The front entrance maketh the school

Former NSW Premier Bob Carr, self styled Education Premier, once famously declared that the front entrance to a school was a fundamental indicator of the quality of teaching and learning within. So he started a controversial program to upgrade the entrances of NSW public schools. He may have taken his inspiration from the well-located City of London school. Fronting the Thames, the students and teachers gaze dreamily across the river to the monolithic Tate Modern and it is the back door with St |Pauls Cathedral pressing down on it, that truly impresses.

An elite independent school for boys, it dates back to the 15 century. It is a top ranked school at GSCE levels and A levels and a staggering 20% leave school for Oxford and Cambridge. Not withstanding the extensive program of mandatory testing in English schools the school also sets its own entrance exams for entry at 11 and 13 years and 16 years to the various stages of schooling. What am I doing here you may ask? Well 'just looking' as they say...want to see how the various categories of school compare and how they use their performance data to improve. It is fair to say this school concentrates on enriching curriculum for outstanding students rather than getting struggling students over the line. For boys who pass the competitive entry to the school, last year only 40 new entrants started from 1000 applications, it is truly an 'elite' experience.