Madani Girls' School Review 2026: High-progress, values-led secondary for girls in Leicester

A small, girls-only secondary with an Islamic character and an unusually strong “progress story” at GCSE. In England-wide terms, the school sits comfortably within the top quarter for GCSE outcomes, based on FindMySchool’s ranking of official data. Academic ambition is matched by an explicitly taught values framework, and behaviour is a headline strength.

Leadership continuity is a real feature here. Mr Riyaz Laher was appointed headteacher in August 2017, giving the school the stability to build routines, refine curriculum sequencing, and sustain a culture of high expectations.

For parents weighing faith-based education alongside academic outcomes, the key question is fit. The admissions criteria prioritise Muslim applicants who meet the school’s religious practice check, but the published arrangements also set out routes for children of other faiths and for those with no faith. This is a voluntary aided state school, so there are no tuition fees.

The ethos is clear and structured rather than informal. Pupils are expected to be courteous, articulate, and purposeful, and the school’s HEART values, honesty, excellence, accountability, respect, and teamwork, are used as a shared language for both conduct and personal development.

There is also a “two schools, one site” feel. The girls’ and boys’ schools occupy separate wings within the same overall building, with some shared facilities including the mosque and library. For some families, that arrangement is a positive, it supports single-sex teaching while keeping a wider federation infrastructure. For others, it is a detail worth understanding early, especially if you are comparing with fully separate sites.

The school’s history helps explain its identity. It was created in its present form in October 2012 when the mixed Madani High School was reorganised into separate girls’ and boys’ schools, and it has operated within a federation governance model.

Architecturally, the wider federation site has attracted attention for design choices intended to reflect an Islamic character, including courtyard elements; published project material also links the scheme with the Leicester firm Pick Everard. This matters less for day-to-day teaching, but it does help explain why the physical environment is frequently referenced as part of the school’s wider community role.

Madani Girls’ School’s GCSE profile is strong by England benchmarks, and it is one of the more competitive state secondaries locally. On FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking (based on official data), the school is ranked 609th in England and 7th in Leicester. This places it above the England average overall, within the top 25% of secondary schools in England (up to the 25th percentile).

The underlying measures reinforce that positioning. Attainment 8 is 61.2, and Progress 8 is +1.14, which indicates pupils make substantially more progress than average from their starting points across eight key subjects. EBacc outcomes are mixed but still show breadth. The school’s EBacc average point score is 5.56, and 34.9% of pupils achieve grade 5 or above across the EBacc.

For families comparing local options, the implication is straightforward. This is a school that tends to add significant value, not merely select high prior attainment. If you are shortlisting, use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool to view these GCSE measures alongside nearby schools in Leicester using the same benchmarks.

Curriculum intent is ambitious and carefully sequenced. Leaders have focused on identifying the essential knowledge pupils need, and on building learning in a deliberate order so that new content reliably builds on prior understanding.

The school has long placed emphasis on teaching routines. Earlier published material describes “non-negotiables for learning” as a shared staff baseline, intended to make classroom expectations consistent and to keep learning central. The practical benefit for pupils is predictability. When classroom norms are stable, pupils spend less time decoding what each teacher expects and more time concentrating on the content.

Support for literacy, including for pupils who speak English as an additional language, is another recurring theme in published external commentary. Staff training and resources are used to strengthen pupils’ language access across subjects, which matters in a school community where pupils may arrive with a wide range of language backgrounds.

A small-school constraint is also worth stating plainly. With lower numbers per year group than many Leicester secondaries, subject breadth can be harder to expand at GCSE, and leaders have previously acknowledged limits in areas such as music and vocational options. The trade-off is that smaller settings can feel more contained and easier to manage pastorally, but families should check Key Stage 4 options carefully against their child’s interests.

This school ends at Year 11, so “destinations” is about post-16 progression rather than a sixth form pipeline. Careers education and guidance has been positioned as a strength, including structured opportunities that help pupils make well-informed choices at 16, and an emphasis on widening horizons beyond gender stereotypes.

It is also helpful to understand the school’s view of technical routes. Published commentary indicates that apprenticeships have historically been taken up by a smaller share of leavers than the national picture, and that leaders have worked to raise awareness among pupils and parents of apprenticeship routes and their value. For families with a child who may suit a technical pathway, that focus can be important, but it is still sensible to ask what current guidance looks like in practice and what local partners the school uses.

Because the school is a faith school, many families will also care about the wider “life readiness” element, confidence, communication, and character. The school’s leadership framing places visible weight on pupils finding their voice in a respectful way, a theme that shows up across both curriculum and enrichment.

Competition for places is real. The school’s published admission number for Year 7 is 90, and recent admissions data available for this profile indicates 364 applications for 90 offers, which equates to 4.04 applications per place. First-preference demand is also strong, at 2.43 first preferences per offer. The practical implication is that many families who apply will not be offered a place, so application strategy matters.

Applications for Year 7 are coordinated through Leicester City Council. For entry in 2026/27, online applications open on Monday 1 September 2025, the closing date is Friday 31 October 2025, and national offer day is Monday 2 March 2026. Leicester also publishes an appeals deadline for the first round, Monday 30 March 2026.

Madani Girls’ School is its own admissions authority, and it requires a supplementary information form to be completed and returned directly to the school in addition to the council application. Oversubscription is then resolved using the school’s criteria, which prioritise Muslim children who meet the school’s religious practice check, with additional priority for siblings and for children of staff in specified circumstances. The published criteria also include categories for looked-after children, and for children of other faiths whose application is supported by a minister of religion confirming regular worship.

Two practical points often catch families out. First, deadlines are strict, and late applications are treated differently in the local process. Second, some schools, including Madani Girls’ School, maintain their own waiting lists, so the “what happens next” process can differ from community schools where the council manages waiting lists centrally.

If you are considering applying, use FindMySchool’s Map Search to understand your realistic options in Leicester, then cross-check the school’s faith-based criteria and the council’s timeline before you commit your preferences.

Pastoral care is closely tied to values and behaviour expectations. The emphasis is on respectful relationships, clear conduct routines, and consistent adult oversight. The school also places weight on pupils feeling able to speak to an adult if something is wrong, which is the sort of “soft infrastructure” that tends to determine whether teenagers cope well through exam pressure and social change.

Ofsted confirmed safeguarding is effective, and published detail describes frequent staff training and prompt action when concerns are raised, alongside curriculum work that teaches pupils how to stay safe, including online.

If your child is sensitive to peer conflict, the overall picture here is reassuring. Bullying is described as rare, and pupils are positioned as confident that adults will respond quickly when issues arise. That said, families should still ask how concerns are logged, how feedback loops work with parents, and what the escalation route is if an issue persists.

Enrichment is not treated as an add-on. The school describes a broad menu of opportunities that extend pupils’ experience beyond lessons, and it explicitly links activities to confidence, voice, and wider participation.

A key marker is scale. Published external reporting references 36 extracurricular enhancement clubs, with examples ranging from Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to Arabic cooking. That range matters because it suggests the programme includes both “character-building” options and practical life skills, not only sport or subject catch-up.

Trips and exposure also feature. Opportunities referenced in published material include visits to Parliament and the National Space Centre. For Leicester families, that is a useful indicator of ambition, pupils are encouraged to connect their learning to wider civic life and to future-facing STEM contexts.

Careers education is supported by structured events. An annual careers fair has been referenced as part of a wider programme designed to broaden occupational awareness and challenge stereotypes, including in sectors such as construction and engineering where girls are often under-represented. The implication is that enrichment is being used to shape aspirations, not simply fill time.

Madani Girls’ School is a Leicester secondary serving Years 7 to 11, with a published admission number of 90 per year group.

Published timings available for the school day indicate an end point of 14.55, with a scheduled prayer or reflection point in the afternoon. Families should confirm current start times and any after-school supervised provision directly, as those details are not consistently available in accessible public sources.

For travel planning, Leicester City Council sets out when home-to-school transport support may apply and when it will not; many families will need to plan independent travel arrangements. It is sensible to consider morning traffic patterns around Evington and to test public transport routes in term time, not only during school holidays.

• Faith-based admissions reality. The oversubscription criteria prioritise Muslim applicants who meet the school’s religious practice check, and the process includes a supplementary information form returned directly to the school. Families who are not eligible under those criteria should be realistic about chances in an oversubscribed year.

• High demand for limited places. With 364 applications for 90 offers in the admissions data available for this profile, competition is a defining feature. Apply on time, use all preferences wisely, and do not assume a place without checking how the criteria apply to your child.

• Curriculum breadth trade-offs. Small cohort sizes can limit how far GCSE options can stretch, and leaders have previously described constraints in areas such as music and vocational choices. If your child has a very specific interest, check the Key Stage 4 offer early.

• No sixth form. Progression at 16 is a planned transition, not an internal default. If you want a single setting through to 18, you will need to shortlist post-16 providers alongside this school from the outset.

Madani Girls’ School combines strong academic outcomes with a disciplined, values-led culture and a clear approach to personal development. It suits families seeking girls-only education within a Muslim faith context, who value structure, high expectations, and strong GCSE progress in a smaller secondary setting. The main constraint is admission, because demand significantly exceeds places, and eligibility under the faith-based criteria can be decisive.