Headmistress Jane Gandee says: 'At St Swithun’s we are genuinely kind, we work hard to equip our pupils to be independent thinkers and we encourage and celebrate individual interests and talents. An example of this is encouraging pupils to lead assembly. Although the subject matter can sometimes be a little on the edgy side, we try to avoid censorship because when a pupil delivers an assembly of her choosing she is living out our ethos of encouraging individuality.'

'We see ourselves as ‘appropriately academic’ which means that we have extremely high standards, but we are not academic to the exclusion of all else. Our aim is for our pupils to achieve outstanding results in a low-pressure environment in which everyone has a strong sense of proportion.'

Attain asked the school, what makes St Swithun's different – and why should parents consider it?

Where St Swithun's differs is in its unique blend of ingredients: in its ethos, its expectations and the atmosphere in which its pupils flourish.

The school celebrates the beauty of difference, teaching all pupils to respect a variety of viewpoints and characteristics and offering an environment in which girls can develop as individuals.

With kindness and compassion at the heart of its community, St Swithun's provides a civilised and caring environment which prepares girls for the real world. By the time they leave they are courageous, compassionate, committed and self-confident with a love of learning, a moral compass and a sense of humour.

St Swithun's has a long-standing reputation for academic rigour and success. Girls are prepared for public examinations and higher education in a stimulating and scholarly environment in which they develop intellectual curiosity, independence of mind and the ability to take responsibility for their own learning.

They achieve almost one grade higher at GCSE than their already significant baseline ability would suggest. At A level their value-added score is approximately half a grade higher with a quarter of all results a full grade higher.