Maida Vale School

[thethirdact]

Since it is a very new school and the thread history is dominated by one parent in particular with some very extreme views, followed by some weird troll comments that MN has removed, I thought it would be good to start a new one with a sensible discussion of the pros and cons for prospective parents. Also the school's first few years were rocky, inevitable for a new school especially given they opened around the time of the pandemic whereas I think they are on more secure footing now. I have a child who has done their first term in year 7 and is very happy and thriving.

PROS

• Friendly, down-to-earth community feel
• Newly renovated building with very stimulating, creative interiors
• Great food (according to my child)
• Staff seem happy and friendly
• Excellent art and music provision
• New, dynamic and committed headmaster with long track record at Eton, Bedales and Milton Abbey (there were issues with previous headmaster)
• Outstanding SEN provision
• Open door policy for parents
• Small size gives children lots of opportunity to shine - ie get part in a concert, play or sports team
• Potential for the school to develop much more innovative and inter-disciplinary approach to education than the dominant hot-house style 11/13+ focused private schools - a direction that I think will be supported by parent community given many work in the creative industries
• Also potential to become more academically competitive as it becomes more established. Year 7 parents are already pressuring school to up their game academically so it won't be allowed to rest on its laurels. This will only increase every year

CONS

• Currently more boys than girls because there is more choice of single-sex secondaries for girls than boys. This may change as school becomes more popular and school can select to keep ratio even
• Academic track record still limited
• No bursaries or scholarships or sibling discounts
• Gardiner Group sometimes intransigent on certain issues - ie has refused to listen to parents' complaints about uniform or calls for more lockers

Interested to hear other people's thoughts on their experience SINCE new headmaster took over

Thank you for starting this thread!

We’ve applied to the school, and I’m curious to know how kids are doing there. Are they happy? Are they thriving academically? And how is the new head fairing?

My daughter is very keen on the school, so any insights from current parents would be great.

I know the school is not yet at capacity which I initially thought would mean small and more focused classes but DH thinks that a school that in this instance the school probably hasn't recruited all the staff needed to offer enough subjects outside of the core ones. Is this the case with Maida Vale?

My child is very happy and all his friends that I have met so far seem to be happy. I don't know many kids from Year 8+ so can't vouch for them. They only just started a 6th form in September but I actually quite like that because one of the things I don't like about the British system is the way little 11 year olds get thrown into the same school as scary 18 year olds. It's more like a US junior high or Italian scuola media, so a more gentle atmosphere

I haven't noticed any gaps yet at year 7 but perhaps in the older years there are more limitations. For languages for example they are still only offering French, Spanish & Latin but when I asked about this they said they would offer more options for GCSE and A-level once they have enough uptake.
I would say that clubs are still very limited compared to the other private secondaries I looked at

Does the school aim to compete with others academically? I’m wondering if my daughter will be pushed to achieve good results at MVS

Their aim is not to be like the 11/13+ schools. They have a different ethos (see their website for explanation on this. Also research sister school Kew House as it will be run on similar lines). They believe in maximising each child's potential. Given the fees they will be under a lot of pressure to perform academically too though

Went to an open day. Pretty building but found the heads of a couple departments for key subjects thoroughly uninspiring. One found speaking to us a chore. It was very odd! I have seen more inspiring teachers in the state sector. Their teaching staff are not from stelar schools or academic backgrounds and that reflects in how some came across. It doesn’t have a buzzing intellectual vibe compared to other schools where you are paying the same ie 25k.

@ItsRainingTacos79 GCSE options are extremely limited compared to other privates eg classics. Again, wider options in the state sector.

There is hardly any outdoor space. Can’t see where kids are supposed to go as the school grows.

It’s a solid no from me, particularly with 20% vat likely to be on its way.

OP do you mean more boys than girls? Certainly when I looked around it felt more boy heavy and this was confirmed by a teacher

@laughinglemons yes so sorry for confusion I meant "MORE BOYS" than girls. Mumsnet doesn't seem to have edit option so can't correct it in the original post

Not sure how Ganni (24 Jan 2024 post) would know exactly which schools the teachers at Maida Vale School have worked at previously and their academic backgrounds …. I think that aspect of their feedback is misleading and unfair. Not sure what anyone else thinks.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could comment on how the school is developing? Thanks

People may be interested to see very positive recent report on Maida Vale School by the Independent Schools Inspectorate https://www.isi.net/institutions/school/maida-vale-school-9470

I toured Maida Vale School on its open day this year. My impression was that the school facilities are excellent and modern, especially the DT room. However, the school felt more like a boys' school rather than a truly co-ed environment.
Based on my observation, the boy-to-girl ratio seemed to be around 8:2, with some classes having only 1 or 2 girls out of 15 students. Personally, I feel that it doesn’t quite reflect a balanced mixed school but rather leans heavily towards being a boys' school.