Headteacher's Welcome

“Students explore their faith by becoming young women of action who use their gifts and talents to benefit others..

Our staff go above and beyond in providing the best possible pastoral care, guidance, and support for all our students to ensure all achieve success."

You can watch my welcome video here.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the Ursuline high School Wimbledon. My name is Eoin Kelly, and I have the privilege as head teacher of presenting to you our exceptional school.

This is an inclusive and progressive all-girls’ Catholic state secondary school – with a dedicated Sixth Form which includes Boys - where students feel safe and secure in their learning.

I am proud to lead this school, founded in 1892 and a thriving successful community today. From the outset an all-girls' main school setting has many exclusive benefits extending beyond statistically better exam results/outcomes when compared to their co-education setting - extensive studies demonstrate that young women who attend all-girls schools do better across many areas of their education and personal development/formation. You can read more about the research on our website. 

Whilst we are a Catholic school, we are a welcoming and enriching environment for students of other Faiths and those of no Faith. An Ursuline student is committed to their faith and encouraged to live out our core value of Serviam, which means ‘I Will Serve’. Inspired by the life and work of Saint Angela Merici, our Ursuline school commits itself to education for tomorrow’s world within the dynamic tradition of Catholic belief and practice. It is our purpose to help our students to identify what these gifts and talents are that they have been given and to provide opportunities to develop and grow in service. This is an inclusive aspirational community where everyone is valued and known.

Students explore their faith by becoming young women of action who use their gifts and talents to benefit others. Through this formation, our students are prepared to make a difference in the school and wider society and are kind, forgiving, generous of spirit and persevering.

Students will be part of a national and global network of Ursuline schools sharing the common goals of delivering academic excellence, service in the spirit of St Angela Merici and outstanding pastoral care in developing young women as leaders.

Our provision, including our dedicated Sixth Form in partnership with Wimbledon College, is designed with our mission statement and leaver’s profile at the heart of it, providing an inclusive and diverse curriculum offer including with state-of-the-art facilities.

We enjoy remarkable high standards of academic achievement, are proud of our students' exceptional progress and attainment (regardless of ability) and are consistently in the top 5% of highest performing state schools in the country. I am proud to say that our excellent outcomes – in both attainment and progress – regularly receive national recognition in the SSAT’s (The Schools, Students and Teachers Network) Educational Outcomes Awards who recognise that this success is down to the superb learning and teaching, outstanding support, and inspirational leadership of staff.

Our outstanding Sixth Form - in partnership with our neighbouring boys school Wimbledon College - offers diverse pathways including A-Levels and T Levels, preparing students for university, further education, apprenticeships, or training. 

Our destinations are equally impressive. Our students regularly receive Oxbridge offers and every year we have a high percentage of students going on to Russell Group universities, and Sutton Trust institutions. In 2024/2025, 100% of students received a University or Apprenticeship offer: Of these 37% of our year 13 students went to Russell Group universities, and 51% went to Sutton Trust institutions.

At the Ursuline, we go beyond the transactional and care about the whole child. We fulfil our school values not just through our curriculum and academic excellence but through our outstanding personal development, pastoral care and well-being programmes – designed with the needs of girls at its heart. 

We offer a wide-ranging sports, arts, languages, and enrichment programmes, including extensive careers and student leadership programmes, preparing the students for the opportunities of life beyond school.

Our students work hard, are proud of their uniform, and show respect and courtesy for others. And our staff go above and beyond in providing the best possible pastoral care, guidance, and support for all our students to ensure all achieve success.

The continuing success of the Ursuline High School is based on strong partnerships, most significantly in our shared values with our parents and the wider community. Together, we ensure the highest standards of achievement and personal development.

Whether you're stepping into Year 7 or transferring later, we're excited to show you what makes our school so wonderful. We look forward to welcoming you to one of our open events where you can explore our facilities and really get a sense of our ethos, values and what it means to be an Ursuline student. I am also thrilled to announce that our new promotional video and virtual tour will be launching very soon.

I know that choosing a secondary school for your daughter is an important and challenging decision. Should you entrust us, I and my colleagues look forward to welcoming her and will do everything we can to ensure she is happy, thriving and reaching her potential.

Best wishes

Eoin Kelly

Headteacher

Find out more...

Take a look at our School Aims and Ethos, Why Ursuline High School, the benefits of an All Girls' Education, and Catholic Life of the School pages for further insight into our school life and mission.

We are proudly part of the Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust, alongside the following primary schools; St John Fisher Roman Catholic Primary School (West Wimbledon), Federation of St. Elphege’s Infants and Juniors, and Regina Coeli Schools (Sutton and Croydon).

The trust is committed to nurturing both academic excellence and personal growth within a strong Catholic tradition.