Bucks &amp; Oxon

WHAT? WHERE?



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<a href="https://www.maltmansgreen.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Maltman’s Green School</a>&nbsp;is an impressive non-selective, secular, day pre-prep and prep school with 340 girls aged 2-11 years. Their motto is ‘excellence with a sense of fun’ and this is certainly borne out by an 86% qualification rate in the recent Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (11+). Found in leafy Gerrards Cross South Bucks, Maltman’s façade offers a kind of homely elegance – the original building dates from the 17th&nbsp;century, and was originally a malting house (hence the name) before becoming a school in 1918.



It still looks very much like a large home, and inside has the character and charming higgledy-pigglediness often seen when old buildings are added to over the years. As the school has grown, other stand-alone buildings have been added to the 12 acre site, including the Nursery, which was established in 1990, and the Day Care, Little Malties, which launched in 2017. Average class sizes in the bright, well-equipped classrooms are around 18– big enough for buzz, small enough for personal attention.&nbsp;



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FACILITIES



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Some of the best in the area. For sporties there’s the usual flood lit sports courts and playing fields along with the tour de force, a heated indoor six lane 25 metre swimming pool. Very rare to find a full-length pool in a prep school, and no surprise that the school takes its swimming seriously with every girl taking swimming lessons each week, all year round.



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Academically, headmistress, Mrs Walker, places great importance on STEAM and the girls have a brand new STEAM lab to aid their studies, alongside a fully equipped science lab, IT suite, Art and Design Technology area&nbsp;with fun additions like pottery room and kiln, a lovely cosy library with curved leaded windows looking out onto the lawn, dedicated music classrooms and practise rooms, a multi-purpose performance hall with tiered seating and a beautiful dance studio with plans to turn it into a fully fledged dance studio in the future. 



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The grounds themselves are well kept and pretty, and the relative compactness of the unified site makes it ideal for the nursery, pre-prep and prep school children to mingle. Worth noting that the Little Malties Day Care girls make use of the prep facilities (within reason – I’m guessing the Bunsen burners are off limits!).



SPORT



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Aside from swimming, which is clearly a massive strength, and all the usuals of hockey, netball, lacrosse etc, if your daughter is into gymnastics,&nbsp;all roads point to Maltman’s Green. The school’s latest roll call of awards include U11 National Team Champions and Individual Champion at the 2022 BSGA National Gymnastics Championships, U11 National Team Champions, U10 Team Silver and U9 Team Bronze at the 2022 ISGA National Gymnastics Championships, and U9 National Team Champions, U9 individual Silver and Bronze, U11 Team Silver and U11 Group Sequence Gold at the IAPS National Gymnastics Championships. On the dance front, ballet, contemporary and street dance classes have also been reintroduced. 



MUSIC



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Plenty of ensembles and choirs, with most girls learning at least one instrument. There’s also an orchestra, which is unusual for a prep school of this size (grade 2 and higher to play in it, for everyone’s sanity). Handbells is also enthusiastically taken up here – there’s an invitation only ‘Maltman’s Belles’ in Y5 &amp; 6.



ACADEMICS



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If you want your daughter to move on to some of the top local independent and grammar schools, you’re in the right place. Though Maltman’s is non-selective, the academic results are strong, with specialist teaching and a focus on personalised learning that allows the girls to forge ahead. There’s a modern approach to the curriculum with regular STEAM lessons for Prep girls and classes in verbal and non-verbal reasoning. There’s excellent learning support here too, thanks to the new SEN Coordinator. This year, 86% of Maltman’s girls passed their 11+ exam, making them eligible for a grammar school place in September, and there was a record 20 scholarships offered to independent senior schools. Senior school offers this year include Beaconsfield High School, Dr Challoner’s High School, Wycombe Abbey, Berkhamstead, Cheltenham Ladies College and Downe House. 



QUIRKS



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The headteacher’s office is one of the grandest yet homeliest I’ve seen. Huge sofas face each other like a&nbsp;Homes &amp; Garden&nbsp;shoot, with the fireplace grandly to the side. But then, look in front of the fire and there’s a massive toy dog to put little people at ease. It’s super sweet. On the green creds front, being an eco-school is no longer seen as a quirk, but Maltman’s can dust off a gold star for having been the first school in IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools) to have a dedicated Head of Sustainability.



THE HEADTEACHER



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Mrs Jill Walker started as head in Sept 2020. Previously head at St Nicholas Prep School in South Kensington, she took over from Joanna Pardon, who was in the hotseat for 15 years. STEAM is one of Walker’s passions, and she’s planning to build further on the school’s creds in this department, so watch this space, it’s going to be impressive. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-isi-report">ISI REPORT</h2>



Maltman&#8217;s Green has been rated excellent in all areas in its latest ISI report (Feb 2022). Impressive! <a href="https://www.maltmansgreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Maltmans-Green-EQI-Report-2022-03-15.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Read the report here (opens in a new tab)">Read the report here</a>. 



LITTLIES



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The Nursery, for girls aged 3-4, is housed in the old stable block, with the 2-4 year olds in their Little Malties Day Care in a huge space looking straight across to the woodland where you’ll find Woodland School with bird hide, mud kitchen, fire pit and a bug hotel. Woodland School is currently open to girls in&nbsp;Nursery – Year 3&nbsp;as standard, and to older girls in various extra-curricular activities. Workshops, activities and events throughout the year allow the littlies to mix with each other and the teachers and progress their learning and social skills.



WRAP AROUND CARE



Plenty. From 7.30am until 6pm for Reception and up, and&nbsp;&nbsp;from 7.30am until 6.30pm for Little Malties Day Care and Nursery. Within the existing school fee structure, parents can drop off kids from 8.15am (lessons start at 9am) until pick up at 4pm.



FEES



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Average for this area I’d say. Day Care half days are £50, £70 school day, £80 extended day. Nursery starts at £2075 per term, and girls must attend all five mornings, which might not suit everyone. Reception children are £3920 per term, Pre-Prep Y1-2 £4490 per term, Prep Y3-4 £5190 per term and Y5-6 £5370 per term.



WORD ON THE GROUND 



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There’s a perception that Maltman’s is not as &#8216;touchy-feely&#8217; nurturing as other schools locally but that’s not borne out in the parents I spoke to, who sing the praises of the steady, confident girls who leave the school.



THE MUDDY VERDICT



Good for:&nbsp;Parents looking for a homely school and a single sex environment. Girls who like to get involved and join in – music, drama, sport, art and dance are seen as just as important as academics here. The combined site for nursery, pre-prep and prep is a bonus for those who would like to see their child’s education through in a unified setting.



Not for:&nbsp;Girls who aren’t up for a challenge. Plus, this is a non-selective school and there are no plans to change the mixed ability cohort so that will perhaps not appeal to tiger parents.&nbsp;



Dare to disagree?&nbsp;Be my guest! You can book onto the next Whole School Open events <a href="https://www.maltmansgreen.com/admissions/open-events/">here.</a> Additionally there are early years Stay &amp; Play events each term for girls aged 1 to 4, <a aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.maltmansgreen.com/admissions/open-events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">details for all here</a>. Otherwise, take a look at the Virtual Open Day and interactive map&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maltmansgreen.com/virtual-open-day/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a> and have a listen to the school&#8217;s podcast, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2BJx5coWwCNnU6dF0n7RaN">The Future is Purple</a>, where the students provide unique insight into life at the school. 



Maltman’s Green also offer a useful article written by their specialist staff “Preparing Children for Change”, quite topical for this time of year, about how a well-crafted enrichment programme can prepare children for senior school and beyond. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="It can be found here (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.maltmansgreen.com/visit/article/" target="_blank">It can be found here</a>.



<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.maltmansgreen.com" target="_blank">Maltman&#8217;s Green School</a>, Maltmans Lane, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, SL98RR. Tel: 01753 883022.

Maltman’s Green School

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