Maida Vale School Review 2026: A modern London senior school built around long lessons, close tutoring, and an ambitious co-curricular menu

A newer independent senior school in Maida Vale, this is a setting designed to feel contemporary rather than traditional. The timetable is a defining feature: 90-minute lessons from 8.30am to 4.00pm create space for deeper work, fewer transitions, and a calmer rhythm to the academic day. Alongside that sits a personal tutoring model that aims to make every student “known” as an individual, with one consistent adult relationship running through the years.

The school opened in 2020 and continues to grow towards capacity, which matters when interpreting the overall picture. In a young school, cohort sizes, subject uptake, and exam-entry patterns can shift quickly. Academic outcomes, co-curricular participation, and sixth form destinations should therefore be read as evolving rather than settled. Since April 2023, the school has been led by Headmaster Magnus Bashaarat, with leadership placing emphasis on inclusivity, tolerance and respect, and structured professional development for staff.

The character is deliberately open and relational. The school describes an “open door” culture, including a dedicated Parent Café, and frames education as a shared responsibility across staff, families, and students. The tone here is more collaborative than ceremonial; families looking for formality, long-established traditions, and inherited rituals should expect a different style.

Being part of Gardener Schools Group is also a meaningful part of the school’s identity. The practical implication is resource-sharing and a consistent philosophy across the group, while the cultural implication is that this does not operate like a one-off standalone start-up. The leadership narrative has consistently been about sustainable growth and intentional systems rather than rapid expansion.

The latest inspection evidence supports this culture of respect and inclusion. The school’s values around tolerance and respect are reflected in how pupils and teachers interact, and inclusivity is reinforced through curriculum choices and discussion of diverse perspectives.

This is a school where headline exam metrics need careful handling, partly because it is young and partly because sixth form outcomes are still emerging. The sixth form opened in 2023, so families should expect the most meaningful sixth form measures and destination patterns to develop over the next few cycles as cohorts mature.

For GCSE performance, the school is ranked 3,913th in England and 21st in Westminster for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). This places results below England average overall, within the bottom 40% of schools in England on this measure. On the underlying metrics available here, average Attainment 8 is 18.2, compared with an England average of 0.459; EBacc APS is 1.04, compared with an England average of 4.08; and the percentage achieving grades 5+ in the EBacc is recorded as 0%.

Those figures, taken at face value, suggest that published outcomes have not yet caught up with the school’s stated academic ambition. Families should treat this as a prompt to ask precise questions: cohort size, subject-entry decisions (including EBacc), and how results are expected to shift as the school approaches full capacity.

The more stable evidence sits in the school’s structural approach to learning. The timetable, the longer lesson blocks, and the staff development emphasis in inspection evidence indicate a model geared towards building strong classroom practice and consistent progress over time.

The academic design is clear: specialist teaching across the curriculum, with long lessons intended to reduce “dead time” and increase depth. The timetable is explicitly built around 90-minute sessions, and the school positions this as a way to consolidate and reflect rather than rush.

Curriculum breadth is emphasised from Year 7 through Year 13. Students typically study nine or ten GCSEs, and the school frames Sixth Form subject combinations as individual rather than standardised. In practical terms, this should suit students who have genuine breadth of interest, and those who like building a distinctive combination rather than following a narrow template.

Inspection evidence also points to a strong professional development culture and close progress monitoring. Teaching is planned to challenge pupils to think independently and develop ideas, and leaders monitor progress closely so support can be targeted when needed. The implication for families is a school where learning systems are taken seriously, even if published exam outcomes are still catching up.

Where Students Go Next

Because the sixth form opened in 2023, the most useful way to assess “where students go next” is through the preparation infrastructure rather than long-running destination statistics. The sixth form model includes a dedicated University Advisor allocated from Year 11, and it explicitly signals that competitive admissions require more than grades. Dedicated sixth form study space is provided through the Independent Learning Centre, aligning with the school’s emphasis on independent habits and self-management.

The school’s London setting also shapes enrichment linked to future pathways. Regular access to museums, galleries, theatres, and cultural institutions can support portfolio-building for creative courses, academic extension for humanities, and broader cultural literacy, provided students take advantage of it.

Given the current absence of published destination statistics in the available sources, families considering sixth form entry should ask for specifics during the admissions process: current Year 12 and Year 13 subject take-up, typical A-level combinations, how external applicants integrate, and what university planning looks like in practice.

Entry is normally into Year 7 or Year 12, with occasional places in other year groups. Admission is based on assessments and interview, and the school describes looking for able, engaged students who will contribute positively.

For Year 7, the process includes the ISEB Common Pre-Test, a computer-based assessment widely used by selective independent schools. Candidates typically sit it at their current school if offered, or at the school if not. The stated deadline for Year 7 entry in September 2026 was 28 November 2025, which indicates a pattern of late-autumn cut-offs in the year before entry. Families targeting later entry points should expect a similar rhythm, but should verify dates directly because deadlines are the element most likely to change year to year.

Scholarships add an additional layer for some families. For Year 7 scholarships linked to September 2026 entry, registered applicants needed to be in place by late November 2025, with scholarship forms due in early December, assessment in late January 2026, and an “Offer Day” in mid-February 2026. That structure matters even for families not seeking fee remission, because scholarship assessments can affect how a student is considered and placed.

For sixth form entry (September 2026), the school published a detailed timetable: a sixth form open morning in late September 2025, registration deadline in early October, applicant deadline later in October, interview day in early November, and acceptance deadline in early January 2026. Even though those are now past dates, they provide a strong indicator of the likely cadence for subsequent cycles.

Open events appear to run regularly. The school advertised an open morning on Friday 13 March 2026, which fits a pattern of term-time events. Booking is typically required, and families should check the latest listing before planning around a specific date.

Pastoral care is structured around the Personal Tutor system. Each pupil is allocated a Personal Tutor on arrival, described as a consistent mentor and first point of contact for families. Time is set aside for regular meetings, and the model is designed to combine academic oversight with personal support, rather than splitting those into separate systems.

Healthcare support is also clearly described. The school has an onsite surgery staffed by a dedicated school nurse, with systems for medication administration and healthcare planning in partnership with parents and carers. A whole-school nut-free policy is also stated, reflecting a practical approach to allergy risk management.

From the latest inspection evidence, safeguarding is treated as a leadership priority, with staff training and clear implementation of procedures. The ISI inspection in November 2024 found the school met the Independent School Standards across all areas, including safeguarding.

The co-curricular proposition is one of the school’s most distinctive claims, and it is set out with unusual specificity. Each term, the school describes running three extensive programmes with over 70 clubs across before-school, lunchtime, and after-school slots. Examples include Jigsaw Club, Jewellery Making, Warhammer Club, Minecraft League, Film Skool, and Model United Nations. For students, the implication is clear: this is built to let different personalities find their place, including those who are not defined by mainstream sport or performance.

Trips are another pillar. The school references an annual ski trip and a Zanzibar expedition alongside regular local visits linked to the London setting. The strongest benefit here is not “travel for its own sake”, but the way trips can become the anchor for friendships, confidence, and real-world learning beyond the classroom, especially in a school still building its long-term traditions.

Sport is shaped by geography. Instead of a large on-site playing field complex, the school uses nearby facilities within about a mile, including Paddington Recreation Ground, Jubilee Sports Centre, Moberly Sports and Fitness Centre, and courts in Queen’s Park. That model can work well for students who like variety and activity, and it also allows access to specialist facilities without needing a large campus. The sport offer includes competitive team fixtures and also broader options such as parkour, with weekday clubs ranging from table tennis and badminton to volleyball and fitness.

Facilities on site are notably modernised. The school describes a complete refurbishment in 2019 across 62,000 square feet. Specialist spaces include separate Biology, Chemistry, and Physics labs; a Food Tech kitchen with 11 workstations; a design technology workshop; a theatre; dance and drama studios; a Mac suite; and multiple music rehearsal rooms including spaces set up for music production.

The school day runs Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.00pm, starting with Personal Tutor time or assembly and then moving through four long teaching sessions with breaks and lunch.

For transport, the local context is a practical advantage. The school lists Maida Vale, Queen’s Park, and Westbourne Park as nearby Underground and Overground options, plus local bus routes including the 6, 31 and 28. For many families, the key question will be whether a child can manage the commute comfortably at 11, and what supervision expectations look like at the start of Year 7.

Food is cooked on site, with a daily cooked lunch available but not included in tuition fees. The dining space is positioned as part of the social fabric of the day, and the kitchen caters for dietary requirements with notice.

Fees & Financial Aid

Termly tuition fees for 2025 to 2026 are published as £8,757 excluding VAT and £10,508.40 including VAT (from September 2025). Lunch is charged separately at £6.80 per day. The fee page also notes that most after-school clubs are included, while some activities such as fencing, boxing, and peripatetic instrumental lessons carry additional costs.

Financial support is presented primarily through scholarships rather than means-tested bursaries in the published material available here. Scholarships are offered in Art, Design and Technology, Drama, Music, and Sport at Year 7 and sixth form, with Year 7 applicants also automatically considered for an academic scholarship linked to ISEB test scores. The value of awards is not stated publicly in the materials reviewed, so families for whom affordability is a key factor should ask the admissions team what options exist beyond scholarships, and how fee remission is decided in practice.

• A young school profile. Opened in 2020 and still growing towards full capacity, this is a school where year-group size, subject entry patterns, and sixth form outcomes can change quickly. That can be exciting, but it also means families should ask for current, cohort-specific detail, not assumptions based on older patterns.

• Published GCSE outcomes are currently weak on the available measures. The FindMySchool GCSE ranking places results in the bottom 40% in England on this measure, and the available metrics include a low EBacc profile. Families should probe subject entry strategy, cohort size, and how the school expects outcomes to shift over the next two to three years.

• Co-curricular participation tracking is still being tightened. The 2024 ISI inspection highlighted that, while the co-curricular programme is extensive, monitoring of participation was not yet effective enough to ensure maximum engagement for all pupils. This matters if you want your child to be nudged into breadth rather than choosing the comfortable options.

• Relationships and sex education consistency needs attention. The same inspection recommended strengthening the delivery of relationships and sex education so lessons consistently challenge pupils and keep engagement high. Families with strong expectations in this area should ask how the programme has evolved since November 2024.

This is a modern independent senior school designed around long lessons, close pastoral oversight, and a large, varied co-curricular menu, with London used as a genuine extension of the classroom. It will suit families who value structure and individual attention, and students who will actively take up clubs, trips, and enrichment rather than waiting to be carried along.

The primary caution is academic track record: published GCSE indicators are currently below where many independent-school families will expect them to be, and the sixth form is too new for destination patterns to feel settled. Best suited to students who will benefit from a highly structured day, consistent tutoring, and broad enrichment, and to families comfortable judging the school on direction and systems as well as outcomes.