At Bute House we have a long tradition of forward-looking, child-centred educational philosophy. We believe that children learn best when they feel confident, supported, liked and respected as individuals and that their areas of both talent and challenge are recognised and acknowledged by the adults around them. We never, therefore, put girls into a situation where they might feel diminished by failure and so there are no marks*, grades, star charts, form order lists, exams, academic prize-giving, prefects or honours boards. Every child is encouraged to do her best, to set her own targets with support from her teachers, to acknowledge her own progress and be proud of herself, to recognise her personal strengths and weaknesses and not to compare herself with her classmates.

Everyone is an individual, each with areas that challenge her and each with her own talents to be celebrated, whether these are academic, musical, linguistic, artistic, dramatic or sporting. Children are ready to "have a go", to stretch their boundaries, to try new experiences, they are not afraid of failure and are confident in asking their teachers to give them the help they need when they are unsure.

Our girls emerge confident, articulate, determined, willing to express their opinions, tolerant and open-minded. They are both a challenge and a joy to teach and they go on to be young adults willing to push open the doors of opportunity.

*Girls being prepared for external examinations are of course shown how mark schemes work,  undertake various timed tests, are familiar with various styles of examination paper and taught exam technique but always within our philosophy of no undue academic pressure or comparisons with others.