The Merlin School

Our Aim and Ethos
The Merlin School, established in 1986, is a non-assessing pre-prep school for boys and girls, aged 3 – 8. You’ll find us in the heart of Putney, in a beautiful Victorian house. We specialise in educating children in these crucially important formative years and aim to ignite a life-long love of learning. There are two principal points of admission; children can join the Merlin Pre-School in the September after their third birthday or the Reception year of Main School after their fourth birthday.

Children at Merlin receive a broad and creative education, developing a thirst to learn within a supportive and inspiring environment, and each individual is encouraged to become independent and to have a go. Our aim at Merlin is to encourage a sense of excitement about learning, so every day is happy and rewarding. Above all, we believe that learning should be stimulating and confidence-building. There is a vibrant buzz about the school, where the children thrive as part of a caring community. Corridors and classrooms teem with life as we all work together. Our children leave Merlin superbly well prepared for the next stage of their school career. In a structured, supportive environment, we will lay the cornerstones of your child’s education.

Class sizes at Merlin are small, adult to child ratios high, and this enables us to nurture the children, helping every child reach their full potential. We’re proud of our Victorian school building with its many period features which lend a very special warm atmosphere. Our school hall, for example, used for assemblies, drama, music and dance, is the original ‘ballroom’. We teach in spacious classrooms in the main building and in three purpose-built cloistered classrooms at the rear of the school. For playtime, sports, and outdoor learning, there is a large playground, at the heart of the school and we go off-site for an afternoon of Games every week. Each of the light, airy classrooms is visually stimulating, with colourful, interactive displays and resources that are constantly updated.

At Merlin, our practical approach to learning enables the children to take an active role in every subject – they are never simply passive participants. English and Maths underpin our core curriculum teaching every day. Science, Music, Singing, PE, French and Computing are all taught by specialist teachers and we have dedicated teaching spaces for these subjects. This breathes life into the timetable and gives the children the opportunity to move around the school from lesson to lesson. Above all, the Merlin approach captures the children’s imagination, fires their enthusiasm and inspires them to want to learn. Through such creative and stimulating teaching of core, foundation and broader curriculum subjects, the children are well prepared at ages seven and eight for the next stage of their education in a broad range of the very best prep schools.