Opinions on Merchant Taylors, Northwood please

[SerenAstra]

My son has a 13 plus offer to join Merchant Taylors, Northwood. I'd like to hear any experiences of the school. Thanks.

My son too. Would love to know more about MTS as well!

Bump anyone?

Still hoping for some thoughts on Merchant Taylors in Northwood please.

Bumping to help ;-)
Only been to an open day, and a couple of times to watch Middlesex playing 1st class cricket .
285 acres...wow. Brilliant if you dc is into sport!
Really liked the school ...Art and DT departments were especially fantastic.
The only reason we didn't go for it in the end was the travelling time.

My boss’s son went there on a 13+ scholarship and left a year ago with straight A* at GCSES and then the same with A levels and now studying medicine. Boss wanted his son to go to HABs but his son preferred MT.

Thanks so much for the feedback. My son is not particularly into sports, but I think green space and fresh air are a definite bonus for everyone. He is a keen actor and singer so I'm hoping the arts are valued at MTS too.

Thanks for the feedback. My son loves the space at MTS even though he isn’t really into sport. He is a keen artist and very musical. We were particularly impressed with the Art & DT department and facilities. From the new 13+ process/interview, we got the feeling that they value boys’ interests and talents which is why we like the school and think it suits our son well. He is on Highgate waiting list and still has City interview but already sets his heart on MTS...

My colleague's DS just left and a friend's DS just started. They both shared similar feeling about the school. Fantastic teaching stuff, the range of activities etc. Was told that they treat and appreciate boys as individuals. Both boys are very happy. The one left had straight As.

I have a son there plus another son starting next year. What would you like to know about in particular and I'll do my best to answer...

JMG-what is the demographic/ethnic mix like at MTS? Is there a dominant group, like Indian Asians?

I can't really answer that one. You might find that information in one of their inspection reports. I'd say it's ethnically diverse, as are most private schools in our area.

One of the main reasons we chose MTS is that the boys seemed very down to earth. On the whole, the teaching staff are young and enthusiastic and have a good rapport with the boys.

My eldest son is a keen rugby, hockey and cricket player and the sports facilities are amazing, as are the sports staff. Lots of sports tours if that's your thing (last summer he went on a rugby tour of North America and he's off to South Africa on a hockey tour this summer). Cricket is particularly well catered for - last year we hosted the England, Australia & Sri Lankan teams for training and Middlesex use their facilities on a regular basis.

There's a lot of extracurricular activities. Last term they put on Les Mis with St Helens. The headmaster and senior leadership team are great. I like the vertical tutoring system where you are in tutor groups with boys from all years and you keep the same tutor throughout your time at the school.

Negatives? My son also had an offer from Habs which may have the edge academically. The odd teacher can be a bit disorganised.

Hope that's helpful. Do ask if you have any other questions.

Thanks so much for all the feedback. Do you have an idea of how much the boys interact with the St Helen's girls? My son is really keen on co - Ed as he has a lot of friends who are girls.

I'm not entirely sure as my son only really does sports for the extra curriculum activities but I think Friday afternoon activities (compulsory for certain years) are joint with St Helens for CCF and Phab (charity work). They put on joint dramatic productions and sometimes share careers days. But it's not Co-Ed and I'm guessing not as combined as, say, Habs or a proper Co-Ed like Berkhamsted.

I should add that some boys actively socialise with girls from the local schools but often as they have sisters with friends at St Helen's or wherever.

Hi I was wondering how pushy the school is in terms of homework etc. Is there enough help for boys at the lower end of the ability spectrum and, conversely, is there enough challenge for those at the top end? How good is the school at tailoring the experience to account for individual strengths/weaknesses but also personalities?

I'm happy with the level of homework. My son's about to sit his GCSEs so a gradual increase in homework from year 9. My observation is that the school caters for a wider range of abilities than perhaps I'd expected, though this is probably partly due to some kids being more conscientious students than others.

Differentiation is good, mainly through setting but also through additional programs e.g. essay competitions and tutorials for academic scholars. The teachers run drop-in lunchtime sessions every day for students who want additional help with their GCSE subjects (these are also compulsory for some students).

The school has chosen not to have fixed entry criteria for continuing into the sixth form i.e. you don't have to get certain GCSE grades.

Many thanks JMG1234 for your insider info - So helpful! Are there many events such as play or concert rehearsal etc that require some boys to stay much later (i.e. have to miss the late coach)? We are not local to the school...

MTS is a great school. DS was there for 7 years and left last summer with straight A Stars at GCSE
and A Star AA in his A Levels. He's now at Top 4 Uni for his subject.

DS was really happy at MTS and loved the academics and the rugby. He also really enjoyed CCF. DD was at St Helen's and loved joint drama productions with the boys.

Great teaching, young ambitious staff and strong leadership.

DS is now under a lot of pressure at uni to meet deadlines and is grateful to Taylors for providing him with the skills to work independently and produce quality content.

www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/18210625.a-level-results-every-school-college-hertfordshire/

My son catches the train but there's two set of coaches, one at 3.45 and another coach around 5.15/5.30 for the boys doing after school activities.

Sorry, just realised I'd slightly misread your question. I don't think boys stay later than the late coach (if that makes sense!) perhaps except the week before productions (not 100% sure on that).

My son does have the occasional away sports fixtures that gets back after the late coach but these are infrequent as most fixtures are on Saturdays.

The school is very heavily Asian background just as St Helens and Northwood College are as are the local prep schools. It’s very representative of the local demographic. Habs and City are much more diverse.

Watching for replies here too...

No children at the school but friends who have. They are happy. Heard comments from an acquaintance considering options for her child that she thought the facilitates at MT were more modern than Habs, particularly for DT which is something her son wants to study.

I agree that all schools in the area are likely to be British Asian dominant as that’s the local demographic and in my observation Asian parents are also more likely to choose private education than white parents.