Royal Masonic School Cadogan House A GSG School

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All-through school (for example 3-18 years). - An all-through school covers junior and senior education. It may start at 3 or 4, or later, and continue through to 16 or 18. Some all-through schools set exams at 11 or 13 that pupils must pass to move on.

What The Good Schools Guide says

Head

Since 2022, Melanie Horn, who wears three RMS hats – the other two as parent (her daughter is in senior school) and old girl (she attended the senior school with her sisters). ‘There’s definitely a sense of coming home.’

Teaching is in the blood. ‘My mother was a teacher, and even as a sixth former I took up every opportunity to help out with younger children.’ Easy to envisage, with her sparkle and cheeriness. Delved straight into a BEd in primary education at University of Wales, Bangor, followed by 20 years of switching between maintained and independent schools, starting at a central London primary school, followed by the Hall in Hampstead as head of reception. After a stint of supply teaching and tutoring when her children were tiny, she returned to a north London primary as head of early years and KS1 before moving to St Martin’s School, Northwood as assistant head.

Says she is about ‘encompassing the everything’ for the girls – the sport, extracurricular, forest school etc – ‘and the best thing is I don’t have to fit in 19 maths lessons for the 11-plus first!’ She greets the children every morning, and she always teaches something or other, whether form time, science or forest school. Parents like that she’s increased outdoor learning time and introduced specialist computing from year 5 (with the senior school’s A level teacher, no less). Girls also think the world of her, a couple knocking on her door during our chat to claim their golden house points. They describe her as ‘kind’ and ‘ambitious’.

Lives in Loudwater with her husband, who works at the Beacon, and their son (at Habs) and daughter. Keen on gardening and walking, although admits most of her time is currently spent ferrying her children to various matches, most recently hockey and bridge.

Entrance

RMS takes in a wider ability range than some similar schools. Most join the nursery (Ruspini House) at 3+ for automatic entry into reception, with a further influx joining in reception. The next bulge point is in year 4, when girls join from the state sector or very academic preps. Occasional places in years 5 and 6, but there can be waiting lists. Entry is via a half-day assessment into years 1, 2 and 3, then a full-day from year 3. Both include assessments in English and maths, ‘but how they mix socially is more important to us,’ says head.

Exit

Automatic entry into the senior school, which about 85 per cent take up. Rest mainly to local grammars, notably Watford Grammar and Dr Challoner’s. Some to St Clement Danes and Rickmansworth School. Hardly any to other independents.

Our view

As with most junior schools that radiate wholesomeness and warmth, it all starts with the receptionists. ‘They know every girl by name and always have a kind word,’ said a parent, who described them as ‘the jewel in the crown’. Teachers are also pulled out for being values driven. ‘You go to most schools around here and they launch straight into their academic success stories but here there’s an equal focus on instilling kindness, resilience and integrity,’ said one mother.

Located on the same site as its big sister school, Cadogan House opened on its current premises in 2011 with its own generous slice of the grounds including an inviting adventure playground, Astro play area, lawns, wildflower garden and forest school. Inside, classrooms are spacious and inviting, every inch imaginatively decorated (take note, parents of children with sensory overload). Girls get a taster of the senior school too, notably the dining hall, pool and sports hall – plus lessons in cookery, textiles and DT from year 5 – all helping with what parents describe as a ‘very easy transition’ into year 7.

Girls, with their tidy plaits, are polished and poised, and were super keen to tell us everything they love about the school. Teachers’ ‘personal targets’ topped the lot (surely a first), with almost equal praise for the library – which is entirely understandable thanks to its tightly packed shelves of ‘real’ books of every description that the (lovely) librarian divides into five reading levels ‘because traditional reading schemes can be so contrived’.

While not a school that parents tend to choose for the academics alone (most will point to the all-roundedness and pastoral focus too), the teaching nonetheless offers breadth and rigour, with standards of reading and writing well above average, and learning brought to life with animated teachers (one even did a handstand in class, the girls told us) and hooks into new topics, eg finding a fish in the school pond for a topic on pond life. In every classroom we visited, pupils were immersed in their lessons, using workbooks or either iPads (used from reception) or Chromebooks (used from year 2), both provided by the school. Modern science lab hosts ‘lots of exciting experiments’ and Sally the skeleton keeping watch.

Specialist teaching starts in reception with sport, music and Spanish. Science is added from year 3, then art, DT and French from year 4 and computing from year 5. Everything else is taught by the class teacher – all female (except one male, covering maternity leave). Sensible levels of homework (always with a week’s deadline) allow girls time to attend the many clubs that range from coding to chess, mindful art, watercolour, German, Spanish and a multitude of sport and music. Classes are mixed up at the end of years 2 and 4.

No setting except in phonics in pre-prep and a third group for maths is added in year 6. ‘Seeing someone do worse or better than you is what drives you on,’ explains head. ‘They have the balance spot on – she’s always getting great results,’ said one parent, although a few feel ‘they could push the girls a little more’ and we heard some minor gripes about marking taking time.

A ‘blanket of neurodiversity’ is pinned to the wall in the main school corridor. ‘We each brought in a piece of the material – it’s to celebrate difference,’ explained our tour guides. Parents say the SEN provision – delivered by the three SENCos across the whole school, plus a pool of classroom assistants – is ‘phenomenal’, with school ‘particularly good at identifying issues’ and ‘helping you decide if it’s worth getting a diagnosis’. ‘They immediately spot if she hasn’t taken everything in and take her aside to get her up to speed.’ Around 18 per cent are on the SEN register (mainly dyslexia, autism and ADHD), including a few currently applying for EHCPs – school’s approach is always to start with their strengths, eg if they’re good at maths, how can that success be transferred to other areas. One-to-ones available, plus visiting OT and ed psych (all at extra cost). Girls love the therapy dogs.

The senior school is sporty, and you can feel the ripple effects here. ‘The girls are so lucky having the on-site pool and all the pitches and courts – it means they can offer pretty much every sport and they do,’ said a parent. Ethos is on finding hidden passions and talents. ‘Our daughter did a golf course – she lasted five minutes before realising it wasn’t for her, but it was still worth a try,’ said one; another that her daughter ‘absolutely loved it and now we do golf as a family’. Main sports are football, hockey and netball in the winter and tennis, athletics and cricket in the summer – all played competitively from year 3, with one afternoon a week given over to training and fixtures. It was cricket against Godstowe when we visited. Lots of clapping everyone on at the tournaments and the swimming galas, we heard, including for the slower ones.

Lots of music, with a choir from reception (‘which my two love,’ said a mother) and the chamber choir that recently won the Herts choral competition. Ensembles in violin and viola, wind and brass, a string orchestra and samba band. All year 2s learn the recorder, and year 3s the ukulele, with over half of all pupils taking individual music lessons. Not always the best singers and performers wheeled out for the concerts – ‘The aim is to instil confidence not just show off the cream,’ said a parent.

Drama on curriculum from year 3, and part of enrichment. Years 5 and 6 do a big production, most recently Matilda, with after-school rehearsals so girls don’t have to skip lessons (about 90 per cent take-up). Year 4 production coming soon ‘to draw them in earlier’. There’s a popular poetry club, plus LAMDA.

School has strong artsy feel, with large workshops for art and DT and pupils’ talent showcased at every turn. A Keith Herring inspired display caught our eye – each primary coloured life-sized figure represented the interests of that girl (think backflips, sausage dog and flowers). Senior facilities used for older ones, enabling, for instance, all year 4s to be on sewing machines at the same time. Ditto for food and nutrition – ‘We recently made flapjacks,’ pupils told us. On our visit, there was great excitement among the year 5s, who were heading off to a residential (they start in year 3). ‘You know one of the dorms is haunted?’ one girl told the class in her spookiest voice.

Peer mentors are trained from year 6, so older girls can act as ‘big sisters’. School also has a weekly check-in system to track how the girls are feeling. Form time has been increased in the older years, and the school runs workshops for the parents on everything from resilience in learning to parenting in the digital age. One mother, whose daughter ‘gets anxious’ says she has a ‘whole host of people, pupils and teachers, who have her back guiding her and building up her confidence’. Some of the teachers are ELSA trained (which one girl told us stood for ‘emotionally loaded sarcasm approach – actually can that be right?’). Big emphasis on rewards, with the annual prize-giving a highlight, and there’s a restorative approach to the ‘inevitable behaviour mishaps involved in growing up’.

Families describe themselves as ‘sociable’ and ‘down-to-earth’. ‘Even with the very wealthy ones, you wouldn’t know,’ said a parent (although some of the cars in the carpark suggest otherwise). Most are dual income and hail from right across the road to as far as Hatch End and Gerrards Cross. From year 3, girls can get the coach. Parents say they feel listened to – ‘for example, they changed the catering on the back of what we said’ – and say comms are ‘outstanding’ (as in the senior school, they are now ‘completely tailored to your child’).

Boarders

Dwindling numbers mean they were down to two full boarders and one flexi when we visited. But they absolutely love it, with the girls (year 3 upward) getting their own dorm, plus a dedicated hangout space, in one of the three senior boarding houses. All meals (apart from weekend breakfast, when girls can pad downstairs in their pyjamas) are taken in the senior school. Lots of games and activities on tap – everything from cinema and popcorn nights to bowling, camping in school grounds and roller discos.

The last word

With a free pass to the senior school, this is a group of parents that can sit back and smile smugly when talk of the 11-plus comes up at the local dinner party circuit. Traditional, all-rounded and less pressured than some of the local competition, it is a delightful place for young girls to grow up.

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