A High Wycombe private school headmistress has pointed to single-sex education as one of the main factors behind finishing top of the class and achieving higher average UCAS scores at A-Level than any other in the country. 

Girls school Wycombe Abbey outperformed every other independent school in the UK for average Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) admission points per student, new figures reveal.

Dismissing suggestions that the school is an “exam factory” isolated from the town, headmistress Rhiannon Wilkinson said the school – which charges up to £12,250 per term in fees – aim to see the girls give something back to the community.

She said: “We are proud of where we are situated and don’t see us as an island, cut off from the town. We’re not an exam factory, we want our girls to give back to the town – they do a great deal locally.

“Of course, we are proud of our grades, but there’s so much more about the school.

“We are really proud to be a part of High Wycombe. There are a lot of things which the girls get involved in during their extra-curricular activities and with additions like the brilliant traffic links we are able to welcome girls from across the country and the world.”

She added: “I think a lot of the success of boy and girls, particularly in Buckinghamshire, is down to being able to learn in a single-sex environment.

“The girls don’t feel like they have to mediate themselves to the opposite sex in lesson time, but I’ve always said, single-sex education doesn’t mean a single-sex life.”

The school – set in lush grounds off Marlow Hill – is ranked sixth in the Independent Schools Council’s (ISC) official ranking, which lists schools by the number of A*s and As awarded to pupils.

In this year’s A-level results, a staggering 85.7 per cent of the 86 students received all either A*s or As – nearly three per cent better than last year – and 96.9 per cent being graded as B or better.

The girls at the town centre campus narrowly beat Cardiff Sixth Form College in terms of UCAS points, receiving on average 502 points per pupil.

The school has close links with the Royal Grammar School and some of their sixth form students also help teach at Cressex Community School.

The school also celebrated great GCSE successes with 97 per cent of students achieving A*-A and 99.9 per cent getting A*-B.

Ms Wilkinson said: “We are absolutely delighted with the girl’s success.

“In some ways people think you get use used to our girls doing well, because each year we get great results at A-Levels, GCSEs and with university places, but every year is special.”

She added: “It’s a great tribute to the girls, their hard work and the brilliant teachers and support staff.”

UCAS gives 140 points for an A-level A* grade, 120 points for an A-level A grade down to 40 for an E and 60 for an A at AS-level, down to 20 for an E.

The school – which costs between £9,188 and £12,250 per term for boarders - is currently celebrating its 120th anniversary and is continuing to push forward with links around the world.

Eleven of the latest sixth formers to get top grades with be going to American universities, while 25 others have chosen to go to either Oxford or Cambridge.