The Characteristics of the School

1.1 St Margaret’s School was founded in 1902 as a girls’ school, and became a charitable trust and a member of the Woodard Corporation in 1968. It developed close links to Exeter School for boys, with some shared teaching but, when Exeter School became co-educational in 2001, the formal ties were broken, and St Margaret’s established a full and independent curricular provision. The school is a limited company in its own right, and its governors hold proprietorial responsibility. A new headmistress was appointed in 2008. The school is located close to Exeter city centre in a series of nineteenth-century houses now connected together.

1.2 The school has both preparatory (from age 7) and senior sections, with transfer between them at age 11. A former pre-preparatory department closed in 2001, but re-opened in 2008, incorporating a nursery (from age 2), Reception and Years 1 and 2. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision is registered with Ofsted, who inspected this area of the school in March 2009.

1.3 St Margaret’s School aims to provide an inspiring and challenging education within a caring Christian community. It seeks to achieve this by developing the full potential of all individuals; by encouraging excellence and aspiration in everything; by nurturing the confidence to take advantage of every opportunity; by fostering a sense of service and responsibility for both self and others; and by communicating an enthusiasm for life.

1.4 The school currently educates 301 pupils, of whom 277 are girls. The 24 boys are currently educated up to and including Year 3, and will proceed through the preparatory school in future years. The preparatory section has 39 pupils, and the pre-preparatory department provides education for 57 children under seven years of age.

1.5 Nearly all pupils come from Exeter or nearby towns. No pupil has a statement of special educational needs, but the school has identified 62 pupils with varying degrees of learning difficulty and/or disability (LDD). Of these, 32 receive additional learning support. Two pupils have English as an additional language (EAL), of whom one receives specialist support.

1.6 Pupils take a range of aptitude and ability tests at ages 7, 11, 14 and 16. These indicate that the ability profile is in line with the national average in the preparatory school, and above the national average in the senior school.

1.7 National Curriculum nomenclature is used throughout this report to refer to year