Read the full Sunday Times report here.

12th November 2009 

Withington has been named "The Sunday Times Parent Power Independent Secondary School of the Year 2009". The prestigious award comes as the School is placed top of the Sunday Times' Parent Power table of independent secondary schools.

Alastair McCall, editor of The Sunday Times Parent Power said: "Withington Girls' award is thoroughly deserved. It has been a consistently strong performer in our tables over many years, but what sets it apart is the inspiring leadership of Mrs Pickering over the past 10 years, the outstanding quality of the teaching and sheer breadth of opportunity available to girls both inside the classroom and out.

"Exam success is almost incidental at this school, a by-product of everything else it does – which is of course how it should be. The result is happy and engaged girls with a sense of purpose and a belief that they can succeed in whatever they go on to do in life."

Several factors are taken into account before a winner is chosen. The areas looked at in which Withington Girls' excelled include the leadership of the school, its academic performance, the quality of the teaching, the breadth of the curriculum and the conclusions of the most recent school inspection report.

Withington girls scored outstanding results: this year a record-breaking 98.3 per cent of candidates achieved A and B grades at A-level – where more than 90 per cent returned A grades – and there was a 97.7 per cent success rate at A* and A in the GCSE examinations.

Mrs Pickering said: "I am immensely proud of this award on behalf of all members of the School community – pupils, staff, parents and Governors, past and present – who collectively make Withington such a wonderful school."