended Project Qualification continues to be a central component of our Sixth Form provision, developing as it does the vital skills of research, analysis and communication. Girls develop their independence as they produce a project from an initial concept through to a final creation which can be either a 5000 word dissertation or an artefact, such as a musical composition, a commercial product or the production of a play. The projects this year reflected the individual enthusiasms and intellectual creativity of the Class of 2023 and we are delighted that universities and employers are increasingly recognising the importance of the skills and experience offered by the EPQ.  This year the students recorded the highest number of A* grades yet, with 35% achieving the top grade.

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