I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the Downe House website which, I hope, will provide you with a flavour of the School: its history, its present position; its plans; its hopes and aspirations for the future.

We are proud of our strong academic traditions and the girls’ record of success in this and many other fields, the foundation of which is developing self-belief in every girl.

At Downe, we believe that every girl is unique and that it is our task to enable her to flourish as an individual whilst also encouraging her to respect the differences, strengths and weaknesses of others within the community. In partnership with parents, we aspire to enable every girl to develop her individuality by presenting her with the maximum range of opportunities. In this way our community remains vibrant and forward-looking.

In addition to their personal and social development, it is essential that girls must be equipped with the necessary skills of effective communication, analysis and information technology, amongst many others. These will enable her to cope with the demands of later life and to take up the many and varied opportunities that are now open to young women.

Our girls and young women have much to look forward to and it is our aim that they will leave us having thoroughly enjoyed their time at Downe House, with an inner confidence balanced with an appropriate level of humility and a firm set of values on which to base their life.

I hope that after visiting our website, you will feel encouraged to visit the School in person. Set in 110 acres of beautiful woodland, our site is unique. You would be most welcome and there is no substitute for meeting the girls and staff and enjoying the atmosphere in person. I look forward to seeing you.