students in the gardens

Senior School

ENTRY IN YEAR 7, SEPTEMBER 2023

For Year 7 Entry Process, click here.

The Senior Department is for girls from the age of 11 (Year 7) to 16 (Year 11) and culminates with the taking of GCSE examinations.

We are a smaller, nurturing girls’ school that focuses on the individual pupil and provides an environment where girls are happy and enjoy coming to school. We have forty girls typically in a senior year group (this may increase dependent on application levels), divided into two forms of twenty. These groups are then streamed for core subjects.

We are GCSE specialists and girls leave at the end of Year 11 to pursue ‘A’ Levels at a sixth form destination of their choice, moving onto a variety of independent and state school sixth forms and colleges. Many gain scholarships and nearly all girls obtain their destination of choice. Our smaller size means we are able to focus on each girl’s strengths and support her on her learning journey to ensure she achieves her academic potential. All pupils are assessed on entry.  In Years 7 and 10, girls take a MidYis (Middle Years Information System) assessment. This is a computer-adaptive assessment for pupils aged 11-14 that provides information to help identify a pupil’s strengths and weaknesses, and forecast how they are likely to perform at GCSE. Manor House typically achieves at least one grade higher per subject than would have been expected for a pupil in their GCSE results nationally, based on MidYis data. Performance is on average over half a grade higher compared to girls in other independent schools.  We consistently achieve excellent academic results at GCSE

We operate a House system throughout the whole School and this continues in our senior year groups, promoting across year group friendships and peer-to-peer support. For more information about our Supportive Friends initiative, please speak to a member of the admissions team.

Girls are encouraged to participate in Art, Drama, Music and Sport and participate fully in School life. We offer a broad extra-curricular programme with over fifty clubs operating across the whole school at any one time before, during or after school, offering something for everyone. We also offer music lessons in over twenty instruments and LAMDA (Speech and Drama) tuition in acting, prose and public speaking.

We are a mobile phone free school and these are handed in at the start of each school day.

Manor House School was one of the first schools in the local area to integrate iPads as a tool for learning into the Senior School curriculum and an iPad is a requirement from Year 7 onwards. We operate our own iPad for Learning Scheme and parents may buy an iPad via the School purchasing system or supply their own to our recommended specifications. Every student in the Senior School now owns and accesses an iPad in lessons to enhance their research and digital skills within the classroom – however this does not replace traditional learning and we prepare them for written examinations. The iPad is used to help with research, curricular tasks and homework access and to ensure that our girls are educated with their future in mind.

By using equipment that they enjoy outside of the school environment, we develop pupils’ skills in School to allow them to adapt in a rapidly changing technological world, learn how to use technology wisely and effectively and, ultimately, be one step ahead of the competition in their future careers. Girls are taught how to responsibly use the technology and the importance of having good internet filters and controls in place to keep them safe.  We have put together a short guide called ‘App Control and Parental Controls for Seniors’ outlining how your daughter can safely enjoy the range of Apps on offer through iTunes, whilst you retain parental controls over what she is downloading.

For further information on our teaching and learning and enrichment programmes, read about our Senior Curriculum.

BOOK A VISIT

We’d love for you to explore Manor House School for your family. To arrange a visit and see the School in action, please book our next Open Day or contact us here.