HAB Ethos and Values

HAB staff have high expectations of the girls and HAB girls have high expectations of themselves.

Our ethos is one of being uncompromising but caring in everything that we do.  This is how we have created a happy and safe learning environment, with firm but fair discipline.

All HAB girls know our rules and abide by them. We expect every girl to be dressed correctly, on time and prepared to work hard, always following staff instructions. Our girls always want to live up to these expectations, but on the rare occasion that one of them fails to do so, she knows that there will be clear consequences, followed by support to learn from the experience.

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Outstanding care and guidance

We offer outstanding care and guidance for every one of our girls.  In Year 7 for example, as well as her Learning Family Mentor, every girl has one-to-one transition coaching from a former student, while as many girls who need it have additional reading lessons so that they can achieve their academic potential from the beginning of their time with us.

Throughout her time at HAB, we guarantee that every girl will be known by all her teachers, support staff and the school's senior leaders, including the Principal.  We also guarantee to every parent or carer that we will work closely with them to raise their daughter successfully, sharing the joys and challenges of this with honesty and integrity.  This is summed up in the HAB staff motto, “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen to help their daughters achieve the success they deserve.”

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Values

HAB girls and staff work together to live up to the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.  HAB is a harmonious and supportive environment.

Key to this is our Learning Family system, in which every girl belongs to a small group of mixed years, led by a teacher. Starting every day together, the Learning Family members develop strong relationships with girls of different ages and from different backgrounds, breaking down barriers and preventing bullying.  Learning Family teachers speak to parents or carers about their daughter's progress and achievements at least once a fortnight.

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Why is HAB for girls only?

We are often asked this question, especially by HAB parents who want their sons to have as good an education as their daughters!

By most measures, girls in England outperform boys in GCSES and A-levels, whatever type of school they attend.  Crucially, though, girls in girls’ schools achieve better examination results than girls at mixed schools.

In addition to these better results, universities and employers consider girls from girls’ schools to offer superior leadership skills; to be more resilient and risk taking; and, to have greater ambitions.

At HAB, we certainly know that this is true of our girls.  Parents and carers who choose HAB give their daughters the best possible opportunities by sending her to our excellent girls’ school.