Education Choices Award Winners 2025!

 EDIB is central to Clifton’s strategy, with dedicated celebration days and opportunities to learn from one another embedded throughout school life, including the celebration of EDIB Cultural Day and working with The Rege Foundation, which has allowed them to maintain their FLAIR Silver Award. 

St Dunstan’s Diapason framework champions representation across race, sex and gender, sexual orientation, religion and belief and disability, which was recognised as a significant strength in their ISI inspection.

 Canford’s long-standing partnership with The Bourne Academy is impressive and allows them to support many students in their local area, supporting students from both schools collaboratively through academic enrichment, university and job preparation and community and charity work to enrich their educational experiences. 

Emanuel School emphasise encouraging pupils to be outward looking and contribute to local and global communities through their Primary Ambitions partnership, which has a significant impact on local primary school children as well as providing opportunities for Emanuel students to develop leadership skills and global awareness. 

 The breadth of work taking place to support bursaries at Godolphin and Latymer is notable, with 10% of students currently benefitting from bursary support and 48 students receiving transformational 100–110% awards. The Bridge Programme also offers significant transformational opportunities for students. 

Tonbridge’s Foundation Award enables students to thrive both during their time at school and beyond, and student testimony speaks to the immense value of this and the opportunities they have through it. 

 At Framlingham, they respond to topical issues such as the cost of living crisis in their community work and support several local organisations with over 10,000 volunteering hours in addition to fundraising and donations.

Frensham Heights’ charitable work is driven by students and this active engagement and empowerment is reflected in the success of their fundraising campaigns for several charities and causes. 

 Hampton Court House stands out for their ethos of “Achievement with Heart” and belief that education is most powerful when students are empowered to shape it. Student voice is particularly impactful in their response to wellbeing, with trained Student Mental Health Champions leading their own initiatives and the creation of a ‘Recharge Room’ to support wellbeing.

At Streatham and Clapham, there are many opportunities for students to use their voice, through the many student representative and leadership positions available, with over 100 girls on the school council. The school also actively responds to student voice, such as by introducing more co-curricular activities to suit girls’ interests. 

 At Highgate School, pupils regularly visit Senior Team and Governor meetings to work directly with school leadership, in addition to the many student leadership roles available. Student voice is also key in the school’s wellbeing work, and has influenced and implemented several initiatives to support wellbeing throughout the school.

At St Paul’s Girls’ School, their Student Council is a strong and key part of school life and works collaboratively to represent the students’ voice, such as through the RAISE committee, which represents the students’ charitable work. 

Tudor Hall offers an impressive range of ways in which students are heard and encouraged to speak up, including with the Wellbeing Tracker to support students’ needs, and ongoing collaboration with students in regards to the curriculum and the support offered throughout school life.

 Eaton Square’s entry stands out for their use of the World Reimagined programme, engagement across subjects, inclusion of global citizenship and racial justice and the celebration of the diversity of the African continent. A celebration of families’ different faith and ethnic traditions; other cultural celebrations; and the voice of pupils in response to this all suggest EDI is embedded in the culture. 

 At Blackheath High School, diversity and inclusion are core factors of school life, with over 50 languages spoken across the school community and many opportunities to share and learn from one another and embrace this diversity, which they feel represents their local area and prepares students to thrive beyond school.

St Paul's School emphasise curriculum review in a very sensible way and give some notable examples of the integration of EDI and character education into the wider life of the school, including through celebration days and dedicated programmes throughout the curriculum and school life.

 Dulwich College has made significant efforts to diversify their curriculum, through diverse and inclusive topics studied in subjects such as History, English and Classics, as well as many opportunities outside of the classroom to learn about and celebrate EDIB. 

Sydenham High School are keen to question whose voices are heard and unheard in the curriculum and challenge how this can be overcome. They also work with many external speakers and organisations to explore these topics and continue to improve their practice.

 Westminster Under emphasises its history of music and musicians back to the 1600s with many notable alumni. There is also a very strong offering from Baroque polyphony to rock 'n' roll and the senior choir’s success in BBC Radio 3 Choir of The Year. Art is just as strong in the daily life of the school and the importance of art for teaching about diversity and equity comes through strongly through success in Young Art exhibitions and other prizes.

 Downe House sees Art and Music at the heart of creative and vibrant education, championed within and beyond the curriculum. Every pupil is encouraged to engage, with over half the students learning an instrument and 80% of them learning more than one instrument; all of Year 7 singing in a choir; and the support of composer Bob Chilcot, the school’s musician in residence. 

At Lancing College, creativity is a core pillar of pupils’ learning and is emphasised as a way to encourage confident, expressive and empowered young people.There are many concerts, masterclasses with alumni and professional musicians and they look forward to their first European Music Tour this year.

 Milton Abbey’s Learning Development Department supports students to access the support they need and commit to removing barriers to learning and building self-belief and ambition for all pupils.  

Slindon College’s Learning Energy concept stood out to our judges as it encourages every pupil to understand their needs and how they learn best. Each student has a personalised curriculum to best suit their needs, with many additional strategies and tools available to support this.

 Alleyn's declare that inclusion and aspiration are not abstract values but practical commitments and they are working to ensure that every pupil feels motivated, encouraged and welcome regardless of experience, ability or gender. Their work has increased fixtures in girls sport by 490% and female teams by 90%. 71% of all pupils represent school in competitive sport, with equal split between boys and girls. Alleyn's pupils also coaching over 100 primary School children from the wider community to spread this passion and success. 

St Dunstan’s ongoing partnership with Chelsea FC allows them to provide first-rate coaching and resources to the community. As part of the partnership, a staff member from the Chelsea Foundation works full-time at the school, working closely with the St Dunstan’s community and developing relationships across their local area.

 At Canford, every one of their 650 pupils takes part in sport or physical activity at least 3 times a week, with 20 different sports activities on offer to build self-confidence, resilience and teamwork.

Lancing’s belief in the power of sport to unite is evident of their ethos: “Be inspired. Be brilliant. Be you.” Students have access to a wide range of sports and activities at all levels, with diverse role models and opportunities emphasised through guest speakers and diverse opportunities. 

 Clifton College have partnered with a local organisation to publish and improve on their carbon footprint and new developments have achieved the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certification for sustainable building. This is enhanced by the Sustainability Committee and students can work towards the SEEd Young Changemakers award. 

Colchester Prep and High School are working towards achieving net zero through their student-led Climate Action Ambassador team, where students take ownership of these sustainable goals, supported by staff and parents, to tackle the issues most important to them.