Wycombe Abbey


Wycombe Abbey is a private girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.
The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove, who was previously headmistress of St Leonards School in Scotland. Its present capacity is approximately 650 girls, aged 11 to 18. The current headmistress is Jo Duncan.
The school is on a 69-hectare campus in central High Wycombe. The land includes woods, gardens, a Cold War bunker and a lake, and rises up to 150 metres above sea level in the Chiltern Hills. The freehold is owned by the school; the main house and several buildings at Wycombe Abbey are Grade II* listed.
Wycombe Abbey is included in The Schools Index of the world's best 125 private schools and among the top 30 senior schools in the UK.
In the 2023/2024 GCSE examinations, the school achieved 97% 9-7. For the A-level examinations, the school achieved 95% A*-B
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History

Early history

In the 13th century, the area, with the parish church, was part of the holding of the Abbess of Godstow. 600 years later, the priory at Godstowe was also re-founded as a school by Dame Frances Dove, and today is a "feeder" preparatory school for Wycombe Abbey.
On the site of the present Wycombe Abbey was a large manor house known as 'Loakes House' which was the seat of the Archdale family, until 1700, when Thomas Archdale sold it to Henry Petty, 1st Earl of Shelburne. The earl, in turn, bequeathed the estate to his grandnephew, William Petty. The Shelburnes, though, had a far larger and grander residence at Bowood House in the Savernake Forest and spent little time at Loakes House.
Consequently, Lord Shelburne sold his estates in the area. Loakes House was purchased from them at auction by Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington, in 1798. He employed the architect James Wyatt to transform Loakes House into Wycombe Abbey as we see it today. The original house and other parts of the school are listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England with the landscaped grounds of the school listed Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

World War II

The Air Ministry requisitioned Wycombe Abbey School in March 1942 to serve as the headquarters of the United States Eighth Air Force after the entry of the United States into World War II. It was returned to Wycombe Abbey on 9 May 1946.

International schools

There are additional international Wycombe Abbey schools as follows:

Notable alumnae

Notable staff