Basic Facts

Type of School
Founded in 1820, we are one of England's oldest academic girls' schools. We welcome day girls, flexi boarders, weekly boarders and full boarders from age 11 to 18. We are proud of the warmth of our community and of the way in which day girls and boarders live and work successfully together.

Our Unique Approach
Our fundamental belief is that every girl is an individual. We choose to remain a small school, which allows every girl to be challenged, to take risks, to achieve and to grow. Our unique approach provides many benefits in academic, extracurricular and pastoral areas.

The educational benefits include a flexible curriculum and small classes. Both result in individual attention and excellent value-added attainment. A smaller school allows teachers to understand girls' individual learning styles, to recognise their particular strengths and weaknesses and to set individual learning targets.

The excellent relations between pupils and staff result in a strong family atmosphere. Knowing our girls well allows us to encourage them to take risks, safe in the knowledge that we will support them. This allows every girl to be challenged,  to achieve and to grow.

As Princess Helena College is a small school, your daughter's chances of being selected for a team, a place in the orchestra, a part in a play, or a position of responsibility are far higher. Having the opportunity to take part or perform in these activities will increase her confidence and self-belief. The value of this should not be underestimated.

Ethos and Aims
Your daughter is an individual and we aim to inspire her to achieve beyond her expectations in both her academic and personal goals. We promise to do all we can to ensure every girl is happy and enjoys her time at with us. We aim to develop each girl's strengths and to foster her love of learning through the provision of small classes, highly qualified staff and a wide range of curricular and extracurricular opportunities.

Location and Access
The College is set in 183 acres of rural parkland, which provides a safe and beautiful environment.

The site is easily accessible, situated 30 minutes north of London between the A1 and the M1, just 5 minutes from the market town of Hitchin. Our excellent transport links include a network of school minibus routes, rail accss (35 minutes to King's Cross) and proximity to several airports (Luton 15 minutes, Stansted 45 and Heathrow 60).

To see a map of the school's location, please click here. For an outline of the school minibus routes, please click here.

Day and Boarding
Princess Helena College is a vibrant community where day girls and boarders live and work successfully together. Approximately 55% of girls are day girls.

The formal school day begins at 8.30 and ends at 4.00pm, after which time day girls are free to be collected (up until 6.30pm). There is a long lunch break to allow all girls the opportunity to participate in clubs and activities. School buses leave at 6pm to allow all girls the chance to choose to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities or to attend supervised prep.

45% of our girls choose to board in some way at PHC: full boarding, weekly boarding, flexible boarding or occasional boarding.For more detailed information about our day and boarding education visit this section of our website.

Fees
In our fee structure we aim to offer value for money and to be as transparent and inclusive as possible. For example break, lunch, tea and staying for supervised prep are all included in the fees.

Fees start from £4,180 per term for day girls and £5,970 for boarders. For more detailed information about fees, please click here