Plymouth High awarded Thinking School status with thinking described as a ‘golden thread’ throughout the school


Plymouth High School for Girls has been officially accredited as a Thinking School by the University of Exeter, recognising its commitment to developing independent, reflective, and metacognitive learners.

This national recognition is awarded to schools that demonstrate a whole-school approach to cognitive education.

The accreditation involves embedding cognitive strategies across the curriculum, using recognised ‘Thinking Tools’ such as De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, Thinking Maps, Habits of Mind, and Thinker’s Keys.

These tools are proven to help students become more focused, productive, and critically aware - skills that go far beyond academic performance and shape well-rounded, thoughtful individuals.

The school’s long-standing motto, ‘For life, not school, we learn, captures its ethos of preparing students not just for exams, but for the demands and opportunities of life beyond the classroom.

Plymouth High’s thinking journey began more than two decades ago, during the national implementation of formative assessment through Assessment for Learning.

Since then, the school has continued to evolve and refine its practice, placing metacognitive development at the heart of its curriculum and culture.