Basic Information & Location
The Royal High School Bath GDST is an independent school for girls in Somerset, the South-West Region of England. It is only 33 km to Bristol Airport. The Royal High School was formed by the merger in 1998 of Bath High School and the Royal School, reinforcing the outstanding sense of community, warmth, and commitment to girls’ only education that was held by both schools for over a century. The school was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2016 and was awarded the rating of ‘excellent’ in both academic achievement and personal development.
Bath is a plain and safe city that is said to be the most suitable one for studying with hot springs and heritage to explore. The school is close to Bath University and sometimes it will organize academic activities with the nearby universities. The tuition fee of the Royal High School is around 10% cheaper than similar girls’ school. Most of the student are day students. There are not many boarders in the school. In other words, there will be more Hong Kong people in the boarding houses.
Academic Development
The Royal High School is a member of the Girls’ Day School Trust. They share the same vision of being the leader in the field of girls’ education in the UK. The students have achieved excellent results in public exams. In 2017 GCSE, 72% of examinations were passed at A*-A grade with 89% at A*-B grade. There were very strong grades across a range of subjects, notably in English Language, English Literature and Biology. For A-Level, 54% of students achieving A*-A grades overall and 72% scored A-B grades with a 99% pass rate. The IB students maintained an average score of 37 out of a possible 45 points, which is 8 points above the world average (29). 98% of leavers gaining a place at their chosen universities. 7 A-Level students have achieved the terms of their Oxbridge offers in 2017. The majority of their IB students are going on to Russell Group universities. The school students have the support of the Careers and Higher Education guidance programme. In addition to timetabled lessons and individual help from Year 7 onwards, they have lunchtime careers talks from visiting speaker, assistance for Careers-related enquiries, alumni network and careers fair.
Pastoral Care & Boarding
School house is a space for 140 girls, which represents approximately one-quarter of the total student body. Gloucester House is the Sixth Form house. An experienced team of staff under the direction of the Head of Boarding provide care, guidance and support for every girl. The boarders can enjoy the lively environment, many cultural and recreational attractions in Bath in addition to the weekend activity programme offered in boarding, which includes trips further afield to London or outward-bound activities including surfing, climbing or dry skiing. They also have links with boys’ schools for activities, such as team building, pizza making and for the Sixth Form, wine tasting.
Extracurricular & personal development
The school has developed an extensive programme of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, which are available to all students. Activities during the school day are mostly performing arts, sports clubs and those drawn from more direct links with the taught curriculum. After school activities are more diverse both in the scope of the activity and the timings. From photography to fencing and science club to swimming – with over 80 activities to choose from there is something for everyone. As part of the Girls’ Day School Trust, they have unique opportunities to take part in many GDST tourments competing against 25 schools from all over the country. Competitions are held in gymnastics, cross country, netball, hockey, tennis, rounders, athletics, golf and swimming. The school site provides an ideal mix of history and heritage with modern and contemporary facilities such as Arts School, sports hall, theatres, media centre and a summer swimming pool.
