Wycombe Abbey impressed judges this year with its pioneering Carrington Award scheme, which was the result of a two-year research project undertaken by staff.

The Buckinghamshire school, for girls aged 11-18, created the leadership programme for its sixth form around four key principles: leadership, responsibility and global thinking; confidence and self-reliance; creativity and vision; and critical thinking and intellectual curiosity.

The school wanted the programme to be authoritative and to reflect the global outlook of its students (who come from 29 different countries). It also needed to be ambitious - to develop the potential of the school’s able cohort - and worthwhile, supporting students’ resilience and creativity.

Lead judge Simon Larter-Evans said: “Wycombe Abbey’s Carrington Award is a carefully researched programme that aims to meet the future needs of young women, particularly in the realm of leadership.

“It assumes an outward-looking perspective in terms of global citizenship and is particularly impressive in acting on the need to bridge the social divide by sharing its programme with local state schools.”

Taught through a mixture of university-style seminars and lectures by experts over four periods per week, teaching methods emphasise discussion and debate as preparation for higher education.

Judges were particularly impressed by the school’s use of transmedia storytelling, using a variety of media to immerse students in a narrative. Leadership skills are further developed through a two-day Leadership Summit with the nearby Royal Grammar School, a selective state boys’ school.

The Carrington Award also forms a major part of Wycombe Abbey’s outreach programme, where pupils from three local state schools are invited to participate in events developing communication, commercial and leadership skills.