Heatherton Girls School – Academic Curriculum
A high-quality educational experience to enable pupils to achieve their best

An exceptionally high-quality environment where your daughter will flourish
The first five years are critical years for development and learning, and will make a considerable impact on your daughter’s future. They are crucial for opening her mind to learning, setting the standard for the years to come.

At Heatherton we make sure that your daughter is given the individual attention she needs and deserves. In this exceptionally high-quality educational environment your daughter will be able to flourish.
This child-centred approach to education at Heatherton ensures that your daughter will have the confidence to develop a natural curiosity, sense of adventure and a motivation for learning.
At Heatherton we are focused on nurturing our pupils to become remarkable people in the future.
Academic Results
We accurately predict a girl’s suitability for a wide range of senior schools
Transfer Test pass rate for the last 10 years
Transfer Test pass rate for 2023
Heatherton nurtures well-rounded individuals who are prepared for success in all aspects of life. Whilst developing girls holistically, Heatherton also has an enviable record of academic success and most girls move on to their preferred choice of senior school each year.
We accurately predict a girl’s suitability for a wide range of senior schools, including local independent schools and grammar schools, where our average Transfer Test (11+) pass rate over the past 10 years has been approximately double that of the county average – at over 60%.
At Heatherton, we believe in tracking our pupils from an early age and we use Cognitive Ability Tests, amongst others, to test our students. These tests are effective in providing additional insights in your daughter’s learning, enabling us to understand how we can better help them to learn. With this information we can provide your daughter with the teaching environment and methods that most meet her individual needs.
As we track the girls’ progress from a young age, we are able to predict with a high degree of accuracy if we feel a pupil will pass the Transfer Test (11+).
In Year 5, our parents meet with the Deputy Head, who is on hand to give advice regarding future schools and will advise you regarding the senior schools in which we feel your daughter will thrive.
Academic curriculum
Enrichment
At Heatherton, our pupils’ education is not just about achieving academic excellence. We celebrate childhood and inspire our pupils to foster a real love for learning that will last throughout their lives.
Early Years Department – Nursery and Reception
The Independent Schools Inspectorate cite Heatherton’s EYFS as an example of the very best practice. Heatherton was recognised by the Inspectors for its “outstanding quality of provision” in the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Heatherton’s “calm, purposeful environment” and “host of stimulating learning opportunities” were just some of the features highlighted by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.
At Heatherton, we understand that early school experiences will shape your child’s attitude to learning for the rest of their life.
Children at our Heatherton Nursery learn through purposeful play, exploration and investigation. This is facilitated by our carefully planned indoor and outdoor learning environments overseen by caring, supportive and highly experienced staff.
We believe it is important to us to work closely with you, so that we can learn about your child’s interests and previous experiences. This enables us to create new learning opportunities to ensure that she will have fun and enjoy challenges and successes whilst making real progress.
In line with best practice, we plan experiences that support learning and development across seven areas of the curriculum.
Of these, three prime areas form the essential foundation:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
The remaining four areas of learning provide children with a context in which to take their learning forward, namely:
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
At Heatherton we also teach the children how to become learners through:
Playing and exploring – teaching our students to become more adventurous
Active learning – so that our students become motivated to learn
Creative and critical thinking – encouraging our students to be innovative
By the time girls enter our Reception Class, teaching takes account of their growing independence, knowledge and skills while also recognising that they still need to investigate, explore and have fun, both indoors and outside.
Specialist teaching is continued for Music, Art, IT, STEM, Ballet, Gymnastics, Playball (in nursery) and Modern Foreign Languages and also introduced for PE. As the year progresses, the girls take a more active role in whole school activities.