Focus

Academic excellence, empathy, integrity

Day fees 2024/25

$55,500 (incl. VAT)

Boarding fees 2024/25

$73,000 (incl. VAT)

Pupils

650

Ages

11–18

Spear’s Review

In 1896 the first cohort of 40 girls was welcomed into Wycombe Abbey by pioneering founder and Cambridge graduate Frances Dove, who was determined to promote the equal education of girls in the Victorian era. Her guiding principle was education for citizenship, and the school’s aims remain the same today: the pursuit of academic excellence, individual development and service to community.

Wycombe Abbey is renowned for its academic excellence, evidenced by its consistently outstanding exam results and university destinations worldwide. The school’s curriculum is based on the five values of risk-taking, resourcefulness, determination, reflection and development, and girls have access to a balanced and broad offering of subjects before choosing a path that aligns with their abilities, aspirations and personal passions. Study is supplemented by more than 50 societies and clubs, school trips and expeditions, and a lecture series tackling cultural, social, political, ethical and economic topics.

Alongside their studies and academic enrichment, girls can enjoy a huge variety of sports, and regularly compete at the county, region and national level.

Academics

97 per cent of IGCSE results are 7–9 grades.

84 per cent of A-Level results are A* or A grades.

Feeder schools

Students come from schools including Godstowe, Glendower and Pembridge Hall.

University and college destinations

According to the school, each year students are offered places at selective universities, and universities in the US are increasingly popular. In 2024, 20 per cent advanced to Oxford or Cambridge, while 4 per cent advanced to Ivy League schools.

Head teacher

Jo Duncan joined Wycombe Abbey as headmistress in 2019 following more than four years as headmistress of the Royal High School in Bath. She also held roles at Princess Helena College in Hertfordshire, where she was head, and at Benenden School, where she was variously an academic tutor, a deputy housemistress and head of department. Duncan, who has an MA in English literature and biblical studies from the University of St Andrews, completed her PGCE at Cambridge and began her career at the Latymer School in North London, where she taught for four years.

Admissions

Wycombe Abbey’s assessment process is designed to be as straightforward as possible, and the school looks for potential rather than prior attainment; girls are welcomed whatever their background and education. Entry points are at age 11, 13 and 16, with bursaries and scholarships available at each of these stages. Registration closes on 1 June in the year prior to entry.

Depending on the age of entry, applicants will be asked to sit exams and other assessments, submit references from their current school and take part in interviews. 

Accessibility

Heathrow: 30 minutes

Location

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