St Swithun’s recognised as a High Performance Learning World Class School

Following a successful re-accreditation, St Swithun’s School in Winchester has been recognised as a High Performance Learning (HPL) World Class School for a further three years.

St Swithun's is committed to providing a world class education to its students and the very best foundation in life. The school adopted the High Performance Learning framework and joined the international network of HPL schools, first becoming accredited in 2020.

The HPL accreditor said that they impressed with a range of activities including: “The Year 6 Independent Project Qualifications and Year 5 research projects that are clearly inspiring pupils. The appointment of a staff drive team in the senior school, coupled with the robust interactive review process is providing ‘in depth’ evaluations of HPL pedagogical practice and facilitating the cascading of best practice across the school.”

In addition, they stated that: “St Swithun’s truly is an exceptional school that others can look to for inspiration.”

The HPL philosophy is that high achievement is an attainable target for everyone; intelligence is not fixed; high performers are made, not born. It involves the systematic and explicit encouragement and empowerment of students to develop the ways of thinking and ways of behaving that will equip them for success both in school and beyond.

Headmistress of St Swithun’s school, Jane Gandee, said: “We passionately believe that each and every child can get cleverer through systematic nurture and support. While some children naturally acquire the thinking skills, values, attitudes and attributes needed for lifetime success, many do not. That is why we teach these skills and behaviours explicitly.”

“This milestone not only recognises our academic achievements and approach but also celebrates the cultivation of critical thinking, resilience and a passion for learning.”

Head of the Prep School, Jonathan Brough, added: “We are thrilled that the IPQ work was highlighted by the accreditors. Education, at any age is about growth and discovery and the IPQ projects are examples of just that, allowing children the chance to set their own research questions, explore new pathways and choose their own ways to present their findings.”