Merchant Taylors' School

Founded by the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, the school, originally based in the City of London, has a very long history and was one of the original 'Great Nine' English public schools defined by the Public Schools Act of 1868. Due to declining numbers the decision was taken in 1929 to move the school to Middlesex where 250 acres of land had been purchased at the far end of the Metropolitan line bordering Middlesex and Hertfordshire. In 1933 Merchant Taylors' opened its doors at the present Sandy Lodge campus. Although it is now 100% a day school, MTS is similar to a traditional boarding school in that all boys are entered into a house upon joining and wear a tie which identifies which house they belong to. Each boy is assigned a tutor from his house who will oversee him throughout his stay at Merchant Taylors.' This one-on-one relationship makes for excellent pastoral care, giving both the boy and his parents a strong point of access.

With over 70 sports and activities being offered there really is something for everyone. Fifty-five acres are devoted to sporting pursuits including water sports on the school's own lakes. Boys must also choose to take part in Cadets, Duke of Edinburgh Awards or Community Service. The most notable of these is the school's link to PHAB (Physically Handicapped and Able Bodied) in which a group of sixth-formers, alongside girls from the nearby St Helens School, run a week-long holiday camp for 20 handicapped youngsters each year. The funds required to facilitate the camp (approximately 10 thousand pounds) is raised annually by all boys at the school through various fundraising endeavours. This scheme has been running for thirty years and is something that the school should be immensely proud of. Although Merchant Taylors' is clearly a very academic school the balance of sport, cultural activities and community involvement will send your son out as a very well-rounded young man. The school's aim is to become the 'St Paul’s' of North London and its academic reputation is drawing boys from as far afield as Chiswick and Ealing although predominantly pupils are from successful professional families living in North West London, South West Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Merchant Taylors' remains a Christian foundation but is non-denominational and at present a significant proportion of the boys are from non-Christian ethnic groups.

Extract taken from Cradles of success: Britain's traditional Public Schools by Mario Di Monaco