Maynard School rated excellent

Following its recent inspection in February 2016 the Maynard School in Exeter is thrilled to have achieved the highest possible “excellent” rating for teaching by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), the Ofsted equivalent for independent schools.

Headmistress, Bee Hughes, is delighted by the report findings: “It’s a fantastic outcome for the School and reiterates everything that we, and so many others, already know. The five main categories were judged to be excellent but equally important to us was that the ISI found that both parents and pupils, responding to the pre-inspection questionnaire, expressed a very strong endorsement of the school and its values. In terms of customer satisfaction, we couldn’t have asked for anything better!”

In summary, the report found that:

• Pupils make excellent progress as a result of the excellent teaching that they receive.

• The quality of pupils’ achievements and learning is excellent.

• Pupils’ personal development is excellent and a strength of the school.

• The quality of pastoral care is excellent and pupils’ behaviour is exemplary.

• The school promotes excellent links with the parents.

• The contribution of curricular and extra-curricular provision is excellent.

• The contribution of teaching is excellent.

• The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is excellent.

“We pride ourselves on the warm friendly atmosphere of the school, in addition to the outstanding results students achieve, and I was thrilled to see this so positively reflected by the ISI findings. The report is littered with the word “excellent” across the board, but equally recognises the close, supportive relationships between pupils and the staff,” Ms Hughes added.

With over 360 pupils on its register and a new Pre-Prep Department opening in September 2016, the Maynard School is certainly thriving as the second oldest all-girls’ school in the country. Only in January, the School was ranked the top school in the whole of the South West in the Department for Education’s School and College Performance tables, outperforming all 433 other schools in the region. More recently, the newly launched 40-second promotional film (part of the advertising campaign #MadeForGirls) fended off the likes of McDonalds, Samsung, Renault and L’Oreal to be voted ‘Ad of the Week’ by the Drum network – an unprecedented success for an independent school in Exeter!

“The Maynard School is riding the crest of a wave and the ISI report findings are testament to everything that we are so successfully achieving in the classroom, on the sporting field and in all areas of extra-curricular activity. This aside, I am very proud of my inspiring colleagues, our wonderful students and their hugely supportive parents who have all been publicly acknowledged in this report as excellent in every way!” said Ms Hughes.