Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood

From the headteacher's welcome: "Merchant Taylors’ was founded in Elizabethan London in 1561, at a time of huge social, economic and technological change. Our founders understood that education should do more than equip young people with a limited set of skills for the world as it stood - it should give them the breadth and agility to meet the world they would inherit."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include hockey, drama, Duke of Edinburgh and cadets.

Coming up: an open day on Saturday 8 May 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

The Department for Education's GCSE measures do not count IGCSEs, which many independent schools take instead of GCSEs, so the Attainment 8 and English and maths figures it publishes for Merchant Taylors' School can understate its results. We do not rank or compare them; ask the school for its own GCSE and IGCSE results.

The nearest other independent schools to Merchant Taylors' School are Merchant Taylors' Prep School (0.6 miles, selective); St Martin's School (1.3 miles, selective); St Helen's School (1.4 miles, selective); and Northwood College for Girls GDST (1.7 miles, selective).

Of the 145 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 85% went on to university or other higher education and 6% into work.

In 2026, 220 pupils (20.9%) received SEN support and 3 (0.3%) had an education, health and care plan.

The nearest Underground station is Moor Park Underground Station, about 780 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Merchant Taylors' School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 67 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Hertfordshire (138).