All schools, in essence, offer a full and varied curriculum, a choice of activities, and will provide your daughter with a wholesome and fulfilling education for her future. Here are some things we think you should consider asking at the schools you are visiting to ensure you choose the school best suited to your daughter.
How does the ethos and philosophy differ from other schools'?
We very much see ourselves as a family and place great importance on every child positively wanting to come to school everyday to enjoy learning and social activities. We want the maximum from every child consistent with her happiness. We set realistic expectations and targets which, though demanding, are attainable. We do not claim to achieve A* in every subject for every child at GCSE, but our academic record is extremely good.
What is special about our teaching staff?
We aim to recruit and retain the very best teachers in order to ensure that the teaching and learning throughout the school is exceptional. We also focus closely on their understanding of the importance of pastoral care in fostering a harmonious community.
Is the school adequately resourced in terms of teaching staff?
We believe that our teacher-pupil ratio is among the best in London. Most of our teachers are specialist teachers which allows for specialist subject teaching to take place right from Reception eg ICT, Music, PE and French. Additionally, we are sufficiently well staffed to be able to divide classes into small subject sets. Moreover, at many schools, if a teacher is absent a temporary teacher is brought in from outside. The supply teacher will know little about the pupils or curriculum plan. At St Margaret's, because we are generously staffed, permanent staff are able to cover staff absence. Thus on rare occasions when a teacher is away the children are taught by a teacher who is familiar to them.
Do you invest in additional training of staff?
Yes, we provide insets during the pupils' school holidays and staff attend appropriate training days on courses of particular relevance.
What about general resources?
Look around when you visit the school. We hope you will agree that St Margaret's is very well resourced for a school of its size, and if we don’t have a particular resource on site we take the girl to the resource elsewhere.
Does the school have high standards?
Yes. Our standards are very high. We have managed to instil a very good work ethos in all our pupils. This is based on a blend of tried and traditional techniques and early adoption of new trends based on educational research.
Are the schools academic results good?
Our girls' results are extremely competitive, particularly given that we are only modestly selective. In 2008/9 and 2009/10 the school topped the Sunday Times' Small Independent School league table.
What do we believe?
That each girl should graduate from St Margaret’s confident without being arrogant, that we can encourage excellent performance without excessive pressure, and that a girl's happiness is a key