Three heads are better than one, goes the phrase. And at Clifton High School there’s not one head, but three.

Mr Tony Richards MBE, has been head of the lower school since 2000, Dr Alison Neill has been teaching at Clifton High for more than 20 years and has been head of the upper school and the sixth form since 1997, and Guy Cowper is the school’s director of operations.

Dr Neill and Mr Richards are both qualified Independent School Inspectors. They are also both Child Protection Officers. Dr Neill and Mr Richards have delivered consistent excellence throughout the school; be it an outstanding Ofsted report in the nursery earlier this year or 99 per cent pass rate at A-level. Mr Cowper is responsible for managing the business, finance and operational functions of the school.

All three are parents, with children in the private and maintained sector, ranging from primary school to university. This executive approach to 21st-century education means that the school is well placed to deliver better education and better value to working parents.

Tackling the debate over whether single-sex or co-education schools are best, Clifton High, which has been a girls’ school for many years, will be combining the best of both worlds. From September 2009 Clifton High School will be adopting a unique approach to learning called the Diamond Education Model, and it will welcome boys and girls of all ages.

This month, the school welcomed a number of boys from overseas and the state and independent sectors into its exceptional sixth form.

The school, which has already been teaching boys and girls up to Year 6 since 1991, has long been aware that the boys leave reluctantly, while the girls are kable to continue their education. Now boys and girls will continue to learn together until they are 11 years old.

From next year, in subjects where research has shown boys and girls learn better when separated – mathematics, English, science and foreign languages – they will be taught apart. Sixth Form students are taught together.

Clifton High pupils will mix socially, both through organised activities and during breaks, while benefiting from appropriate single-sex teaching for specific subjects. To see for yourself, please call Heather Thomas on 0117 933 9087.