Malvern Girls' College opens the doors to its hallowed halls for the first in a series of features on members of the Malverns Experience,

a marketing partnership encouraging investment and tourism in the Malvern Hills area through promotional activities.

MALVERN'S private schools help put the town on the map and local people are justifiably proud of the handsome buildings that house such first-class educational establishments.

But looking up at their imposing faades and hearing of the huge tuition fees they charge could have some subscribing to negative stereotypes of expensive, single-sex, boarding school education.

Fees of £6,000 a term, entrance exams, vast grounds with up-to-the-minute facilities and an international reputation for academic excellence is enough to inspire a touch of jealousy in anyone not fortunate enough to benefit from them.

However, pupils at Malvern Girls' College thrive on the fact they are taught in an environment free from any narrow, negative thinking. Gender stereotypes are left outside the school walls, as - at the risk of stating the obvious - every position of responsibility and every seat in every classroom is filled by a girl.

"While equal opportunities are terribly important they don't mean you elevate people in exactly the same ways," explained headteacher Phillipa Leggate. "Whether you like to accept it or not, school tends to gender stereotype and in a girls' school it does not happen. If you're interested in something, it's because you're genuinely interested."

This is demonstrated by the large number of girls who opt for the sciences - in fact the most popular subject chosen in the sixth form is mathematics, which would have amazed the Victorians who founded the school in 1893. It can also be seen in the range of outdoor pursuits available, from rock climbing and mountain boarding to potholing and rugby.

Jane Potter, public relations adviser at the school, said single-sex surroundings encouraged shy students out of their shells at a time in their life when being surrounded by boisterous boys would just increase their self-consciousness.

"In an all-girls' school, the girls have to take all the roles and responsibilities and it encourages confidence," she said.

This would appear to be borne out by the impressive list of "firsts" achieved by ex-pupils. These include the first female High Court judge (Dame Elizabeth Lane), the first woman to command an RAF station (Janet Bannatyne) and the first woman to reach the top rank of the Civil Service (Dame Alix Meynell, who rose to Under-Secretary at the Board of Trade).

Sue Matthews, head of careers, puts this down to the way girls are encouraged to think freely at the school.

"There are no glass ceilings in this building," she said. "When the girls leave the school they are coming out of a culture of girls doing what girls want to do."

Fourteen-year-old pupil Annie Nnyanzie agreed that girls at single-sex schools generally get better marks because they are away from the distracting influence of boys.

"Some girls don't know how to act around boys," she said.

Her fellow Upper Fourth pupil Clare Dean, 14, from the Gambia, said she thought single-sex schools were no better or worse in terms of educational merit. She also admitted to suffering from homesickness when she first came to the school.

However, the boarding aspect is regarded as vitally important to the school's success. It allows pupils to concentrate on homework, free from distractions such as friends calling round. When a pupil sits down to her prep, she knows all her classmates are also doing so at the same time.

The girls are split into "houses" of around 60, where they eat their morning and evening meals together, to make it feel more like home. They have dormitories with up to four girls to a room, common rooms with stereos and televisions for socialising in the evenings.

On average, pupils return home once every three weeks, although some return more frequently, including those who do not board but return home every night.

Even if the single-sex aspect had no effect on the girls' chances of top grades, the facilities and resources at their disposal are nothing short of amazing.

The music department boasts 52 top quality pianos (including two grand pianos) in 32 separate practice rooms - the tuning bill alone is £4,000 a year. Here, too, the absence of gender lines is a benefit, with girls signing up to a percussion ensemble as well as jazz bands and more usual musical groups.

Software in the language department includes a new system able to teach at a pace suited to individual users. Girls can choose from the likes of Italian, Greek, Russian and Japanese as well as the staples of French, Spanish and German.

A new science block was completed in 1998.

The facilities and carefully balanced environment contribute to top-notch exam results: 68 per cent of last year's GCSE students achieved A* and A grades last year, and nearly one in five of their A'Level students managed three A grades.

Despite exceptions for scholarships, the size of the fees inevitably means families represented at the school tend to be at the privileged end of the economic spectrum. However, far from being cosseted in an ivory tower, girls are made to experience life for people less lucky than themselves through community service. Sixth formers are assigned tasks varying from working with children with learning and behavioural problems to the severely disabled.

Anthony Marks, who teaches maths and co-ordinates the voluntary work, is proud of the way his charges carry out their duties.

"They gain a lot of responsibility and we do a lot of work with Kaleidoscope and Malvern Special Families," he said.

More than £22,000 was raised through events staged by the girls in 2000, including a fashion show, fete and cabaret. This was divided equally between a project being carried out with a school in the Gambia, Save the Children and a local cystic fibrosis trust.

Pupils at Malvern Girls' Collage may indeed be privileged, but it is not because they are set above other people. And if they take inclusive attitudes and disregard of stereotypes out into the wider world when they leave, it is the whole of society that benefits.