21 ‘Perfect 10’ Scores on ‘Overall Experience’ from Eaton House The Manor Girls Parents in New Survey

Eaton House The Manor Girls’ School has long been known for providing a happy, confident and ambitious start to girls’ education. Parents have now backed this view in a new survey, where their ‘overall experience’ was rated at an average of 8.8 out of 10 by the 61 parents who took part – an exceptional score by any standards.

This is wonderful news for the Headmistress, Mrs Claire Fildes, who also received 21 ‘perfect 10’ scores on the matter of overall experience.

Further, parents gave a consistent average of 8.7 out of 10 in response to the question of whether they would be likely to recommend the school. This mirrors the recent ISI Report, which pronounced Eaton House The Manor schools to be ‘excellent.’

Mrs Fildes has always felt that the School’s mission is about understanding and supporting each girl, and being there for her and her parents in every way. The survey showed that parents fully appreciate that. One wrote: ‘Eaton House The Manor Girl’s School has a wonderful aura as soon as you step into the school. The teachers are focused but caring, and we have been impressed by the high standard of pastoral care given to pupils. There is a wealth of facilities and activities available to the girls outside of the traditional curriculum.’ Another commented that the School was ‘Creating a safe, friendly, happy and caring environment for our girls to learn.’ This was echoed by a third parent who praised the ‘safe and stable environment for students’ and a fourth who appreciated ‘A good balance of pastoral care and academics.’

The ISI Report (2022) backed this up, stating that the ‘quality of the pupils’ personal development is “excellent”’. It found that ‘Pupils have an excellent understanding of the importance of staying safe and keeping healthy, including mentally.’ Finally, the report comments that ‘Respecting others is an innate quality exhibited by all pupils, with diversity and inclusion being openly celebrated.’

The House system, ‘Big Sister’ scheme, excellent form teachers and visible senior management team combine to ensure that each girl feels supported in her learning. A Head of Wellbeing and school nurse are on hand to support all parents and pupils whenever a concern is raised, and girls are always encouraged to openly discuss any concerns or problems that they may have so that they may be quickly resolved.

Eaton House The Manor Girls’ School fully recognises its responsibilities for child protection and the Headmistress, Mrs Claire Fildes, takes the safeguarding of children in her care extremely seriously. Mrs Fildes says, ‘When the girls really feel that they’re cared for and happy in their learning environment, I really believe that the learning falls into place.’ (The Good Schools Guide, 2023)

One way in which she fosters this is to promote an open dialogue with parents, from the form teachers up. To facilitate these discussions, all parents have access to a host of child protection and safety policies, all of which are accessible on the Parent Portal. Form teachers are always happy to have a quick chat after school, and this nips most small problems in the bud, but Mrs Fildes or her Deputy, Mrs Kirsten Bond, are always happy to meet with parents to talk things through if needed.

A good management structure for wellbeing is underpinned by a strong ‘School Rules’ policy of kindness and good behaviour, which the girls follow for the benefit of all, as well as their classroom rules. These rules are wide-ranging but some of the most important are: Always tell the truth; say sorry if you upset someone; think about other people’s feelings; treat others as you would want to be treated and make sure a teacher knows where you are at all times.

Needless to say, happy and supported girls perform well academically. In 2022 and 2023, the girls received an outstanding 41 scholarships and awards. Girls have been offered an impressive total of 102 scholarships from 2017–2023, in Academics, Music, Drama, Art and Sport. These have included Academic Scholarships at Wycombe Abbey, JAGS, Alleyns and St Mary’s Ascot. Girls typically leave for a range of top schools, including St Paul’s Girls’ School, Godolphin & Latymer, Wycombe Abbey, St Mary’s Calne, St Mary’s Ascot, JAGS, Putney High School, and many more. Beyond academics, the girls are happy, calm, emotionally intelligent, balanced, kind and well-mannered –  which is EHTM Girls’ School’s proudest achievement when they eventually move on to other schools.