Independent Secondary Schools Guide – Mander Portman Woodward

April 28, 2022

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Mander Portman Woodward in London is part of a collection of independent colleges that were founded in 1973 by three Cambridge graduates. Students in Fifth and Sixth Form, aged between 14 to 19, can attend the school to sit their GCSE or A-level examinations. The school is non-selective but focuses on giving students a socially relaxed and academically disciplined learning experience.

Students can choose to study from over forty subjects to study and there are fewer than ten students in each class. MPW prides itself on the mission of the college to allow students to ‘develop their confidence, maturity, knowledge and skills, turning their academic aspirations into reality.’

The school encourages students to take part in the extra-curricular classes. Some of the opportunities on offer include rugby, football, conversational Spanish, debating, and community service. The school is based in a 19^th century building that has specialist rooms for media studies such as computing and film rooms, and art studios. Students can also access two photography studios, a ceramics studio, a textiles studio, and a Graphics studio. There are also drama studios and a performance space. Students can study in one of the school’s three libraries.

The results from 2020 showed that 58% of all grades at GCSE were between Grades 9 to 7. At A-level, 79% of students received grades between A* to B and 51% of all grades given were between an A* and A. Many students pursue higher education. Students are assigned personal tutors and directors of studies that give each student an individual journey plan based on their aspirations. Students graduating in 2020 went on to attend Oxbridge and many obtained opportunities to read highly competitive courses at university, for instance Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Law and Engineering.