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Maida Vale School: parents’ guide to Year 7 entry

School guide

Jan 31, 2023, 2:15 PM

Maida Vale School: a parents’ guide to Year 7 entry

Contents

Maida Vale School is an independent day school for boys and girls aged 11–18. It opened in 2020 and is located within a residential neighbourhood of Maida Vale in central London. While the school is housed within a Victorian building, it has been fitted out with cutting edge facilities and equipment including music suites, a food technology room, a CAD area and a fitness studio.

The school is part of the Gardener Schools Group, which comprises Kew House School (West London) and both Ravenscourt Park and Kew Green prep schools. The school currently has over 100 pupils but will grow to a full capacity of 600.

Maida Vale School takes a modern approach to school life. Pupils benefit from small teaching and tutor groups, giving them individualised attention. The school is not bound by current educational conventions and practices; lessons extend to six hours per day, and pupils begin studying for their GCSEs in Year 9 (as opposed to Year 10). There is also frequent communication between school and home, in addition to plenty of opportunities for families including workshops and talks, an on-site cafe for parents and events and trips for parents to attend.

Pupils at Maida Vale School can enjoy links with local and city-wide organisations, including businesses, community groups, arts foundations, scientific institutes and museums. Enrichment comes in all forms, with guest speakers and visitors, workshops and interactive sessions, a huge variety of clubs and residential trips in the UK and abroad.

Key information for Maida Vale School

  • Head Teacher: Mr Steven Winter

  • Address: Maida Vale School, 18 Saltram Crescent, London W9 3HR

  • London Borough: City of Westminster

  • Admissions contact: Harriet Williams – [email protected], 020 4511 6000

  • Age range and gender: 11–18, co-educational

  • Number of pupils: 119

  • Number of places in Year 7: 22

  • Ratio of applicants to places: Undisclosed

  • Open day date: Wednesday 14th and 28th September, Wednesday 12th October, and Saturday 5th, Wednesday 16th and Wednesday 30th November 2022. Book an open event online.

  • Overview of selection procedure: ISEB Common Pre-Test, reference, internal assessment results, example of the child’s work and interview

  • Registration opens: Currently open – apply online

  • Registration closes: 12 noon on Friday 9th December 2022

  • Assessment date: N/A (child’s current school)

Maida Vale School fees and financial assistance

The school fees at Maida Vale School from September 2022 will be £8,073 per term. This includes all standard textbooks and stationery, and most school cubs (although fees apply for some activities). Lunch is not included in the school fees and costs £6.15 per day.

Maida Vale School does not currently offer financial assistance or scholarships to applicants.

Maida Vale School term dates

The term dates at Maida Vale School for 2022–23 are:

  • Autumn term: 5th September – 9th December 2022

  • Half term: 20th–28th October 2022

  • Spring term: 5th January – 31st March 2023

  • Half term: 13th–17th February 2023

  • Summer term: 25th April – 11th July 2023

  • Half term: 29th May – 2nd June 2023

Admissions process for Year 7 entry to Maida Vale School

If you are interested in Maida Vale School for your child’s education, you may wish to consider Year 7 as the main entry point. To register your child for Year 7 entry in 2023, you will need to complete the online application form and submit this by the deadline on Friday 9th December 2022. A registration fee of £150 applies.

Maida Vale School uses the results of the ISEB Common Pre-Test as part of the selection procedure. If your child attends a prep school, this will normally be sat at their current school and the results will be made available to Maida Vale School. If your child’s current school does not hold the ISEB Common Pre-Test, Maida Vale School will enter your child and host the exam on-site.

In addition to the results of the ISEB Common Pre-Test, Maida Vale School will request an enhanced, confidential reference from your child’s current school together with internal assessment results and an example of their written work.

All candidates will be invited to an interview with the headmaster or a senior staff member in either November or December 2022. This is an informal occasion, although children should prepare a 2-3 minute presentation on a topic or achievement of their choice and are encouraged to bring something visual. There are normally three pupils interviewed at the same time to give the interview more of a relaxed, conversational feel.

Offers for places will be made during early 2023 and will be posted in the week commencing Monday 6th February 2023. The deadline date for acceptance of offers will be Wednesday 1st March 2023.

All pupils who have confirmed the offer of a place and paid the acceptance deposit (£3,000) will be invited to an induction day in June to experience life at Maida Vale School.

Maida Vale School 11 plus exam

Maida Vale School uses the results of the ISEB Common Pre-Test to assess its 11 plus candidates. This may be taken at your child’s current school or, if this is not possible, it can be taken on-site at Maida Vale School.

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an adaptive online exam which covers English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. The English and maths sections are based on the Key Stage 2 national curriculum taught up until the end of Year 5, while verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning assess children’s logical thinking and problem-solving skills.

It takes about two and a half hours to sit all four sections of the ISEB Common Pre-Test:

  • English: questions test comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

  • Maths: questions assess the topics of number, measurement, data, algebra and geometry

  • Verbal reasoning: questions are split across six different topics. In 2021, the topics that appeared in the ISEB Common Pre-Test were letter codes, homographs, antonyms, join the words, transfer a letter and number codes.

  • Non-verbal reasoning: questions are split over three topics. In 2021, The topics featured in the ISEB Common Pre-Test were pairing shapes, matching to a pair and finding a code.

Take a look at our complete guide to the ISEB Common Pre-Test for more detailed information about what the test involves.

Atom's complete guide to the ISEB Common Pre-Test

How to help your child prepare for the selection process at Maida Vale School

Preparation is key

Build foundational knowledge

For entry to Maida Vale School, candidates are tested across the Key Stage 2 curriculum – and beyond – with questions on English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning in the ISEB Common Pre-test.

Atom Nucleus can help your child consolidate everything they need to know for the exam. With over 90,000 teacher-created questions and helpful learning resources, one Atom subscription will give your child all the materials needed to get to grips with the curriculum before the exam day.

Verbal reasoning learning journey on Atom Nucleus

Preparation is key

Familiarisation with the question formats and known styles ahead of the exam is essential to help your child build exam confidence.

An exam preparation subscription with Atom Nucleus enables your child to access quality, unlimited practice material with full score breakdowns to help your child feel confident by the time the exam day comes around. Best of all, your child can take unlimited practice tests – including the ISEB Common Pre-Test – for one monthly cost.

Atom Learning has adaptive mock tests available for the ISEB Common Pre-test.

Access to immediate support

When working through challenging topics, your child will need immediate clarity with any misconceptions so that they feel truly secure in the exam.

Atom Nucleus includes video tutorials, help sheets and examples with every question to help your child build confidence and competence across all the areas assessed.

Maths learning journey on Atom Nucleus

Engage with their progress

Celebrate your child’s improvement in areas of challenge together. An accurate and ongoing assessment of their areas of strength and development is helpful.

As an Atom subscriber, you’ll have a parent dashboard which offers data-driven insights into your child’s progress. You can use this effectively to help your child set targets, see a detailed breakdown of their progress by subtopic and set custom practices to target those they find most challenging.

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Get started with Atom Learning

It’s our mission to help your child feel prepared and confident before the exam day. Begin your free 5-day free trial of Nucleus today to help your child succeed.

5 day free trial for 11 plus

We know how crucial this time is, so our team is on hand to support you and your family every step of the way. You can book a call with one of our Education Experts to ask any questions you might have about 11 plus entry to Maida Vale School:

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