Wolverhampton Girls' High School

if you are thinking about joining this school, I urge you to please think again. Currently, as of 15/4/2024 this school is not the place to be. Every day I am alone in this place, reaching out to the 'hub' (their attempt of caring for kids) in hopes that they can help me feel better but they dont. They are more obbsesed with kids going back to lesson, even if it means that they end up crying and sobbing while they are in the lesson- than getting better and actually obtaining something. The schools glory days are so over, it might have been good when you or your family member went, but now its living hell. The kids are unkind, the teachers are unbothered, the facilities are a mess- nothing is right in this place. The teachers in the hub make no effort at protecting vulnerable kids, they will allow kids to say mean stuff to kids with disabilities, with different skin colours and they act as if they have fixed everything. So many kids here suffer from really negative mental health and the teachers are so blind to all of it. The amount of kids that SH is significantly higher here, than anywhere else. Clearly saying something. But the faculty have no desire to want to check on their pupils. During this year, I have faced multiple home issues but the school have not cared. Instead of trying to help find a way that helps me communicate, they left me to work through the trauma of what i had faced. Please, please, please don't send your kids here if they are different in anyway shape or form. They will honestly be picked alive by these students and this school. It is something that haunts you for the rest of your life, being here. Also, most of the male teachers are perverts and stare at the girls suggestively or make mysognistic comments regarding girls 'female parts'. Just last week a member of staff stared at a girl while she was adjusting her bra, clearly making her uncomfy. Don't even get me started on being a SEND student here! There are no worthwile accomodations made, and the teachers make all SEND students uncomfortable by ridiculing them, and making them feel weird for needing certain things. Just don't do it to your loved ones. Don't send them here.

Years 7-11 are bad, the teachers barely recognise you as human beings, although this may be because they are traumatised from the appalling behaviour from younger years. For example, I had a teacher for 5 years from year 7-11, seeing them a few times a week, and they didn’t even know my name. The school’s response to the increasingly poor behaviour from younger years is to crack down on ridiculous rules, for example immediately removing your coat after coming outside (even if you are going back out). More and more pupils are entering the school at the cost of safety. The corridors get so packed at break and lesson change times that I have almost suffocated after having massive backpacks shoved into my thorax. The old building simply isn’t big enough to accommodate the increasing size of the school, yet the school’s resolution is to build outwards. The issue comes from the corridors being designed for a school of around 300, not 1000. A one way system in the corridors actually causes more problems, as you are forced to take a 5 minute detour and end up punished for being late to lessons. Many senior teachers have suspiciously left recently, leaving many exam year groups without a substantial replacement. Good teachers are also being kicked out to make room for a larger physics department; was it not already apparent that only 2 physics teachers is not enough? It also implies that the school is going downhill- in the last year more teachers have left than ever before. Generally students do not feel listened to with their issues, and as soon as you have an issue within school their immediate response is to involve your parents. Hygiene is a major problem with the school. Toilets are always disgusting (usually down to younger students vandalising them) and classrooms never feel clean. People with dust allergies are constantly sneezing which is generally gross. The heating is never on in the winter and it feels sub zero, yet you’re told off for putting your coat on. In the peak of summer, it’s on full blast and no one wants to take their jumper off because of how low quality and see through the shirts are. On the plus side, the standard of teaching is generally good (with the exception of a few teachers) and you get mostly get support to boost your grades. You get great opportunities from the school, improving your cv and for future applications for university. There has been a positive shift in focus from only applying to university, as they are beginning to encourage other options such as apprenticeships. When you reach sixth form, you are treated much better and teachers make an effort to form a relationship with students. There is good support for university applications and good support for a levels too. Teachers begin to listen to your feedback.

Absolutely love this school. The bad reviews are definitely written by some of my immature peers or some rivals of the school have even admitted to writing them. The teachers really care, the toilets aren’t that bad and I really feel supported here.

Liked years 7-11, after that it was not good. Wished I’d have left for sixth form

Contrary to other reviews here, I found Wolverhampton Girls’ High School to be absolutely fantastic. I spent 7 years there and my teachers were supportive and went the extra mile to help you. There was always a mutual respect between staff and students, especially during sixth form as staff began to treat us as the adults we were becoming. If you get the work done, and to a good standard, you’ll have no problems here. You can always ask staff for help wherever you need it - either academic or pastoral. The sixth form team is amazing at dealing with these issues.

the school is horrible. on open days all teachers r COMPLETELY different people nd the fact we arent alloud to show the school bathrooms on open days says a lot about the cleanliness and hygeine: something the school doesnt bother with even after many students asking for clean bathrooms. the teachers only like you if your sporty or white lol. the teachers say they care sm abt student wellbeing but still let the teacher who told a student to kill themselves stay? also thr racism is BAD. one of the white teachers kept saying the n word in front of black students but she only got a few days off? the school rules are ridiculous, for example, the new rule of getting a CONDUCT mark if u wear ur coat inside- conduct marks = isolation but i don’t understand why the punishment of something severe (worth a conduct mark) is equal to a coat? also the teachers are extremely rude and some scream just because they can, and when students try and explain whats happening they brush u off and continue screaming at you. the deputy headteachers r male nd utterly ridiculous. one of the deputies is always touching nd tapping girls nd use ing the excuse “take ur coat off”, he couod just say that but he always ends up touching someone. nd theres so many weird male teachers, one of them always stares at the firls at the school and favouritses them (mr p if u know who im on ab?), the schools always rinsing our money taking kike £500 for celeb week which if i payed for myself would come to like £200. Many teachers are also hateful and speak to students wirh SUCH disrespect (always telling students to shut up etc) the suicide rate at our skls also very high so If u care abt ur daughters mental health dont send her here even if the school make themselves look amazing theyre really not?

I love this school. Everyone's so friendly and the headteachers' really nice

imma just talk from purely my own personal experience at wghs as a lot of people on here have pretty much said all the most common things about the school that are shit ie hygiene, discrimination, lack of GOOD pastoral care etc. yes these are all true and i know that for a fact from when i went here but i wanna say stuff thats personal to me. im also gonna share the occasional good things i like about the school one of the pe teachers once came to talk to me in the corridor to tell me that it was mature of me to have spent a lesson not crying. for a bit of background, im autistic and i often got bullied by classmates for having difficulties in pe: even simple things like throwing and catching which obviously made me upset so id have meltdowns and have to leave the lesson in tears. on this one lesson i plucked up the courage to ask this teacher to go to the hub as opposed to crying and she’s basically said it’s only mature of me to not cry. pathetic really. the reason i was always too scared to ask to go to the hub is because of teachers like her. because when i would ask another pe staff if i could leave, i would go in the toilets and cry but then she (the nasty one not the one i asked) would be banging on the door telling me to get out and implying it was more important for me to be present in the lessons, no matter how much i was breaking apart inside, rather than my mental wellbeing to be okay. another thing i HATED with a passion is when i would tell a pastoral staff member about problems at home, but then guess who they go to tell? my parents!! like girl they are the issue ? i might as well have told them myself! so much for a confidentiality agreement ? (update: they made the problems at home drastically worse) there would also be times when i’d need to go to the hub but if all the rooms and seating areas in there were full they would send me away and i think thats a pretty big issue as well they also set wayyy too much homework however, there are some good things i enjoyed and miss about wghs. i liked the fun and the sense of community and competition at house events. i liked sixth form revue when it wasnt cringe. i liked some of the teachers being really kind and supportive and forming good relationships with me which i’ll remember. unfortunately not all teachers were like this but what can you do. i liked playing emoji connect on my device in lessons. also some of the staff were hot asf and made my wghs experience worthwhile lmao. no but fr, wghs has ultimately helped me a lot and one of the reasons my confidence has grown this much ultimately it’s not the best school for many reasons as you will see from here and the other reviews too, and i spent most school years in pure distress. however it’s decent sometimes. should you send your kid here? yes if you really think they’re one of those people that can hack it but please be careful lol

well, there's quite a bit to say. i would say the biggest one problem is equality and treatment of students who are minorities. it doesn't matter whether it's small comments or big acts, it's still wrong and still happening. as a trans student myself, i am not called by my correct pronouns. the only teacher who used my correct pronouns does not teach me anymore. yes, it may be an 'all girls school', but you are presenting as a girl when coming into the school: people grow and people change, moving schools isn't always possible. all we hear is "girls, ladies, women, she, her". next, hygiene. the toilets are grim and disgusting. on my first day at school here, i went to the toilet and there was shit smeared all around the seat. the hygiene of the food: no. they recently created a new schedule, it's better, but still bad. there have been many incidents including mould, out of date food and even rats. most teachers i believe are okay, but there are things they could work on a ding out fair punishments and talking through the problem instead of handing out order/conduct marks for every little thing. okay, that's it. don't send your kid here <33

As a year 13 student who has been at the school for 7 years, it’s not as bad as people are saying. Teachers are incredibly supportive, the sixth form team is amazing and have supported me during both personal and academic issues. Being in sixth form allows you to establish better relationships with your teachers, now that they treat us more like adults, so lessons are quite relaxed with a positive atmosphere. Student behaviour is better here than comprehensive schools.

honestly, it's hard. The amount of assessments and homework we get is completely overwhelming (as only a year 10 student) and when teachers are questioned about the amount it is completely brushed off. I'd say around 30% of staff are lovely, and they really are good teachers but the other 70% I cannot understand how the got past the interview with their bad manners and lack of care for students. I have got used to the atmosphere over a while, but for someone who really wants to try to enjoy their secondary school experience, go somewhere else.

just don't go, it's terrible,it's got a great rep but it's the same as any other school

Hello. I am a current student at WGHS. I can confirm everybody's thoughts about the school. I shall start with the blatant racism here. As a white person i cannot speak from the perspective of my black and non white perspective. During English readings from books, the English teachers sometimes say the N word from the book. The only way to survive WGHS is to either be extremely smart, close with the teacher sporty or white. It's disgusting. Some teachers even refuse to use LGBTQIA+ people's pronouns even when they legally have to. Currently as of the date of 08/03/2022 (Tuesday 8th March 2022), my friend got £30 taken straight out of her purse by another student. It happened 3 or 4 times in PE with over £100 being stolen. Not to mention how there is literal crap on the walls in the toilets. The pressure there is so hard. We get tested every other week practically and the teachers put so much pressure on the test. We get tons of homework and it's often difficult to understand. The teachers hand out order marks and conduct marks (punishment things. You get 4 order marks you get detention. A conduct mark is 2 order marks) if you don't get homework done. Some of the teachers harass us. One of the male teachers was seen in the girls bathroom. He got reported by loads of people in my year but the school ignored it. It's disgusting. It's nothing with the students... I know loads of the different people and most are really nice. It's high-school so there's obviously gonna be some not too nice people. We have to stick together. The teachers are nice... A few of the PE teachers are nice, the English staff are usually nice but that's pretty much it. We have to study three languages and have lots to memorise. There's a lot of antisemitism... My Jewish friends was told to d*e cause she's Jewish. If you're white, some of the people turn everything you say racist... They manipulate you words. You go from saying oh sorry i done have a pen you can borrow to saying the N word. Some white people are actually racist others aren't. People find staplers in the food, a lot of it is out of date next day or on the day it sold. I had an onion prawn sandwich once and threw up on the way home from school. Do not try the food from the canteen. Bring your own lunches. Overall i dont recommend the school... From my experience here it's been terrible and i really want to move schools. But i am not allowed. Please read this before sending you daughter to Wghs. Our suicide rate is also really high and there are many articles on suicide at our school. Please. Do not send your daughter to WGHS... Your child would be better at a public school with racist and homophobic kids

A terrible school that hides behind a good name. A truly toxic environment, where there is zero concern for the welfare of the girls who pass through its doors each year. The proof is in the number of girls who develop severe mental health problems whilst at the school. If you want an honest review of the girls high, then ask a girl that goes here (and not at the open evening, that couldn’t be more staged if we tried) Send your daughters here at your own peril.

I cannot exaggerate how awful this school is from the terrible facilities and unsupportive staff. The school is desperate to maintain this prestigious grammar school reputation yet in my opinion I couldn’t find a worse school in the whole of the Wolverhampton. The teachers are awful, they have high expectations that pressurise students from entry. Yet they fail to mentor and guide their student which is absolutely shocking for a school that claims to be so inclusive. The support system is an absolute joke, as there isn’t one. The facilities are beyond awful, toilets have no locks and eating places are awful. But most of all, the environment is competitive, belittling, and unpleasant. For many people teenage years should allow teenagers to build friendships but at girls high the environment is built upon a malicious nature. The only positive about this school is leaving at the end of the day. Overall, the Girls High is a horrible excuse for a school.

I am fairly new to the school so my experience here hasn’t been as long as others. However, it’s like any other school in my opinion there’s nothing special about the learning and academic work. Instead of the “fun and challenging” work that’s advertised it’s boring and makes me and others discouraged from learning. In general the teachers aren’t the best. Of course there are some good teachers but it doesn’t get better than that. When faced with homophobia and transphobia, it was my friend who got in trouble instead of the person who was being discriminatory. Love English, but sometimes I feel like there’s a bit too much pressure put on students. It feels like the school expects us to behave and have the same intelligence/maturity as 20 year olds. Hygiene’s absolute shit. The old toilets constantly smell of piss, clogged pipes, broken locks that have still yet to be fixed but haven’t. Before covid when the PE changing rooms were available, the drainage of the showers were infected with black mould and still are I think. But the worst is the food, its too greasy that I saw a fly drown in it. And on one occasion, a friend saw mould in the jelly and they only refunded them. The only valid reason I could think of sending your child here is because you don’t want to send then to other schools ?

This is not a review to take as an insult, but as constructive criticism. Learn from your mistakes, improve and move on, but for now the experience is barely grammar school standard. However, i believe it can and will do better.

Although I’m quite new, I do love the school very much. Some, but only a few teachers, are mean, but most are kind and helpful. It is very engaging and welcoming, and as a LGBTQ, European and Jewish student I have faced no issues whatsoever.

Please do not send your child here. I have honestly had the worst experience here, and would of not been able to cope without having friends and support outside of the school. There are honestly so many negatives to this school that come to mind instantly rather than any positives. After attending for 5 years i could honestly not get myself to stay another 2 for sixth form, from those 5 years for 2 of them i was suicidal and 1 i had no friends and no support around me. The school is so focused and concerned on those “good grades” (they don’t even receive from teachers only mainly from smart students) they do not focus on anything to do with students mental health or well being. Many students in every year group every year are turned down for wanting help, and they simply put them down more constantly. They are also completely obsessed with their “good reputation” as whenever something happens it is covered up for example racism (from students and teachers) they close up to straight away as they don’t want it to get out. They do this instead of sorting the situation, leaving students upset and angry about situations and feel the need they have to take it into their own hands. As well as this there are no support with your grades you simply get shouted at and criticised and told you are not trying hard enough. The only reason they can possibly show off their good results is the fact students are so talented and work on their own terms no teacher will ever help. Teachers are actually shocking at teaching here they are nothing special and couldn’t care less about students. The reason i have given 2 stars though is the fact students at the school can come together most of the time and fight these issues. Even though they do not listen (which as a school they should) students will still try and help each other and find a way to stop these things happening at school.