tatler.com Tatler Schools Guide 2020 19LONDONPUBLICPUTNEY HIGH
SCHOOL
35 Putney Hill, SW15 6BH
Website putneyhigh.gdst.net Head
Suzie Longstaff, MA, since 2014;
previously Deputy Head Pupils 708
day girls Ages 11–18 Term Fees
£6,609 Oxbridge 11%
Registration By November of year
before entry; £100 fee Admission
School’s own exam and interview
Alumnae Sophie Raworth, costume
designer Jenny Beavan
PREP Head Pippa Page-Roberts
Pupils 320 day girls Ages 4–11
Term Fees £5,468
Putney High has just marked its
125th anniversary with a portrait
exhibition devoted to its sparkling
alumnae, including Oscar-winning
costume designer Jenny Beavan
OBE, BBC broadcaster Sophie
Raworth and Baroness Virginia
Bottomley. But there’s much,
much more to celebrate than even
these trailblazing old girls: 2018
saw the school smash its academic
records, with 92 per cent of GCSE
grades coming in at A*/A and over
73 per cent at A* (9–8). This
school is intellectually high-
achieving but it also has a human
face and particularly impressive is
the Residency Programme, which
this year sees an Orator in Resi-
dence encourage a focus on debat-
ing and public speaking. Indeed,
the student voice is celebrated loud
and clear, to the point that girls
were encouraged to express their
opinion on the recent raft of refur-
bishments. The rationale? Learn to
be comfortable with challenges
outside the classroom and gain the
confidence to take it inside. Putney
also spearheaded the Positive
Schools Programme, which sup-
ports teachers, pupils and parents
in emotional literacy and resil-
ience with concepts like ‘social
wifi’. These girls move hard and
fast – highlights of 2018 include a
win in the JW4+ at the National
Schools’ Regatta and Henley
Women’s Regatta. When they’re
not whipping up wins on the
pitch and river, girls are jetting
off on school trips to Costa Rica,
Rome, China and Iceland. ]Alexander, who represented Great
Britain in the 2008 Olympics. The
students’ charitable work is an in-
tegral part of the curriculum, and
24 sixth formers each year are se-
lected to raise money for PHAB
(Physically Handicapped Able
Bodied) and organise a residential
week for disabled guests. All this is
accompanied by an exceptional
pastoral system, which pairs each
boy with a tutor who will oversee
their entire passage through the
school, ensuring they choose a
rich, rewarding life outside the
classroom, and taking an interest
in all they do.NORTH LONDON
COLLEGIATE
Canons Drive, Edgware
HA8 7RJ
Website nlcs.org.uk Head
Sarah Clark, MA, since 2018;
previously Head of the Queen’s
School, Chester Pupils 792 day girls
Faith C of E Ages 11–18 Te r m
Fees £6,810 Oxbridge 25%
Registration By November of year
before entry; £125 fee Admission
School’s own exam and interview
Alumnae Anna Wintour, first
female president of the British
Dental Association Lilian Lindsay
When asked to highlight any par-
ticularly outstanding members of
staff at North London Collegiate,
one parent happily explained that
‘the list is too long’. Head SarahClark is likely to top most lists; her
involvement and readiness to show
up for matches and concerts has
earnt her rave reviews from parents
(who call her ‘great, open-minded,
enthusiastic, professional and
caring’) and pupils (who ‘actually
love her’) alike. The school – and
parents – are keen to point out
that this is no hothouse, but the
results are undeniably high. In
2018, more than 85 per cent of all
grades were A*s or As, with 100
per cent of GCSE maths students
achieving grades 9–7 (the equiva-
lent of A*–A). Putting these to
good use, the school prides itself
on securing places at Oxbridge
and the Ivy League universities,
and hosts a widely attended
‘Evening with US Universities’
event each year, featuring prestig-
ious names from Harvard and
Yale. There are more than 60 clubs
and societies and girls are encour-
aged to set up and run their own –
which have included surfing,
ukulele and a choir that visits local
care homes regularly. Old girls say
that their entrepreneurial spirit
relates directly back to this open
and inspiring atmosphere. The
annual Fantasy Fashion Show is
eagerly anticipated – last year
students constructed wearable art
and raised over £3,500 for the
Karenni Student Development
Programme, a refugee charity
started by a former NLCS student.1,000 children every year in areas
such as STEM Academy, Saturday
school, debating, coding club and
sharing sports facilities. Latymer’s
combination of academic rigour
and pastoral support produces
stellar results, enabling 88 per cent
of leavers to gain entry to their first-
choice university, with 23 students
taking up their offers to Oxbridge,
17 securing places at top US
universities (including Princeton,
Stanford and Yale) and six talented
Latymerians heading off to study
prestigious art foundation courses.MERCHANT TAYLORS’
SCHOOL
Sandy Lodge, Northwood,
HA6 2HT
Website mtsn.org.uk Head
Simon Everson, MA, since 2013;
previously Head of Skinner’s School,
Tunbridge Wells Pupils 900 day
boys Ages 11–18 Term Fees
£7,175 Oxbridge 14%
Registration By September of
year before entry; £100 fee
Admission School’s own exams
and interviews Alumni Edmund
Spenser, Riz Ahmed, Sir Alan
Duncan, Boris Karloff
PREP Head Dr Karen McNerney
Pupils 330 day boys Ages 3–13
Term Fees £5,546
Calm and polite, the boys at Mer-
chant Taylors’ School are ‘such a
contrast to the usual bedlam that
can greet you at boys schools,’ says
an observer. With a focus on pre-
paring pupils for university, MTS
creates academically well-rounded
young men, with 100 per cent of
this year’s DT and art students and
over 90 per cent of history and
geography students achieving A*,
and an impressive 18 students
headed to Oxbridge. Innovative
classes such as app development,
virtual reality and IT foster entre-
preneurship in the boys. With 285
acres, the sports fields and facilities
are jaw dropping and the cricket
pitches are so well manicured they
often host the Australian test team
for practice. In hockey, the 1st XI
team won the 2018 National Plate
final with the expert coaching of
former England player RichardLATYMER UPPER10-19-Schools-Guide-PublicLondon.indd 19 13/08/2019 11:56