The Godstowe Preparatory School, Godstowe Preparatory School

• Location: High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire,
• Year of foundation: 1900,
• Language of instruction: English,
• Type of education: for girls.

The Godstowe Preparatory School — is a thriving independent preparatory school for girls aged 7 to 13. In addition to the school, there is also a nursery here for girls and boys aged 3 to 7.

• In 2025, The Godstowe Preparatory School celebrated its 125th anniversary.
• To mark the anniversary, the school published a special edition — The Godstowe Girl, which collected stories from former students.
• The institution became the first preparatory school for girls in England and quickly established close ties with Wycombe Abbey – a partnership that remains in place today.
• In its first year, the school had only 12 students, three of whom were the director’s daughters.
• Initially, the girls wore uniforms consisting of straw hats with red ribbons, cloaks, sportswear and white dresses. The hat and cloak remain an integral part of the school tradition today.

At The Godstowe Preparatory School, pupils can feel at home in dedicated boarding houses: Walker House and Turner House. On campus, girls are offered full boarding, flexible boarding options, and occasional overnight stays, allowing families to choose the option that best suits their needs.

Walker House:

• A wonderful Victorian house with sloping ceilings and wooden floors.
• The rooms are located on three floors, around the staircases.
• Eight bedrooms can accommodate approximately 25 girls.
• There is a shared kitchen where you can prepare snacks.
• Outside the main building there is its own garden.
• Not far from the boarding house are sports grounds and a swimming pool.

Turner House:

• Boarding school for high school girls, a modern building with comfortable rooms.
• 3 shared rooms are well equipped, convenient and multifunctional: the largest one has a music system, a large screen TV, a DVD player and personal lockers for each girl, another — computers, books, newspapers, games, a piano and a synthesizer. The third room is used by boarding school students as a quiet place for independent study and homework.
• The boarding school is located near an artificial playground.

Godstowe boarding school partners with award-winning CH&Co, which provides professional catering services. Children are offered a hot main course, vegetarian and vegan options, jacket potatoes, homemade soup, a salad bar, desserts, yogurt, and fresh fruit daily. In addition, chefs regularly hold pop-ups, such as preparing fresh sushi.

In a cozy and spacious dining room, special dates are periodically celebrated, for example, the celebration of the Chinese New Year — on such days, chefs create a special festive menu.

The school administration and CH&Co are committed to helping the planet and are constantly looking for new ways to make the kitchen and food production here more environmentally friendly. Recent initiatives include growing their own herbs, zero-waste vegetable production, reusing leftovers, recycling tin cans, and using food waste for compost.

Every week at The Godstowe Preparatory School, 90+ clubs operate, holding classes during lunchtime and after lessons. They help to reveal the different talents and interests of students: art, sports, acting, and music — girls can choose any direction they like. Current sports and creative formats:

• tennis,
• badminton,
• netball,
• basketball,
• chess,
• field hockey,
• theatrical performances,
• music concerts,
• art exhibitions.

Birthdays on campus — are always something special. Employees organize festive dinners for their students, where the girls have fun with friends and enjoy delicious cake.

The main period of activity and participation in extracurricular formats — weekends. At this time, the girls go shopping, to theaters, theme parks, and students visit excursions around the city and its surroundings, and even abroad with accompanying teachers.

• Approximately one third of the students at The Godstowe Preparatory School live in boarding houses, in a nurturing environment where the highest standards are established in all areas: education, personal development and pastoral care.
• The school for girls aims to nurture happy, self-confident and successful individuals who will be able to easily enter their chosen senior schools and then universities after graduation.
• Research from the British Institute of Education has shown that girls who study separately from boys are more likely to study science subjects at an advanced level and generally show higher results in a number of disciplines.
• Academic strategies are based on the peculiarities of perception and assimilation of material specifically by girls, lessons are structured in such a way as to enhance curiosity during the learning process, develop critical thinking, and prevent fear of mistakes.
• Girls from various countries live and study in boarding houses, creating a truly global and inclusive environment.

The infrastructure of The Godstowe Preparatory School includes the following facilities and services:

• playground with artificial turf,
• climbing wall,
• tennis courts,
• natural areas for walks and games,
• indoor multi-functional sports hall where gymnastics, lacrosse, high jump and other sports are held,
• dance studio,
• spacious conference hall,
• recently renovated JK Hall, which houses the JK Theatre drama studio,
• spacious and bright classrooms,
• changing rooms,
• kitchen for preparing snacks,
• common dining room,
• creative workshops,
• library,
• co-working spaces for independent study,
• Chef’s Kitchen for cooking lessons,
• competition swimming pool which was opened in 2019 by Olympic medalist Rebecca Adlington.

Additional expenses:

• individual lessons with tutors, 
• English as an Additional Language (EAL) classes,
• foreign language lessons,
• music lessons,
• excursions,
• accommodation and meals,
• visa fees.

The 6 main stages of admission to The Godstowe Preparatory School:

• Sending a request,
• Visiting the campus (if possible),
• Registering for admission events,
• Taking tests or trial days (if necessary),
• Waiting for a response and invitation from the administration,
• Preparing to move for studies.

Starting in the third grade, The Godstowe Preparatory School holds information evenings and consultations for students to help girls prepare for further education in senior schools, choose a suitable institution, and prepare for entrance exams.

Over the past few years, girls from GPS have become outstanding scientists, athletes, dancers and actresses.

The Godstowe Preparatory School accepts girls from all social backgrounds: the admissions committee does not conduct a specific selection process, but staff strive to choose students who will keep up with the pace of learning.

You can enroll in senior classes only after passing tests in English and mathematics to determine the appropriate specialized class. If there are enough places available, new students will be accepted into any class.

The Godstowe Preparatory School offers scholarships to girls from low-income families who would otherwise be unable to attend the school due to financial difficulties. As students achieve success in various fields during their studies, staff strive to encourage their aspirations with financial support.

Scholarships are provided only to girls who are studying in grades 3–8 and have achievements in academic, sports, and creative fields. You can apply for a scholarship during your studies or the admission process. The amount of financial support is up to 10% of the tuition fee.

The administration anticipates that scholarship recipients will contribute to the school’s academic, musical, athletic or artistic life, supporting and encouraging their peers to do the same.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision