Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart has been ranked the No.1 Best Catholic High School in Illinois and the No.1 Best All-Girls High School in Illinois by Niche, an independent research company.
According to a news release, the Lake Forest school also received an overall grade of A+ for the eighth year in a row in this year’s report, affirming its top-tier faith-based education of young women. Nationally, Woodlands Academy is the 17th Best Catholic High School and the 23rd Best All-Girls High School in Niche’s 2027 report.
Niche, a website for researching K-12 schools, scored Woodlands Academy highly on various factors. These include SAT/ACT scores, student-teacher ratios, the quality of colleges students consider, as well as reviews from students, alumni and parents, the release said.
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The statistical data Niche uses to evaluate teachers, resources, and facilities comes from a variety of sources, the release sadi. Because of this, Niche says its rankings differ from others that rely heavily on test scores and academic performance.
The site ranks Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette fifth; Loyola Academy, also in Wilmette, sixth; and Carmel Catholic School in Mundelein eighth.
“We are so pleased to receive an eighth-consecutive overall grade of A+ from Niche and to be positioned as the best Catholic high school and the best all-girls high school in Illinois,” said Head of School Susan Tyree Dempf, Ph.D. “Woodlands provides young women with an outstanding education which prepares them for university study and life beyond the classroom. Our students are educated in an environment focused on how girls learn. This, in combination with leadership opportunities, athletics, and instruction provided by an exceptional faculty, helps our students to reach their fullest potential.”
Woodlands has 101 students from 34 U.S. ZIP codes and 10 different countries, according to a school spokesperson.
Dempf believes the benefits of an all-girls school do not come simply from separating girls from boys, but rather from the ability of a girls’ school to create a culture of achievement among girls through an educational environment where girls take the lead, take educational risks, and confidently engage in the open, safe exchange of ideas.
The release said Woodlands Academy has also been recognized as a 2020 and 2025 National Blue Ribbon School. Its 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 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 United States and 40 other countries on six continents. To learn more, visit woodlandsacademy.org.