Bromley High School, a girls’ independent school located in Bickley, Greater London, announced it is launching an “innovative middle school”.

The school stated it is “is pioneering a new approach that begins at Year 5 and extends through to Year 8 to effectively bridge the traditional Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 divide”.

The innitiative is motivated by research indicating that girls often experience decreased self-esteem post-transition to secondary school, with a positive transition programme mitigating these effects.

Bromley High School’s headmistress Emily Codling wrote: “The Middle School at Bromley High School is a genuinely distinctive offer that sets us apart as experts in providing a successful junior-to-senior school transition in a girls-only environment. The needs of girls are unique, making our work crucial and providing sisterhood at a time when girls can be at their most vulnerable. Between the ages of 9-13, girls undergo more changes than at any other time in their life, except before the age of 2. These changes occur as they are about to alter their entire lives, including friendship circles, routines, and key adults they see every day, because they move from a junior school to a senior school.

“This transition can feel very unstable, and children often struggle to label their feelings. It is at this point where support and interventions are most potent to maximise their positive experience of these critical years. What a time of opportunity for us to get it right!

“We are fortunate to have our junior and senior schools on the same site. Our girls are already familiar as they move between the buildings, sharing teachers and facilities. By creating a more formal Middle School, we are essentially bridging the transition years between KS2 and KS3. As a result, the girls will be more knowledgeable, feel more supported and prepared, and therefore, able to achieve more.

“While the Middle School will undoubtedly have positive impacts for our girls, enabling staff to work together on this innovative project encourages creativity and zest, providing headspace for staff to find the bandwidth to research, innovate, and evaluate in a strategic manner. It has been delightful to observe staff discussing curriculum development, pupil personal growth, and teaching techniques.

“The planning of our Middle School has been underpinned with research; however, we are extremely excited that we are now becoming the researchers ourselves. Oxford University, Harvard University, and the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools are all collaborating with us to gather our data and qualitative experience over the next year. I will be attending the ICGS conference in Baltimore as a keynote speaker to present our Middle School in June 2024.”

Bromley High School is part of Girls’ Day School Trust, which has 25 schools across the country.

Bromley High School headmistress Emily Codling