For yet another year, Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart gets top grades when it comes to a faith-based education for young women. According to recently released 2023 rankings by Niche, an independent research company, the Lake Forest school repeats as the #1 Best All-girls High School in Illinois. In addition, Woodlands Academy is ranked the #1 Best Catholic High School in Illinois and the #8 Best Private High School in Illinois along with the overall grade of A+ it received in this year’s report. This is the sixth year in a row that Woodlands has been ranked the #1 Best All-girls High School in Illinois. 

Niche, a website for researching K-12 schools, scored Woodlands Academy highly on a variety of 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 2023 Niche rankings was obtained from a variety of sources such as the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities. Because of this, Niche says its rankings differ from 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, Ph.D., said. “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 the 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 the boys, but from the ability of a girls' school to focus entirely on the education, development and well-being of girls. 

Woodlands’ focus on educating young women to become well-rounded global citizens traces back to the original vision of Sacred Heart education formulated more than 200 years ago by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat in post-revolutionary France. Woodlands Academy, Lake County’s only single-sex school, is an independent Catholic day-and-boarding, college-preparatory school for young women of all faiths grades nine through 12 founded in Chicago in 1858. Located in Lake Forest since 1904, Woodlands empowers girls to change the world.