Merchant Taylors' Prep
Merchant Taylors’ & Northwood Prep unite to create a new Prep School: Merchant Taylors’ Prep
Northwood Prep and Merchant Taylors’ School have announced an exciting new chapter in their relationship. From September 2015, the two schools will be formally brought together to establish a ‘through school’ experience for our pupils for the first time.
From September, Northwood Prep will become Merchant Taylors’ Prep. The exciting move, which will further enhance the Merchant Taylors’ Educational Trust, will offer pupils and parents a richer, broader, and more personalised learning experience, which encourages curiosity and excellence in equal measure. Northwood Prep will join St John’s School as another member of the Merchant Taylors’ Educational Trust.
Speaking on behalf of Northwood Prep, Head of School Dr Karen McNerney said, “We are delighted about this alliance. We believe it will offer our boys and their parents significant academic, extracurricular and pastoral benefits. In providing a through school experience, we will be able to offer a much more personalised learning experience to pupils and improve our ability to meet the needs of the brightest and best pupils in both schools.”
Speaking on behalf of Merchant Taylors’ School, Head Master Simon Everson said, “This alliance is a natural evolution of the relationship we have long had with Northwood Prep. We have, for many years, enjoyed a shared ethos, shared history, shared community, and shared ambition. Together, we combine an outstanding academic record with a commitment to helping our pupils achieve their full potential. We believe the all-through experience we establish for our pupils will become, in time, greater than the sum of its parts. As well as retaining our separate identities, we will create new traditions and a new shared history, underpinned by the academic, sporting, and artistic excellence we will achieve together.”
Speaking on behalf of the Merchant Taylors’ Educational Trust, the Master of the Merchant Taylors’ Company, Peregrine Massey said, “We welcome Northwood Prep into the MTET. Northwood Prep will join existing member St John’s School, enabling MTET to offer a truly first-class education to pupils from across the Northwood area. This is an exciting opportunity for both Northwood Prep and Merchant Taylors’ School to remain faithful to their past records of academic and extracurricular excellence, while better preparing pupils for the challenges they will face in the future.”
Your Questions Answered
What is the purpose of this alliance?
We are seeking to create a ‘through school’ experience for pupils from 3 to 18 and this will be the only 3-18 boys’ school in Northwood. We believe that this will create an opportunity to deliver an enriched and seamless education for your sons. We share common purposes and contiguous sites – this merger is a logical next step, unifying two outstanding schools.
Will this step affect admissions to Merchant Taylors’ School?
We do not anticipate that the initiative will make it more difficult for any pupil from a prep or primary school to come to Merchant Taylors’ School. Applicants will continue to be welcomed from all schools, and will find that their chances of success will be exactly the same.
Often schools merge due to problems in one or other school: is this the case for MTS and NP?
No. This is an alliance between two schools that both have financial, operational, and teaching strengths. The sole motivation behind the alliance is to offer a through school experience (3-18) so that our students have richer, broader, and more personalised learning opportunities, in order to encourage curiosity and excellence in equal measure.
Will this impact on Merchant Taylors’ School’s existing relationship with St John’s?
Merchant Taylors’ School is deeply involved with our sister school, St John’s; we will continue to maintain all our current arrangements and pupils will continue to enjoy all the current extra-curricular activities. Indeed, we intend to expand our links with St John’s to ensure that we are even closer in the future than we are now.
Our goal is to improve yet further what our schools offer and ensure that the experience of pupils in the Northwood area between the ages of 3 – 18 is greatly enhanced. This vision also anticipates an even closer relationship between Merchant Taylors’ School and St Martin’s School.
Will the fees of Merchant Taylors’ School be affected?
No. We are uniting two financially secure schools, each very effective, over-subscribed and well-run. As has always been the case, school fees will be reviewed on an annual basis. As usual, the Governors will inform you in the Summer Term of the annual fee for next year, which will not be affected by the merger.
Will Merchant Taylors’ School’s resources be used to support the new Prep School?
No - the prep school is financially secure and is a very successful school. If anything, the two schools will benefit significantly from the capacity to plan ahead together and to share pooled resources.
How will the leaders and staff of Merchant Taylors’ School take on a new Prep School?
The prep school will continue to be run by its existing staff, under the leadership of the Head of School, Dr. Karen McNerney and the Principal, Dr Trevor Lee. Both schools will begin a process of dialogue to discover new ways to work better together, over a period of a number of years. The united school will be under the leadership of Simon Everson, the Head Master, and the Governing Body of Merchant Taylors’ School.
How will the link affect those pupils already at Merchant Taylors’ School, in Year 7 and 8?
Current pupils at Merchant Taylors’ School will continue to experience the many opportunities on the existing school site. They will be taught by the same teachers and will feel no change to the current arrangements.
How long has this alliance been planned?
This has been a gradual process that formalises the close relationship the two schools have had for many years. This year we have planned the practicalities of the alliance so that it creates minimal disruption to our students, our parents, and our teaching staff. We want the transition period to be as seamless as possible for the two school communities and so a lot of work has gone into the planning phase. We wanted to share this exciting news as soon as it was confirmed.
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