St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School is a selective, co-educational Catholic grammar school in Slough with about 1,133 pupils. It has a rare national identity: the school describes itself as the only co-educational Catholic grammar school in the country. Its history began in 1897, when Bernardine Cistercian Sisters arrived from France, made Aldin House habitable and opened the school with a small group of French and English girls.

The school's Catholic character is central to the biography, not a footnote. Its mission statement says students are educated in a nurturing community where each person is loved and valued, with prayer, worship, service, love, forgiveness and compassion at the centre. The school became voluntary aided in 1966, and another major change followed in 1989 when boys were admitted, moving St Bernard's towards the co-educational grammar it is today.

Academically, St Bernard's describes a broad and deep curriculum organised through faculties, with PHSCE, literacy, numeracy and MSSC values at the core. It also points to gifted-and-talented provision, partner primary links, extra-curricular and enrichment activity, pastoral care and a school cafe and PTFA community. The sixth form offers A levels with close staff support, higher-education guidance, Oxbridge support where relevant, mentoring and student leadership roles.

For Year 7 entry, the published admission number is 150. St Bernard's uses the Slough Consortium 11-plus; the eligibility score is 111 on a standardised scale, representing the top 35% of the tested cohort and giving eligibility for consideration rather than a guaranteed offer. The latest applications record lists 1,023 applications and 150 offers. Recent official benchmarks show Ofsted Outstanding, Progress 8 of +0.93, 99.4% grade 5+ in English and maths and 31.7% AAB or better at A level.