Niche gives Woodlands Academy another A+ for educating girls

LAKE FOREST – For the sixth year in a row, Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart received the top grade for its faith-based education of young women.

In recently released 2025 rankings by Niche, an independent research company, the Lake Forest school repeated as the No. 1 Best All-Girls High School in Illinois for the eighth consecutive year. Woodlands Academy received the overall grade of A+ in this year’s report.

Niche, a website for researching K-12 schools, scored Woodlands Academy highly on numerous factors. These include SAT/ACT scores, student-teacher ratios, the quality of colleges students consider and reviews from students, alumni and parents. Statistical data used in the 2025 Niche rankings was obtained from sources including the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities. Because of this, Niche said its rankings differ from those of others that rely heavily on test scores and academic performance.

“We are so pleased to be recognized again this year as the best all-girls high school in Illinois,” Head of School Susan Tyree Dempf said in a news release. “Woodlands provides young women with an excellent education which prepares them for university study and beyond. Woodlands Academy students are educated in an environment focused on how girls learn. This, in combination with leadership opportunities, athletics and access to exceptional faculty, helps our students to reach their fullest potential.”

Dempf believes the benefits of an all-girls school do not come simply from separating girls from boys but from the ability of a girls’ school to focus entirely on girls’ education, development and well-being.

Woodlands Academy’s focus on educating young women to become well-rounded global citizens traces to the original vision of Sacred Heart education formulated more than 200 years ago by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat in post-revolutionary France. Woodlands is a Catholic, independent, day-and-boarding, college-preparatory school for young women of all faiths in grades nine through 12. Founded in Chicago in 1858 and located in Lake Forest since 1904, Woodlands is part of a worldwide network of Sacred Heart schools that spans the U.S. and 40 other countries on six continents.

To learn more, visit woodlandsacademy.org.