As the doors open at 8.15 the girls begin to pour in to school on their way to the playground to greet their friends and prepare for the day. They are carrying musical instruments from flutes to cellos, Egyptian pyramids made of sugar cubes or jellybeans, and items to illustrate talks they will give in class, ballet bags, birthday cakes or something interesting to show their teachers.

As the day progresses they move from room to room with confidence - they have specialist teaching in over eight subjects - and changeover times are filled with the sound of laughter and excited chatter.  They might be heading for the French room, to sing or play games in French, to the Art room to make felt pictures or three-dimensional calendars in Design Technology, or to the Science lab, where their experiments can often be smelt a long way down the corridor.  Interactive whiteboards and wireless laptop computers are very much in evidence and the girls use them freely to research, design and produce their work in all subjects.  They can follow up on their research, or simply sit and read, in the school Library.

A glance through the open doors of their classrooms reveals the girls concentrating hard on Maths problems, discussing books or poems, learning more about the past or the future in Humanities, or thinking about teamwork in Citizenship lessons.  They can express themselves in different ways through Drama, Dance and Music and have many sporting opportunities, both in teams and individually.  Several times a week teams head out to compete against other schools, or outside groups are welcomed to Bute for matches in a variety of sports.

Lunch time is noisy and very sociable.  With three different choices every day, the girls eat a hearty meal which prepares them for the afternoon's activities.  On Wednesdays they have a huge range of clubs available to them, from Mandarin to bead-making, and on most days girls are still to be found in school at 5.30, running around in leotards, tracksuits or football kit.

At the end of the day the girls gather in the Atrium to say goodbye to their Form teachers, who have a special relationship with them throughout the year and keep track of their progress.  It is true to say that they go home happy, and look forward to their next day at Bute House.