Tatler Schools Guide 2014

April 25, 2014

“Confounding negative national statistics about boys’ performance by carefully nurturing confidence, teamwork and success”, the school tells us.  Great stuff.  We wouldn’t dream of mentioning national stereotypes here, but can it be a coincidence that Wales’s best boarding school is brilliant at both music and rugby?  Current pupils play for London Welsh and Newport Gwent Dragons, with one in the under-20 Welsh Six Nations squad too.  Another boy was offered no fewer than four scholarships to top music colleges and the junior symphonic wind group won a silver medal at the Royal College of Music’s national concert band festival.  Monmouth scores highly on the academic front, with 84% A*-B grades at A Level (Worth noting that it only asks for five B grades at GCSE for sixth-form entry – it’s all about that Value Added thing, you see.)

The endowment income from the Haberdashers’ Company means that the school fees are among the best value in the country and the facilities are pretty swanky too.  The Blake Theatre doubles as an exam hall and has professional-standard acoustics and lighting.  There’s a splendid sixth-form boarding house (30 percent of pupils board) and Monmouth is currently working on the biggest redevelopment of the site since 1864, increasing the number of classrooms, improving the boarding facilities and replacing the ageing dining hall. Plenty of sixth-form interaction with the girls at Monmouth’s sister school ensures a healthy social life.”

Tatler Schools Guide, 2014 )