Diversity and Inclusion
“At Wimbledon High School, we have always promoted a culture of acceptance, tolerance and respect. We embrace differences – visible and hidden – and want each student to feel valued, heard and able to express their sense of self. We believe that we must be candid and able to express and listen to difficult or uncomfortable opinions in order to make progress. An undivided community is a community which allows its members to speak up, and which learns to hear the experiences and feelings of others with empathy and understanding. We do not want to be the same as each other – we are unique individuals – but we do want to be united in our sense of mutual respect.”
Fionnuala Kennedy, Head
Independent School of the Year Awards 2025
We are delighted that our school was a Finalist in the Independent School of the Year Awards 2025 for Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ).
Being shortlisted for this award is testament to the ongoing efforts of our whole staff body to ensuring diversity, equality, inclusion and justice are priorities, and to the wonderful school community we have here at Wimbledon.
An Inclusive Community
Our EDI ethos at Wimbledon High School affirms our commitment to:
- Valuing and celebrating diversity
- Promoting respect for protected characteristics
- Ensuring curriculum content reflects the diversity of both the wider world and the school community
As a school we have striven to ensure that EDI has become a visible, practical, and consistent element of everyday teaching rather than something separate from curriculum and pedagogy, by embedding a clearly defined EDI strategy within each department and subject discipline.
Experiences Beyond the Classroom
Our PSHE Curriculum includes a fully embedded strand across all year groups which features lessons on protected characteristics, exploring identity and belonging and the psychological impact of being part of a minority group, LGBTQ+ history, microaggressions, challenging harmful stereotypes about genders, misogyny as a barrier to inclusion.
School assemblies on Neurodiversity, World Afro Day, Black History Month and World Religion Day – and our much-loved annual Culture Day – focus on key themes of inclusion and respect.
Alongside the establishment of a Student and Staff EDI Steering Group, we have as a result seen a significant and sustained improvement in our Annual EDI survey with students.
Our curriculum approach
At Wimbledon, we have scrutinised our academic curriculum and broadened it to include more diverse voices, writings and experiences. Our innovative Civil Discourse programme forms an essential part of the curriculum for Years 7 – 13 as we actively encorporate lesson time dedicated to honing the skills of listening, discussion and debate.
Holly Rodgers, Head of Sixth Form, was named International Coalition of Girls’ School (ICGS) Researcher of the Year 2025 for her research on ‘Empowering Every Girl: Student Agency in Diverse Classrooms’. Undertaken as part of the ICGS Global Action Research Collaborative (GARC) programme, the project investigated how agency can be enhanced in girls by involving them in curriculum design.
Watch Holly discuss the project below:
Neurodiversity and SEND
At Wimbledon High School, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive and empowering environment in which every student can thrive. We recognise that students learn and experience the world in different ways, and we celebrate neurodiversity as a valued and enriching part of our community.
Smooth transitions
A strong emphasis is placed on knowing our girls as well as possible, even before they join us, through close liaison with previous schools and parents. As a through school (4–18), we work across the Junior and Senior Schools to support a positive transition into Year 7.
Student‑centred initiatives such as ND buddying, which connects younger students with older peers, have proved particularly effective.
Our Neurodiversity and SEND provision is designed to support students academically, socially and emotionally, helping them to develop confidence, independence and the skills they need for life beyond school. We offer tailored, practical support that is shaped around each student’s individual needs and reviewed regularly to ensure it remains relevant, effective and empowering.
Our approach is underpinned by two key principles:
- Inclusion by Design – where we create learning environments that are accessible to all
- Adaptive Teaching – where we respond flexibly to each student’s evolving needs
Inclusive practice extends across the whole school through our network of Neurodiversity Champions, who work within departments to share strategies, tools and subject-specific approaches. We work hand in hand with families and staff to create a culture in which difference is a driver of excellence rather than a barrier.
Inclusion by design
‘In our school, our mission is to ensure that every girl regardless of how she thinks, learns, or experiences the world is understood, supported, and empowered to thrive. True inclusion means removing barriers, not lowering aspirations.’
Martyna Sobczak-Roberts
Head of Neurodiversity & SENCO
‘Being neurodiverse means, I have many strengths, one of mine is that I have excellent knowledge about topics I’m passionate about.’
Y6 Junior School Neurodiversity Prefect
‘I think when I was really young I thought that I couldn’t learn as well as other people, that I had less worth or I wasn’t as clever as other people in my class, but now I’ve realised that it is not a weakness or something that makes me less valuable as a person, it’s just a different way of thinking.’
Y11 student
