Open all
Our View
A visionary all-girls school full of extremely confident, capable and engaging young women, this north London gem knows just how to create a vibrant learning environment where no one gets left behind and everyone is inspired to embrace the school’s ‘10 per cent braver’ approach to life. Channing is big in size and heart with stellar facilities – there’s a lot to love here.
Where?
The school’s prime position at the top of a hill in Highgate means it has spectacular views of London while being set apart in its own lovely bubble. Walking through the front entrance, you feel like you’re going into a standard London house – but no, like Narnia, there’s a whole world behind that door, with building after building, including a sixth-form centre, sports hall and theatre, plus lots of outdoor areas and an impressive multi-use games area. A large new science and maths building is being built that will see the outside space remodelled to create more seating and green space.
Most pupils live within a four-mile radius and travel to and from school on public transport (which the school encourages). It’s generally a straightforward commute, with Highgate underground just 10 minutes by foot in one direction and Archway the same distance in the other.
Head
Lindsey Hughes took up the headship in 2020 with experience of both all-girls and all-boys schools under her belt. She tells us, ‘This is by far and away the best job in the world.’ During her predecessor's tenure, pupil numbers have grown by 350, and her ‘10 per cent braver’ ethos has seen positive outcomes both at school and at home. ‘It’s the perfect nudge for high-performing, risk-averse girls to go to the audition or ask the question in class,' she says. ‘Teenagers don’t want to stand out but want to be different. We give them the confidence to forge their own path.’ The school’s Unitarian values of free thinking, acceptance and inclusivity are foundational, and Mrs Hughes is passionate about pupils having a voice that is heard: ‘We are educating girls to take a place in the world; school is the place for first opinions and crucial social skills.’
Admissions
The school is selective and oversubscribed, and that’s for 100 places in each year, 70 in the sixth form. The main entry point is 11+, with prospective pupils sitting the London 11+ Consortium Assessment in December, followed by an interview in January.
Academics and destinations
There is a maximum of 25 pupils per class in Years 7 to 9, fewer at GCSE, and at A-level class sizes are even smaller – our sixth-form guide's largest class was nine pupils for English. Academics are strong across the board: economics is currently the most popular A-level, the science department is huge and languages are equally impressive, with Years 7 to 9 learning French, Spanish, German and Latin. Latin and classical civilisation are offered at GCSE and A-level. There’s also a twilight classical Greek course after school in Year 10 and ancient Greek A-level on the timetable when there is demand for it.
All Year 12s start an EPQ and do at least one term – it’s timetabled as part of weekly enrichment lessons (which include salsa, embroidery and yoga). Pupils work with a supervisor, writing a proposal and presenting it in the summer term, and for those who decide not to complete one, there’s a shorter Channing Project to give them a similar experience. Sixth-formers also have the option of taking four A-levels – those gunning for Oxbridge and medicine often do, and the success rate of getting places on competitive courses in top universities is high.
‘All of them go to the place they want to go, to do things they want to do,’ says Mrs Hughes, who tells us pupils go for ‘the whole gamut’ of options: art foundation courses, robotics, marine biology, theatre design, criminology… the list goes on. Some choose to head abroad too; in the past four years, international further-education destinations have included the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and Israel.
Co-curricular
Channing is an arty school, and the art department sits in a labyrinth of rooms on the top floor, all with incredible views over the City of London and Emirates Stadium. It’s inspiring, to say the least. And with a darkroom, textiles studio, ceramics room and kiln, it’s not surprising that many choose art at GCSE. In 2023 all of the pupils who took art for GCSE received a grade 9.
Music is also busy and just as inspiring, with a dedicated team of teachers and visiting music staff who pour themselves into organising choirs, ensembles, orchestras, singing lessons, instrumental lessons and even musical-theatre lessons. Every Friday there’s a Music at Lunchtime concert, and at Christmas pupils perform in a local church. This year, a Royal Academy harpist is joining the orchestra. They also hold jazz evenings, creating a jazz-club vibe in the theatre with the audience sitting at tables to listen to the band.
Every year there are two school plays or musicals, one for Years 7-9 and the other for Years 9-13
. There’s a proper theatre with an upstairs space for the orchestra to play, and a lighting rig complete with a booth. Pupils get involved in every aspect of a production, from set and costume design to lighting, make-up and, of course, acting.
The sports hall is big enough to be divided into two, so two lessons can be held simultaneously. They do everything from trampolining and dance to volleyball. There is also a fitness suite, which sixth-formers can use outside lesson time. The multi-use games area outside is used for football, netball and rounders, and pupils walk to nearby Stanhope Road for PE lessons. Sports day is held at Parliament Hill, where the school rents a track.
Staff run clubs, while sixth-formers take charge of societies. There are lots of trips: school musicians recently went to Vienna and Seville, there was a Spanish and history visit to Cuba, and every year there’s a skiing trip.
School community
There’s a real understanding of girls’ wellbeing here. Mrs Hughes encourages pupils to practise self-compassion: ‘Girls are brilliant friends to each other, but they don’t always turn it to themselves. The hope is that they understand they are brilliant and the strengths they have are marvellous.’ A big-siblings programme sees Year 7s paired with a Year 8 buddy, and wellbeing one-to-ones are delivered by sixth-formers.
There’s a lot of fun and energy in the inter-house competitions, with Christmas a particular highlight of the year: classrooms are decorated and judged and pupils take part in a Christmas debate.
Outreach activities are coordinated by a dedicated Director of Social Impact who organises partnerships with local state schools. Sixth-formers run breakfast clubs in some, while Year 9s read in the mornings with partnership schools. Year 10s also give digital support to the local community, fixing their devices over tea and sandwiches.
And finally....
Excellent academics, fantastic pastoral care and a wonderful way of imbuing girls with self-confidence, Channing makes a strong argument for single-sex education. If you’re a north London family with daughters, it’s definitely one to put on your shortlist.