Our aim is for every girl to achieve her best. Our girls progress to some of the most prestigious schools in the country, both grammar and independent, including Wycombe Abbey, The Royal Masonic School, Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Dr Challoner’s High. It is our strong belief that girls and their parents should be offered a wide range of schools from which to choose at age 11. Many girls will take both the Buckinghamshire County 11+ examinations and an entrance exam for a leading independent senior school.
As always, my thanks for laying such excellent foundations on which we can build. The confidence and success of Maltman’s girls at Downe House is in no small part due to their time with you.
Mrs McKendrick, Headmistress of Downe House.
As an independent school, our curriculum is tailored to suit the needs of all pupils. This includes skills and knowledge taken from the National Curriculum and the Independent Schools Examination Board (ISEB) to best prepare pupils for any entrance examination they sit. We prepare girls for the various 11+ assessments through exposure to paper and pencil and on-line exam style questions and timed assessments, end of topic tests, weekly timetabled lessons in verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills, weekly lessons in current affairs and interview practice.
Positive feedback from both local grammar and independent schools confirms that the emphasis we place on personal development, attitude and approach to learning serves the girls well in their secondary education.
In Year 6, many girls take the Secondary Transfer Test (formerly 11+) for entry into the local grammar schools, including Dr Challoner’s, Chesham and Beaconsfield High Schools. The tests consist of questions in verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
Through small tutorial type sessions, girls are prepared for scholarship examinations, with a high rate of success on academic, music, sport and all-rounder scholarships.