Last updated 28 September 2026
School Guide verdict
Badminton School is an independent girls' secondary in Bristol, where its 2025 ISI inspection judged the quality of academic and other achievements excellent. School Guide awards it a top 5-star rating.
Top grades at GCSE (7-9) and top grades at A level (A*/A)
This shows current pupil progress from the end of GCSE to A level compared to other pupils in England. This “value added” data measures academic development from one key stage to the next
School Description
Come and see us and find out what makes Badminton different. Our Open events give you the chance to look around, meet staff and pupils and get a real feel for Badminton.
Please click on the link below for more information or to book.
NEXT OPEN EVENTS AT BADMINTON SCHOOL
Whole School Visiting Morning: Friday 20th November, 9.00am - 11.30am
Whole School Open Morning: Friday 5th March 2027, 10.00am - 1.00pm
Whole School Open Morning: Friday 30th April 2027, 10.00am - 1.00pm
Bristol has its share of very good schools, and we know that choosing somewhere for your daughter isn’t easy.
So what’s different about Badminton?
Our history, our unusual ethos of teaching and learning and our careful balance of intellectual firepower with courtesy and support all set us apart. There is an important place in the world for strong female communities, and Badminton is one of these. We have excellent facilities and some of the best boarding and pastoral care provision of any school.
Girls at Badminton come from all over the globe and know that they can try anything, study anything, do anything, and they do. No one here is judged on superficialities, and Badminton girls rightly learn that their future can be anything they want it to be.
Badminton School Prep is the only single-sex Early Years provider in Bristol.
Badminton School is championing the benefits of single-sex education from the earliest years, following the appointment of Vince MacLeod as Head of Early Years at Badminton School Prep.
Research shows that girls in single-sex settings develop greater confidence and a greater willingness to take intellectual risks, particularly when these foundations are established early. As the only all-girls Early Years provider in Bristol, Badminton is putting that evidence into practice.
"From the moment they join us at age three, our girls are learning in a space built entirely around them," says MacLeod.
At Badminton School Prep, girls develop a love of learning in a happy, safe and encouraging environment.
Badminton School Prep welcomes day girls from Pre-Reception to Year 6, and boarders from Year 4. The Prep School is housed in its own purpose-built school, on the wider campus of Badminton School. EYFS benefit from their own secure playground with lots of toys. Pupils have access to the ‘Rough Patch’, a grassy area with lots of playground equipment, including a slide, obstacle course and monkey bars.
The Prep School is part of the wider Badminton community, setting pupils up for transition into Year 7. From Year 4 girls eat in the main dining room, and from Pre-Reception use the main school facilities such as the performance space (PMH), swimming pool, sports centre and specialised music classrooms.
Jessica joined Badminton in 2023. She was previously Head at Monmouth School for Girls and prior to that, Head at Queen Margaret’s School, a girl's day and boarding school in York. She started her career at Dulwich College, London where she was Head of Spanish, Deputy Head of Sixth Form and Mistress in charge of Rowing. After 12 years at Dulwich, she moved with her husband and young family to Dorset, where she taught briefly at Sherborne School, before taking up the role of Deputy Head at Leweston School, a girls day and boarding school on the outskirts of Sherborne. Passionate about girls’ single-sex education she is delighted to be at Badminton.
Who/what inspired you to become a teacher?
My love of Spain and all things Spanish. A true passion that I simply wanted to share with everyone and teaching seemed to be the obvious way to do it. Also, an inability in my early twenties to know what I really wanted to do – until a stint as a tutor of A level Spanish in a London ‘crammer’ college made me realise that I had found something I was quite good at. Alongside that, some very happy memories of my own school days where I was nurtured and supported, encouraged and challenged. I benefited from a truly holistic education where I was able to indulge in my love of drama, play mediocre tennis and make friendships that have endured.
What achievement are you most proud of as Head?
Guiding the schools, communities and families that I have served as Head through turbulent times with, I hope, a style of leadership that shows that you can be kind yet strong, firm but fair. I am also proud of the fact that those schools have guided and educated phenomenal young women who have gone on to achieve brilliant things in their lives. They are above all really kind and likeable people!
What does a successful school look like to you?
A school that exudes joy, vitality and a unity of thought and aspiration.
What is the most important quality you want every child to have when they leave your school? And why?
Self-belief, integrity and kindness.
Please give 5 words to describe the ethos of your school.
Aspiration, community, embrace, vibrancy, curiosity.
This school is independently managed and its admission criteria may be selective. There is no set catchment area as pupils are admitted from a wide variety of postcodes and, in the case of boarding schools, from outside the UK. Contact the school directly or visit their website for more information on Admissions Policy and Procedures.
At its 2025 ISI inspection, Badminton School was judged excellent for the quality of academic and other achievements, the quality of pupils' personal development, the success of the school, and the effectiveness of governance, leadership and management.
Badminton School has 525 pupils.
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