Acres across Merchant Taylors' grounds

Good Schools Guide Review

Trusted by parents for 35 years, The Good Schools Guide includes impartial and candid school reviews as well as in-depth articles on education-related issues. Uniquely, each school is selected on merit alone. No one can buy their way into The Good Schools Guide’s good books. And from famous names to local treasures, The Good Schools Guide writers visit every single school, interview the head, speak to pupils and parents, analyse academic performance and challenge the marketing hype.

Below you can read the full review that was carried out by The Good Schools Guide earlier this year or you can read it on The Good Schools Guide website.

The Head Master

Since 2013, Simon Everson MA PGCE, educated at Solihull School and read English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge before completing a master’s in philosophy at Nottingham. Arrived at Merchant Taylors’ School (MTS) with a cornucopia of experience: he was head for seven years at Skinners’ School, a top Kent grammar, and earlier taught at Nottingham High and Arnold School, plus several comprehensives and a school in Japan.

Enjoys walking – often in the Outer Hebrides – and bird watching. A ‘gentle leader’, in the words of one mum. ‘He sets a nice tone for the school overall.’ ‘Thoughtful, interesting and genuinely cares about the boys,’ said another. ‘Not sure what more one could ask for in a head.’ Both of Mr Everson’s parents worked in education, so it may be in the genes. Married to Ginny, a psychotherapist.

From his study, festooned in pupil art, Mr Everson explains that MTS parents take its academic excellence almost as ‘a given’. So, what drives them to choose MTS over similarly hardcore academic schools? ‘It’s the school’s “And what else?” offering,’ he says. ‘Academics is the bare minimum’ a school should offer, Mr Everson maintains. And what else? ‘We aim to develop wit, creativity and character’, to name but a few of the attributes the school prizes.

Experienced, accomplished, popular with both parents and the staff room, Mr Everson is fully confident of his school’s prowess and purpose. He replied personally, and with care, to the pre-visit questionnaire we send to schools – a task usually farmed out to minions. Does not squander school funds on frippery: website is not quite antiquated, but certainly vintage. And no efforts to butter up this writer who emerged from the day without being proffered so much as a hobnob or custard cream.

Entrance

Around 140 boys enter at 11+ after sitting papers in English, maths and the ‘untutorable’ MTS general paper: ‘They might be asked to make up new languages, or there might be a bit of heraldry. It’s different each year. It helps us to find rough diamonds.’ Those who do well are invited to a 25-minute interview to assess communication skills, intellectual curiosity, reasoning and extracurricular commitment. Main feeders are Davenies, Devonshire House, Durston House, Orley Farm, Radlett Prep, Reddiford, St Anthony’s Prep, St John’s and St Martin’s.

MTS no longer accepts applications for places at 13+, although this change does not affect current offer holders for year 9 entry in 2025 and 2026.

Handful of lads join at 16+. Admission is by written examination in subjects planning to be studied in sixth form, followed by two 25-minute interviews with senior teachers.

At every stage, competition for places is fierce. ‘This is a selective school, so it’s competitive,’ says Mr Everson frankly. ‘But we approach the admissions process in a humane way, and the head’s reference is very, very important. We’re looking for the X factor: interests, passions and what the whole child will bring to the school.’

Exit

A few (around 10 per cent) leave after GCSEs, aiming for boarding, grammar school, a co-ed sixth form, or simply seeking a combination of subjects not offered here. But the vast, vast majority stay the course. ‘Boys are proud to be part of this school,’ said the mother of a year 11 boy. ‘It’s prestigious. No one wants to leave for A levels.’ A ‘certain standard’ is expected in the sixth form, but there is no culling. ‘The assumption is that we will see them through to 18,’ says the head.

Popular university destinations include Nottingham, Warwick, Durham, UCL, Imperial and LSE. Subjects read tilt heavily towards muscular professional degrees: economics, engineering, law and, holy of holies, medicine (10 in 2024).

"At Merchant Taylors' there’s a whole other category of academic ability that takes your breath away."

Current Parent

Latest Results

In 2024, 85 per cent 9-7 grades at GCSE; 71 per cent A*/A at A level (92 per cent A*-B).
In 2023, 86 per cent 9-7 grades at GCSE; 70 per cent A*/A at A level (89 per cent A*-B).

Teaching & Learning

‘It’s a very, very academic school,’ a mum told us. Another said, ‘My son was top of his prep school but here he’s average. At MTS there’s a whole other category of academic ability that takes your breath away.’ ‘Has come through 100 per cent on the academic side,’ summarised a parent solemnly.

It all starts rather gently with mixed ability teaching in years 7 and 8. Setting in maths and French begins in year 9; sciences year 10. But even the lower sets tend to cruise to exam success: ‘My son was in the lowest set for maths – set ten of ten – and he easily got a 9 at GCSE.’ Class sizes top out at a maximum 24 up to age 16+; many fewer in sixth form, of course.

Most boys do 10 GCSEs; a few do nine. They can choose from myriad languages – so long as they’re French, German or Spanish. We asked about the language offering being a bit narrow for a school of this size and calibre. ‘It’s a deliberate choice,’ explained the head of languages. ‘European languages are quicker to learn and likely to be the most valuable to these boys.’ Some Italian, Russian and Arabic offered off timetable. Vast majority of boys take three separate sciences with superb results, as you would expect. Well over a third of boys do GCSE additional maths. Still, humanities hold their own, and parents we met spoke particularly highly of the school’s history department. The homework load is surprisingly light: so much is covered so quickly in lessons.

Minimum GCSE grade 7 is needed to continue most humanities subjects into sixth form. For maths, school says pupils need minimum grade 8; parents tell us grade 9. No-nonsense list of A level options, with psychology and politics being the two most ‘out there’ subjects. Most boys start with four A levels, then drop one, though some hardy souls keep the quartet in play throughout sixth form. No surprise that maths is the most popular A level subject; economics in close second place; physics and chemistry vie for third: these are some super-numerate young men. Time for EPQs and MOOCs has been built into the sixth form schedule. An academic tutor guides their reading and wider learning ‘like an Oxford seminar’, says Mr Everson. A pastoral tutor looks after most everything else.

Technology no longer kept at arm’s length at this proudly traditional school. Years 7 and 8 still major on pen and paper, but Surface Go 3 tablets with stylus and keyboard are just the ticket for year 9 upwards (parents pay over six terms and then it’s theirs to keep). ‘Has reinvigorated teaching’ was a view we heard from a number of teachers. A group of staff interested in research on the neuroscience of learning have occasional breakfast meetings to share knowledge and best practice. ‘Teachers work so hard here,’ one of the younger lads told us, rather touchingly.

Career advising and UCAS support par excellence. Sixth form academic tutors make sure everything stays on course. ‘Extension sessions’ are given by teachers who themselves attended the target university. A member of staff focuses on US applications. The school deserves extra kudos for providing detailed lists of university destinations going back a full eight years. Detailed exams results are also prominent on the school’s website – thank you, MTS! Oh, that more schools did this.

Learning Support & SEN

Learning support is a big and busy department, visited, somewhere along the line, by around 30 per cent of MTS pupils (school says 18.5 per cent of pupils require SEND provision which puts the school exactly on the average for members of the Independent Schools Council). Teachers tell us that the exam results of boys who tap into the school’s SEND support are indistinguishable from those of their peers.

All new pupils are screened for learning difficulties in November once they’ve had a chance to bed down in their new surroundings. ‘We had no idea our son was dyslexic, but the whole year was tested in year 7 and year 9. It felt like a weight had been lifted,’ said a mum. Another parent told us, ‘They’re very good at picking up on little things… the non-diagnosed stuff, like organisation skills, revision techniques and executive skills that will always be a challenge at a boys’ school.’ ‘They’re great at getting the boys extra time, rest breaks and keyboard use in exams when needed,’ chimed in a dad. Only two boys have full-blown EHCPs.

Not a school that is scared off by the whiff of SEN around a prospective pupil: ‘I shared my son’s ed psych report with the school before applying and they still welcomed his application.’ Ditto mobility issues. There are five lifts, height-adjustable furniture, accessible bathrooms and other equipment to help all pupils access the site and facilities. In recent years, the school has had two pupils who have been full-time wheelchair users. Pupils speak over 50 different languages at home in addition to English, but few require significant EAL support.

The Arts and Extracurricular

There’s something for everyone,’ said a mum. ‘If you’re a geek, you can geek out. If you’re sporty, you can sport. The school allows you to play to your strengths.

The hard part is getting into the school!’ Another told us: ‘Everything is very, very top notch. And serious. And brilliant.’ Extracurricular involvement is an important component of the MTS experience. Indeed, ‘The headmaster has actively pushed back against a few parents who would like a purely academic school,’ a teacher told us.

DT is one of the glories of the school, somehow marrying cutting-edge wonder with practical competence. The department leans towards CAD/tech/computing over woodwork and laser cutting (good preparation for engineering degrees later). That said, there were literal sparks flying as we observed welding in the metal workshop. All boys do DT in years 7 to 9, and healthy numbers continue with the subject all the way through sixth form with predictably fab results. School runs a robotics club and takes part in the VEX IQ international robotics competition with much distinction.

Art is housed cheek by jowl with DT, emphasising the overlap between the subjects: ‘It’s collaborative,’ explained our guide. We admired a gritty cityscape splashed across shards of torn cardboard and watched boys working wonders with cyanotype. Roomy and bright, with workshop ‘sections’ set up for each A level student: ‘You feel pride when you walk into your own section.’ Last time we were here we noted that only one student was doing A level art. This time there were 12 upper sixth artists – not bad for a boys’ school stuffed with academic overachievers (on average, it’s between two and five).

Few boys do A level music (some years none), and zero boys did A level drama in two of the last three years. But what do exams matter when we are speaking of the divine arts? Musical talent here is dazzling. Almost 300 boys are learning a musical instrument up to grade 8 standard, and a piano accompanist or organist is likely to be a student: ‘Boys are encouraged to do everything,’ said a mum. Jazz bands, chamber music groups, house music competition, strong choral tradition and international music tours all providing fertile (some might add ‘highbrow’) potting soil for musicians. Plans afoot to redesign the music department. Two major drama productions (one a biennial musical – Enron was in rehearsal when we were there) plus a lower school play each year. Boys are supported in applications for the National Youth Theatre, with impressive success.

Community service includes an annual activity week for 20 disabled children run by the sixth form Phab club together with a team of students from nearby St Helen’s (girls’) School. ‘We work all year raising money,’ a boy explained earnestly. The warm, but non-exclusive, relationship with St Helen’s extends to activities like CCF, music and dramatic productions.

Scores of other clubs and societies include several high-power academic clubs, ranging from dissection society to debating, but also eccentrics like ethical hacking and Rubik’s cube. Much investment in outdoor education including archery, climbing and DofE. MTS’s outstanding 100+-year-old CCF is one of the largest (and oldest) in the UK.

Weekly newsletter brims with opportunities for boys to shine – tennis club, jazz night, organ recital, cricket awards dinner, lunchtime lecture by a visiting historian, film festival and a surfing trip to the Canary Islands – all in the random edition we picked up. Not to mention a feast of articles on MT boys’ derring-do and brilliant successes. We had to lie horizontal and light a lavender candle after reading it.

Sport

Boys we chatted with expressed pride in their school’s sporting greatness which, they hinted, sets MTS apart from (and above!) some of its independent school brethren. Main games – rugby, cricket and hockey – are compulsory in years 7-9 and played up to the highest standards. Choice begins to creep in slowly come year 10. The long list of minor sports brims with promise and includes exotics like fencing, golf, shooting, riding and ultimate frisbee. Competitive rowing does not feature, but boys can row, kayak, canoe, sail and even swim in the school’s own lakes. No organised football to speak of until sixth form – a source of grumbles among younger boys.

Cricket deserves a paragraph of its own. Middlesex County Cricket has used the school for professional matches: ‘Stands are brought in, TV cameras, the works,’ enthused a porter. School expects its new Julian Hill Cricket Centre to be ‘the best school cricket centre in the country’ and, by the looks of it, this is probably an understatement. Middlesex will make the cricket centre the base for all its indoor training, and MTS boys can look forward to practising alongside first-class players and coaches. The school is gaining increasing national recognition as a citadel of cricketing excellence, bolstered no doubt by its large Asian demographic, and features on the cover of the 2024 Cricketer Schools Guide.

An infinity of opulent playing fields extend gorgeously from the back of the school – something of a miracle here, on the outskirts of London, where even a humble greenish patch can be a feather in a school’s cap. Like the two faces of the masks of humour and tragedy, MTS displays a solemn red-brick London front and a verdant county back. It is entirely possible to spend a morning here and miss the luscious hinterland that distinguishes this school from many of its peers. There is also, of course, a sports hall, indoor pool, squash courts, two (soon to be three) Astros and athletics track. The enormous, asphalted, reassuringly old-school Main Quad is flooded with activity during break. Games for all on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

Ethos & Heritage

Founded in the City of London in 1561 by the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors – the largest school in the country at the time. Relocated in 1933 to its current location, a 285-acre site comprising a core of listed art deco buildings plus a host of sympathetically incorporated modern additions set before endless playing fields leading down to five lakes and a river. School lacks dreaming spires and turrets but gives an immediate sense of purposefulness and solid endeavour.

Claims to be the first school in England to introduce holistic education (in the 1500s, so we’re talking ancient Greek and jousting). Dropped boarding around the turn of this century, but the school hasn’t drifted massively from the boarding school model, with plenty of activities, a love of team games, plus Saturday matches, training and other commitments. Driven but relaxed atmosphere – no one running or looking anxious.

A few parents murmured about uniform sloppiness or older boys looking unshaven and scruffy. ‘The uniform is not worn with polish,’ summarised a mum. When we put this to him, Mr Everson was unconvinced: ‘These are serious young men who are focused on the future.’ Etonians they may not be, but for the record, we thought they looked just fine. ‘It reminds me of an outstanding 1960s boys grammar school. It’s not pretentious and feels down to earth with normal families,’ said a parent who chose MTS over a swanky London boarding school that may or may not be located in Dulwich. Not showy. Tolerant. Uncliquey.

‘Nothing ever changes at MTS,’ said a mum who has seen two boys through the school. ‘They’ve got a winning formula and they stick to it.’ Many parents concurred but preferred expressions like ‘timeless’. ’It’s what we like about it!’ said one. ‘Old-fashioned values, but not old fashioned,’ said another. ‘Even the uniform is so old fashioned, the dark grey suit, and we spend a fortune having it fitted!’ Mr Everson disagrees: ‘For everything to stay the same, everything has to change.’ Rather than sameness, he sees ‘a sense of continuity – parents know Merchant Taylors’ is going to deliver.’

Actor and alumnus Riz Ahmed has discussed the gratitude he feels to MTS teachers who helped channel his ‘antisocial energy’ into extracurricular activities, like debate and drama. Ahmed chose MTS as the backdrop for one his first movies. Other famous OMTs include the founder of The Times, John Walter, BBC foreign correspondent Michael Peschardt, Nobel prize-winning medic Sir John Sulston, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Coggan, politician and minister Sir Alan Duncan (head boy!), broadcaster Mehdi Hasan and, our favourite, the late, great Boris Karloff. Plus a host of others from the worlds of politics, business, sport, the military and the arts. OMTs have a dedicated building of their own.

Pastoral Care, Inclusivity and Discipline

‘The tolerance, inclusion and mixing are beautiful to behold,’ a mum told us gravely. No parent we spoke to could remember even a scrap of bullying. ‘They don’t put up with that here,’ said a mum. ‘If you don’t adhere to their strong morality and values, you’re out.’ ‘Civilised,’ said a teacher describing the ethos of the place, and we think that single word sums it up nicely. Boys are kind to each other and respect between them and the teachers gleams like a shiny penny. ‘It’s almost on a peer level, especially in sixth form,’ said a parent. Teachers call the boys ‘gents’. No separate staff dining room and, unusually for a day school, almost half the staff live on site. ‘We’re invested in the place,’ a teacher explained. School instils a sense of pride. ‘It’s my favourite thing about the school,’ said a parent. ‘Its traditions, its values, the no-nonsense way of learning, the sense of history. They may not admit it, but boys are proud to be at Merchant Taylors’.’

Tutor system operates vertically: years 7 through sixth form meet three mornings a week with the oldest boys serving as big brothers, exam coaches and, hopefully, role models for the pipsqueaks. ‘They really bond,’ a dad told us. Tutors see boys through seven long years and are ‘massively important’. Communication tends to go through the boys rather than to parents, leading to occasional kerfuffles with eg Saturday matches.

Mental health well looked after despite the school’s resilient, competitive spirit. ‘The school was all over it,’ said a mum remembering her son’s struggles. ‘I had no idea he had issues – it was them bringing it up to me, and I’m so grateful.’ A few young pupils spoke of the abrupt step change when they moved up from the prep to the senior school: ‘There’s an induction day, but not a lot of hand holding.’ Mobile phones stay in blazer pockets. ‘I wish they were a bit stricter,’ one parent admitted. ‘I wish they were collected at the start of the day.’

Lunch service remains imperfect. The quality of the food may have improved since our last visit, with three hot dishes (one vegetarian), plus pasta, salads, a sandwich bar and jacket potatoes if all else fails. But the queues can be daunting and most parents we spoke to had a lunch-related gripe.

Pupils and Parents

Diverse with a capital D. ‘Financially, it runs the gamut from very rich families to mum and dad living above the shop,’ said a mum. ‘It’s extremely uncool to boast about your family’s wealth.’ And, indeed, you are unlikely to hear MTS boys comparing ski holidays or reminiscing about their nannies. Significant Asian population, ‘but my son has friends from almost every background – Indian, Chinese, Nigerian, white British. The school simply admits the best applicants; it keeps standards high.’ Asian students often tilt towards professional pathways, eg medicine and engineering, and the school has a challenge convincing some tiger parents that sport and the arts can lead to better, not worse, academic results. A few boys identify as trans or gender neutral. Parents say the school is relaxed and pupils accepting.

Seventeen-minute stroll to Moor Park tube station means boys arrive from a huge geographical radius. Beyond public transport, lots take advantage of the school’s network of coaches or are dropped off by parents; by age 17 many drive themselves to school.

Boys are studious, high achieving, self motivated. ‘They all want to be the top,’ said a mum. Who would it not suit? ‘Social life can be a problem as the catchment is spread out. For very social boys, a local school may be better.’ And ‘you have to be willing to give things a go,’ said a lad fondly remembering a (short-lived) opportunity for insect tasting.

Money Matters

Proud of its bursary scheme which currently helps up to 100 boys and is poised to expand. Ingeniously, the lettings income from the new Julian Hill Cricket Centre is to be funnelled into bursaries. School hopes to eventually offer 150 bursaries per year with the help of this new funding stream. Academic scholarships are awarded to boys who perform particularly well in the entrance papers (no separate scholarship papers). Around 10 scholarships of up to 50 per cent of fees at 11+ and 13+; many more smaller exhibitions. All award-winners benefit from an enrichment programme. Also sport, art, drama, DT, music and all-rounder scholarships; 16+ subject scholarships offered along with bursaries.

The Last Word

High-powered, super-academic, civilised, London-ish school set in 285 acres of verdant bliss. As long as your son has the brains to keep up, it provides an outstanding environment that produces both interesting and interested young men, with a long-standing history of valuing the quirky and erudite.