We are deeply saddened at the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and we extend our deepest condolences to the Royal Family on behalf of the entire Merchant Taylors’ community.

As the longest-reigning monarch in our history, Queen Elizabeth devoted her life to the service of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. The legacy of her work through her sense of service and duty and the way she sought to seek consensus and reconciliation amongst others will endure in the lives and memories of families across the world.

Over the coming days and weeks, we will all mourn her loss in different ways and reflect on the impact that her death may have on those who have also lost loved ones in recent times.

As a community, we will also come together to mark her incredible life and say ‘thank you’ for everything she has done.

Claire Tao
Executive Head, Merchant Taylors’ School

Pupils at Merchant Taylors’ School are celebrating after achieving excellent GCSE results.

Of all GCSE grades awarded to boys and girls, more than 50% were at grade 7 to 9, the equivalent of a former A or A*, with 90% of all pupils achieving those higher grades.

The number of higher GCSE grades awarded this year surpassed those achieved in 2019, when the last set of formal public examinations were taken prior to the pandemic.

There were strong performances across the school in a variety of subject areas. Among the individual success stories were Darren T and Hugh L, who achieved straight 9s, Eeva D and James W, who each achieved eight grade 9s and one grade 8, and Jess B who attained eight grade 9s and three grade 8s.

Bridget Ward, Head of Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School, said:

“Our girls can be incredibly proud of their achievements at GCSE this year and it is especially pleasing to see so many achieving the highest possible grades.

“This year group had its two years of GCSE study disrupted by the pandemic and this is the first time that public examinations have taken place since 2019, so their achievements this summer are even more remarkable.

“They have displayed tremendous resilience and character to retain their focus and realise their individual goals.

“Special thanks must go our excellent team of staff, who have offered unwavering academic and pastoral support to girls throughout this period and they should also be very proud of the positive impact they have had.”

Deiniol Williams, Head of Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School, said:

“Our boys have performed tremendously well this year and their achievements are even more impressive when viewed through the prism of the past two years.

“It has been a challenging time for pupils and staff, but they can all be proud of how they have pulled together through periods of remote learning and hybrid working to deliver an incredible set of results in the boys’ first taste of external examinations.

“The breadth of success across a wide range of subjects reflects the deep commitment to academic excellence that we hold at Merchant Taylors’. Boys know that no matter what their areas of passion, they will be guided by subject specialists at every step to achieve their own individual potential.

Sixth Form students at Merchant Taylors’ are celebrating a year of excellent A Level results.

In their first experience of external examinations, having missed their GCSEs due to the pandemic, the year group has shown great endeavour to achieve an impressive set of grades.

Almost half of all grades were recorded at A* or A and there was a 100% pass rate across the entire cohort of 129 girls and boys.

Three pupils attained an incredible four A* grades, while a further five achieved three straight A* grades. Remarkably, a further 26 Sixth Form boys and girls attained grades that were exclusively A* or A.

The majority of students will now go on to their first-choice universities, including Oxbridge and a host of Russell Group universities across the UK including Imperial College London, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Warwick and Bristol.

Claire Tao, Executive Head at Merchant Taylors’, said:

“Academic performance is an important part of a Merchant Taylors’ education, so we are thrilled to see our boys and girls achieving excellent grades again this year. Given the challenges they have faced over the past two years, they should feel very proud of how they have acquitted themselves in all aspects of their lives.

“This year group has faced an incredibly challenging time and this has been their first real taste of external examinations. A pass rate of 100% is testament to their resilience and the unwavering support and guidance of our staff.

“High attainment at A*- A reflects an excellent performance by those students and demonstrates that boys and girls can benefit from an ethos of academic excellence, coupled with bespoke pastoral care and co-curricular opportunities, to scale the greatest heights at Merchant Taylors’ Sixth Form.”

We have hundreds of items of pre-loved uniform, sportswear and accessories for girls and boys of all ages, kindly donated by our families across Merchant Taylors’.

This stock is available every day throughout August, beginning on Tuesday 1 August, from 9am to 3pm, in the old gym located at the Boys’ School.

Any families who wish to take advantage of this service are welcome to do so free of charge and without prior appointment. All we ask is that families continue to donate their own pre-loved items and support this service into the future.

**We need your pre-loved items of uniform and other schoolwear to support families within the Merchants’ community. If you have any items to donate, please do leave them in the donations box in the old gym when you visit us.**

Any surplus items, including dated stock, is donated to the Ashinaga Foundation to support children in Uganda and other parts of the world. You can read more about their work and our partnership with Ashinaga here.

The results of GCSE examinations will be published on Thursday 25 August. Results will be sent electronically at 8:00am on the day via email to each pupil’s school email account.

Pupils and their families are also welcome to come into school from 8am to speak to staff about any specific exam related questions they may have, as well as see their friends and share in each other’s achievements.

Please click the following links for further details on the respective arrangements at the Boys’ School and Girls’ School.

After several years of disruption due to COVID, the Merchant Taylors’ CCF Army section returned to their first annual camp since July 2019. This year saw our first visit to Altcar Training Camp for an annual camp, a place we know very well as due to its close proximity to school. Over 200 cadets from various schools gathered for a weeklong camp delivered by Headquarters North West Cadet Training Team.

The training was split into three parts, as Maj. A Saunders (OC HQ NW CTT) said, the three F’s: Fieldcraft, Firing and Ph(F)ysical. The fieldcraft phase saw our cadets put through their paces on two of the hottest days on camp, carrying out reconnaissance patrols, harbour drills and a platoon attack. The firing side led to all the cadets successfully firing the L98A2 cadet rifle with Cpl McCarthy achieving his marksman qualification and the school’s Best Shot on camp. The cadets also got put through their paces with the paintballing close contact drills. Finally, the physical phase gave the cadets the opportunity to sample several different activities including the gun run, obstacle course, archery, and laser clay pigeon shooting.

Several awards went out and camp: Best Recruit – L/Cpl Stockell, Most Improved Recruit – Cdt Jeyanaythan, Best NCO – Sgt Davis and Most Improved NCO – Sgt Clark

The camp was a huge success, and a special thanks must go to all the volunteer staff who made the camp happen, Capt H. Parker, Capt. M Taylor, 2Lt. C Rudd and AUO. S Owens.

Our digital learning strategy has been shortlisted for a prestigious accolade by Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.

The Innovation in Business Awards recognise those businesses and individuals who have driven their organisation forward throughout the year.

We are proud to have been shortlisted in the Skills & Employability category, primarily for our 1:1 Devices Strategy, which will see all pupils in Years 7 -11 receive their own individual Microsoft Surface Go 3. This phased rollout begins in September 2022, when pupils in Years 7, 9 and 10 will receive their devices, and will be completed by September 2023.

Each award category presents a traditional award to an outstanding business in the field, alongside a supplementary special award for an innovator that has modernised to the advantage of their business, team and wider community.

The aim of this new approach is to further enhance the digital literacy and skills of all Merchant Taylors’ pupils in a world that demands flexibility and supports our efforts to become a Microsoft Showcase School in the coming years.

Developing these skills will challenge us as a School to develop our curriculum model and how we deliver our lessons in the classroom and beyond.

To vote for us in the Innovation in Business Awards, please visit the Liverpool Chamber website.