Know exactly where your child stands for The Maynard School
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact The Maynard School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact The Maynard School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
The Maynard School
The Maynard School is an independent day school for girls in Exeter, Devon, offering entry at 11+ through a selective two-stage process. The entrance exam uses Quest Admissions and covers English, comprehension, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and creative writing, with no interview stage. Annual fees for the Senior School are £7,475 per term for the 2026/27 academic year, which is inclusive of VAT.
If you want a school small enough that the staff know your daughter by name, the Maynard fits the bill: around 410 girls from four to eighteen, in a building with room for 484. It is an independent day school in the middle of Exeter, and it is selective: entry at eleven is five short papers covering English, comprehension, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, and a piece of creative writing.
It was founded in 1658 by Sir John Maynard, as the Blue Maids' Hospital, a charity for poor girls rather than a school for paying ones. That makes it one of the oldest girls' schools in England, generally reckoned second only to Red Maids' in Bristol. It has not been in the same spot throughout: teaching moved to the present St Leonards site in 1882, and the school only took its founder's name in 1912. Three bombs hit it in the Exeter Blitz on 4 May 1942, and George VI came to see the damage.
The phone rules tell you most of what you need to know about the place. Year 7 girls may bring a non-smart phone and nothing else. Years 8 to 11 hand smartphones into lockers, switched off. Only the sixth form may use one, and only in their own centre. Every girl sees a form tutor each morning and has a named head of year, and there are therapy dogs for a bad day. The Good Schools Guide calls it 'a haven of calm, compassionate and creative education'. It suits a girl who would rather be known than counted.
Key facts
Annual fees
Senior School (Years 6-13, which includes Year 7) £7,475 per term for 2026/27, inclusive of VAT (£6,229 net plus £1,245.80 VAT). Non-refundable registration fee £180 including VAT (£240 for non-UK residents); non-refundable acceptance fee £480 including VAT on formal offer; refundable £200 breakages deposit with the first term's fees.
Admissions
Admissions contact
admissions@maynard.co.uk
Admissions phone
01392 355998
Registration form
https://www.maynard.co.uk/admissions/register-your-daughter/
Sibling policy
What this school tests
11+ Entrance Assessment
English
- Grammar
- Punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Comparison
- Reading Comprehension - Evaluation
- Reading Comprehension - Grammar and punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Inference and Deduction
- Reading Comprehension - Information Retrieval
- Reading Comprehension - Language Techniques and Imagery
- Reading Comprehension - Sentence-level Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension - Sequencing
- Reading Comprehension - Structure, Form, Voice and Tone
- Reading Comprehension - Summarising
- Reading Comprehension - Text Classification and Purpose
- Reading Comprehension - Types of Words and Phrases
- Reading Comprehension - Word Meaning / Choice
- Spelling
- Vocabulary
Maths
- Algebra
- Angles and Degrees
- BIDMAS
- Coordinate Grids
- Estimation and Rounding
- Factors and Multiples
- Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
- Measurement
- Money
- Number and Place Value
- Operations
- Perimeter, Area and Volume
- Position and Direction
- Properties of Shapes
- Ratio and Proportion
- Reflection, Rotation and Symmetry
- Sequences
- Special Numbers
- Speed, Distance and Time
- Statistics
- Time
Non-verbal Reasoning
- Figure Analogies
- Figure Matrices
- Figure Series
- Grid Matrices
- Horizontal Codes
- Match to a Group of Figures
- Most Like Three Figures
- Odd Figure Out
- Odd Shaped Matrices
- Star Matrices
- Triangle Matrices
- Vertical Codes
Verbal Reasoning
- Alphabet Logic
- Anagrams
- Compound Words
- Embedded Words
- Form a Word
- Insert 2 / 3 Letters
- Insert a Letter
- Letter Analogies
- Letter Sequences
- Move 1 / 2 Letters
- Ordering Words
- Rhyming Synonyms
- Shuffled Sentences
- Synonyms
- Word / Logic Puzzles
- Word Analogies
- Word Completion
- Word Match
- Word Opposites
- Word Pairs
- Word Relationships
- Word Swap
- Words and Codes
Spatial Reasoning
- 2D Rotations
- 2D View of 3D Shape
- 3D Rotations
- Block Counting
- Building Blocks
- Combining Shapes
- Diagonal Reflections
- Figure Missing from Image
- Fold and Punch
- Folding Cubes
- Hidden Shapes
- Missing Face of Cube
- Nets of 3D Shapes
- Shape Completion
Critical Thinking
- Logical & Deductive Reasoning
- Inference & Evaluation
- Extracting & Distilling Information
- Visual Sources
- Comparison & Ordering
- Data Analysis
- Codes & Decoding
Creative Writing Task
English
- Creative Writing - Descriptive
- Creative Writing - Narrative
- Creative Writing - Personal
- Creative Writing - Persuasive
Catchment area
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
2026: 40% of all results awarded a grade 9, up from over a quarter at grade 9 in 2025 (school's own published figures).
A-level results
2025 (the school's most recent quantified set; its August 2026 results announcement carried no percentages): 37% of results at A*, up from 31.7% in 2024, with 12% of the Upper Sixth achieving straight A*s (school's own published figures).
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does The Maynard School use for the 11+?
The school uses Quest Admissions for its 11+ entrance exam.
What is the format of the 11+ entrance exam at The Maynard School?
The exam is a two-stage process consisting of five short papers covering English, comprehension, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and a piece of creative writing.
Does The Maynard School interview candidates as part of the 11+ process?
No, there is no interview stage in the 11+ admissions process for The Maynard School.
Is The Maynard School co-educational or single-sex?
The Maynard School is a single-sex independent school for girls.
What are the fees for Year 7 entry at The Maynard School?
For the 2026/27 academic year, the Senior School fees are £7,475 per term inclusive of VAT. There is also a non-refundable registration fee of £180 including VAT.
What is the website for The Maynard School?
The official website for the school is https://www.maynard.co.uk/.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2525.8575015278443!2d-3.5234270220874087!3d50.722582771645406!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x486da417ab5005e3%3A0x647faa326da00826!2sThe%20Maynard%20School!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sph!4v1787821113884!5m2!1sen!2sph
