A Confident Start The School occupies a hilltop position, with panoramic views across Monmouth Town and the Wye Valley.  There is an expansiveness about it, in every sense.  The fine school buildings and extensive grounds are safe and secure, but not cut off from the world.  Community involvement, both within and outside the School, complements the pursuit of academic excellence to help provide a complete education; one which includes the development of social skills and a consideration for others.

"The Boarding House is a really friendly home from home. You can make it just as you like it with posters, photos and cuddly toys. There are always things to do - trips, sports, reading, listening to music, talking to your friends or watching television - and you learn about organisation and team building skills. The choice of food is excellent, too."

The School as a Community The aim is to enable every girl to realise her full potential academically, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  The School is a Christian foundation but operates non-denominationally.  Responsibility is given early. Through participation in various aspects of the day-to-day running of the School, the girls become organisationally efficient and adept in interpersonal and team skills.  An extension of this sense of community is that all parents are members of "Friends of HMSG", which organises a variety of social and fundraising events.

Around a quarter of the girls aged 10 - 18 are fulltime or weekly boarders.  This provides an enriching diversity of background experience.  A supportive programme of pastoral care ensures that every girl's personal welfare is monitored and any concerns dealt with sensitively and efficiently.  Young women now have greater opportunities than ever before for achievement in all walks of life.  Facilitating access to these opportunities, however, requires an excellent academic grounding. At Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, the widest possible range of subject choices is available, guided by, but not limited to, the National Curriculum, and taught by dedicated, highly qualified staff. Nearly all leavers go on to University, with a substantial number to Oxford and Cambridge. "The staff set high standards but provide every help to enable us to perform to the best of our ability. Outside the classroom, clubs and societies provide informal opportunities to learn more about the sciences, history, literature and classics." Aspiring to Excellence The ten spacious laboratories in the School's purpose built science block provide up-to-date facilities for biology, chemistry, physics and technology teaching.  Recognising the importance of international communication in today's world, a language technology suite aids the teaching of five modern languages.  There is also a strong commitment to the teaching of Latin and classical studies.  The Library is managed by a full-time School Librarian and is exceptionally well stocked with books, newspapers, periodicals, videos and the latest computer technology for access to information on the internet and via CD-ROM.   Music, dance and theatre studies develop confident self-expression and are accorded a high priority within the School.  A wide range of orchestras, choirs and groups produce music of all kinds, from classical to modern, and several of the ensembles have won high honours in local and national competitions.  Honours in the School's annual St. David's Day Eisteddfod, a musical and poetic feast, are keenly contested. " I wondered if, by coming to a school with such a strong academic reputation the opportunities to perform would be limited.  I was very wrong! I'm constantly making decisions between a dance show, choir tour or drama club, and I can't believe that I can have as many chances to be on stage and get an excellent education at the same time!" Performing Arts Drama is produced in our main auditorium and in the more intimate Drama Studio at House and School level.  Girls are often selected for national productions.  There are frequent excursions to plays, concerts and exhibitions. Self Expression Art For painting, sculpture, ceramics or photography, the facilities and teaching in the Art Department are first-class.  In a lively, stimulating environment, girls achieve excellent results.  Some will choose art as a career but all will gain an appreciation of, and interest in, the creative process. Out and About From Monmouth Town, out to the local area, across the UK and as far afield as Borneo and the K2 base camp in Pakistan, HMSG girls are involved in community, charity, enterprise and adventure projects.  Locally, girls support enthusiastically the St. Briavels Centre for Child Development and help elderly people in the community.  With outside help from business and commerce, girls participate in Young Enterprise, putting into practice the organisation and running of a business.  The Duke of Edinburgh's Award programme provides opportunities for girls to test their stamina, and the Annual Expedition provides both a gruelling test and an extraordinary opportunity to visit some of the most remote, but beautiful, parts of the world.

Sixth Form Life In a stimulating environment that emulates the conditions girls will encounter when they go on to higher education, the School's specialised Sixth Form unit provides strong pastoral care to help achieve academic excellence and personal maturity.  Through the combined resources of the girls' and boys' schools, at this stage, girls are provided with a very wide choice of A-Level subject options.  Sixth Form girls are expected to contribute to the School's life generally, playing an important part in the House system, running clubs and societies, and taking responsibility for the School Council.  They also have their Sixth Form Forum.  Careers' guidance is given high priority, and is available to all girls from Year 9 onwards.  The superbly equipped Careers Department, under the supervision of a dedicated Head of Careers, helps identify and meet the needs of individual girls, building on strengths and encouraging areas of talent and aspiration. "Project work with local industry, as part of the Engineering Education Scheme in Wales, along with Challenge for Industry have helped me enormously."