2007/8 term dates
2007/8 fees
Download registration form

Dear Parents,

My name is Sarah Knollys, and I am the headteacher of Maple Walk School. Maple Walk is a newly-opened primary school, situated just off Kensal Road, near the northern end of Ladbroke Grove. The school is comfortably housed in the upper hall of the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Souls on Bosworth Road and a nearby annexe in Kensal Road. We are negotiating for a more permanent location nearby.

The school offers a first-class elementary education for boys and girls, laying strong foundations in literacy, numeracy and spoken communication on which all later development depends. The ethos of Maple Walk School is firmly grounded in Christian values and ideals, but we welcome children of all faith backgrounds or none.

I strongly believe that effective and enjoyable learning is best achieved in a happy, encouraging, and friendly environment, where physical and social development can take place alongside curricular work. The secret of good teaching is to combine an imaginative learning programme with plenty of positive reinforcement. I know from many years' teaching experience, that when children are encouraged and supported in this way, they can make tremendous progress.

The school day starts at 9.00 am with a short assembly and continues till 3.30 pm. Our timetable ensures plenty of time for art and craftwork, drama and music, physical exercise, games and free play.

Maple Walk School 's excellent curriculum ensures that children are always introduced to new material in an intelligible and productive way. My staff and I will gauge your child's development day by day, in order to provide the help and encouragement he or she needs. Children's confidence and enjoyment are built upon the acquisition of genuine knowledge and skills, and it is a great joy as headteacher to see children develop and flourish as they advance through the school.

I want to assure you that my staff and I will do everything we can to see that your child's time at Maple Walk School is happy, rewarding, and successful.

Sarah Knollys, Headteacher

What we offer

We believe that children have a natural hunger for knowledge, and that learning should be an exciting experience. Maple Walk School uses its own imaginatively structured curriculum to introduce children systematically to new forms of knowledge and proficiency so that they grow in confidence and understanding.

Our approach to English, Maths, Science, French, History, Geography, RE and Information Technology ensures that your child will be thoroughly prepared for the transition, when the time comes, to selective or non-selective secondary schools. Our curriculum also provides plenty of time for music, PE, dance, art, craft, gymnastics and drama. While our courses take full account of the requirements of the National Curriculum, they exceed them in richness and breadth.

In the early years, your child will be given a firm foundation in maths, reading, spelling, handwriting and comprehension. All future development depends on confidence in these areas.

At the same time, the children will start to hear and practise spoken French, singing French nursery rhymes and songs as a means of developing basic vocabulary and becoming attuned to the sound of the language.

Your child will also get to know some of the stories, parables, myths and legends whose images and ideas are woven into the fabric of everyday life. This will introduce children to the world's religions and cultures.

In science lessons, your child will learn about animals, plants and the physical environment, as well as the importance of inventions and technology.

Our approach to teaching

At Maple Walk School, we believe strongly in the importance of building up knowledge and skills through practice and reiteration. The curriculum ensures that your child will encounter familiar ideas in new settings, and will find new ways of understanding what has already been learnt, so that their knowledge is constantly clarified and reinforced.

Art and craft form an important part of the school timetable from Reception Year onwards, as do drama, story telling, music, physical exercise and team sports. We take full advantage of our position near excellent public parks and sports facilities to allow the children plenty of fresh air and exercise every day.

From Reception Year onwards, your child will have access to computers as part of the learning experience.

A genuine partnership

We look to our parents to support us in maintaining high standards of behaviour. The friendly atmosphere at Maple Walk School depends on good manners, respect for others, punctuality and neighbourliness from all the children.

Although we aim to keep homework to a minimum in the early years, support and encouragement at home are essential to a child's progress, and we will discuss with parents how this can best be provided at each stage.

We believe that successful and rewarding learning thrives in an atmosphere of good manners and consideration for others. This does not depend on a long set of rules and regulations, but on good example and a positive ethos.

The mutual expectations and obligations between school and parents are set out in a simple contract, to be signed by both parties before a child is enrolled. The school expects all pupils to come to school every day on time and in school uniform. When homework is set, it must be completed to the best of the child's ability and handed in on time.

The Headteacher reserves the right to exclude any pupil for bad behaviour pending discussions with parents and, ultimately, to require the removal of a disruptive child from the school in accordance with the Behaviour and Discipline policy and without any refund of fees.

Policies and procedures

All of our information regarding our policies, procedures, curriculum and staff is readily available by request. If you would like to know more, please send us an email giving your name and address (as they cannot be sent in electronic form), and stating which of the following you require: Bullying; Child protection; Health and safery; Good behaviour; Sanctions in the event of misbehaviour; Complaints Procedure; Details of staff. Please use our contact form to send us this information.

Registration and entry

Children enter Reception Year in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents wishing to register a child should complete a Registration Form and return it to the school administrator at:

New Model School Company
77 Great Peter Street
London SW1P 2EZ
Tel: 020 7799 6677
Email: Use this contact form to email us

Registration does not guarantee entry to the school, but candidates are considered in the order in which they were registered, so the sooner this is done, the better a child's chances of admission.

Interviews with parents and children generally take place in the autumn term of the year before entry. Maple Walk School is a non-denominational Christian school, but we welcome children of all faith backgrounds or none. There is no academic test for entry to Reception. If your child is offered a place and you decided to accept, you will be asked to complete the Form of Acceptance, and to pay a deposit of half-a-term's fees. This deposit is non-refundable and is held until your child's last term in the school, when it is deducted from the fee for that term.

Parents interested in information about special needs pupils or children who do not speak English as a first language can request more information. Please send us an email giving your name and address (as they cannot be sent in electronic form), and stating whether you need information on special needs and/or on English as a second language. Please use our contact form to send us this information.

Fees are payable by the end of the previous term. The school requires one term's notice of a child's withdrawal.

Places for older children sometimes become available. Selection of children after Reception Year is by interview, and where appropriate by a series of short tests in maths and English.

Headteacher
Sarah Knollys
Maple Walk School
c/o Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church
68 Hazlewood Crescent
Kensal Town
London
W10 5DU
Tel: 07843 378390

Chairman, Board of Governors
Justin Shaw
77 Great Peter Street
London
SW1P 2EZ
Tel: 020 7799 6677

Proprietor
Robert Whelan
77 Great Peter Street
London
SW1P 2EZ
Tel: 020 7799 6677
Email: Use this contact form to email us