Headteacher

The intention of a Sacred Heart education is to address the whole person. You come as you are and are cared for with great love. The hope is to implant in you a sacred love for yourself, to challenge you to be more honest, to lead you along the road of integrity.

Our aim is to educate young women who are engaged in all aspects of their learning, mind and heart, body and soul, and prepare them to become positive role models, agents of change and leaders who will transform the world we live in for the betterment of all.  The curriculum is broad and deliberately wide ranging to ensure each girl has the potential to develop her talents and is challenged intellectually in an environment where she can develop academically, emotionally, socially, culturally and spiritually. Our curriculum is underpinned by the skills and techniques essential for 21st century learning so that each pupil is able to take up her role as a responsible and critically thinking member of society who is concerned for others and has a clear sense of faith and dignity. As a Community of Learners we value academic excellence and learning. We are proud of our examinations record and the fact that every Ofsted inspection has praised the quality of the school’s teaching and learning and its strong ethos. We are equally proud of other non-academic achievements and our successes in the performing and creative arts and to this end, we constantly seek to provide an interesting and varied range of experiences to enable opportunities for creativity, learning and exploration beyond the classroom. A real strength of our school is the supportive relationships between teachers, parents and pupils leading to successful outcomes for pupils, excellent behaviour and attitudes towards learning.  All girls will be encouraged to continue their education at Sixth Form level and supported in choosing the most suitable courses available to them. Our recently established Sixth Form ensures a seamless transition for girls enabling them to continue their education in a highly successful school, where academic excellence, a supportive ethos, a rich curricular and extra-curricular offer and a firm basis of Catholic values will always be at the heart of what we provide post 16 just as they are for pupils from 11–16.

“Rooted in Tradition: The convent of the Sacred Heart is built on an historic site with a long Catholic tradition dating back to 1609.”

An old convent foundation known locally as the 'nunnery' or 'Great House' shared the grounds with 'Cupola House', the country residence of the Portuguese Ambassador. The history of both these houses is bound up with Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. Catherine brought nuns back to the convent in 1668 and since then it has been in the hands of four different orders of teaching nuns.  In 1869 Archbishop Manning decided to convert the convent into a seminary but the original buildings were found to be unsuitable. By January 1876 John Francis Bentley, the architect of Westminster Cathedral, had completed the plans for the current Tudor styled buildings. By July 1884 the seminary was complete, consisting of a chapel, library, school, refectory, common room and upwards of sixty study bedrooms for staff and students.  In 1893 the the St Thomas's Seminary became the property of the Society of the Sacred Heart. By 1904 it was reorganised as a secondary school by the Board of Education with boarding and day pupils until 1926 when the school started to take only day pupils.  In 1948 the convent school was reorganised as a secondary grammar school, continuing as a grammar school until 1976 when the school received its first comprehensive intake.  Apart from the twenty years as a seminary in the late nineteenth century, this site has a 330 year tradition of contributing to the education of young women.