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Our view of Emanuel School
One of the most popular co-eds in
London, with 12 acres of handsome grounds on the edge of Wandsworth Common, enviable facilities, inspiring teachers and happy children, Emanuel senior school is a tremendous all-rounder that has come of age. This is an academic day school with something of a boarding-school atmosphere – long days and a lot going on.
Where is Emanuel School?
Brimming with history, Emanuel School was founded in Westminster in 1594. Today, it’s located in Battersea and draws families from across south-west London – but thanks to its proximity to Clapham Junction station (South Western trains heading into Waterloo stop here first), it’s now a top choice for households much further west too. The architecture is an appealing mix of old and new, with ultra-modern learning spaces sitting beside original Victorian redbricks. And with 12 acres of space, the site feels like an oasis in London.
Those who live within walking distance are encouraged to do just that: 60 per cent of students walk or cycle to school, and Emanuel has a
sustainable travel policy that is clearly respected (the bike racks are always overflowing). Parents who live close to each other can join informal WhatsApp groups so that their children can team up for the journey to and from school.
School headmaster
Highly popular with the pupils, Robert Milne is accessible and engaged, meeting weekly with the head boy and girl and their deputies. He is an English teacher by trade and was previously deputy head (pastoral) at King’s College School Wimbledon. Mr Milne arrived here in 2017, and as well as driving a programme of improved facilities, he has also been instrumental in launching
Emanuel 430 in celebration of the 430 years (in 2024) since the school’s founding, setting charitable goals and announcing new
bursaries (there is already an impressive total of more than 50 funded bursary packages, well exceeding the target the school set a few years ago, and which include provision for extras including uniform and overseas trips).
In September 2025, current deputy head Ravi Kothakota will step into the top spot. Mr Kothakota is already very well-known to pupils; he arrived at Emanuel in 2019 and during his time at the school, he’s held a number of positions including a teacher, sports coach and pastoral leader. He’ll work closely with Mr Milne over the academic year to ensure a smooth transition, and we look forward to meeting him.
Admissions process
Places here are becoming more and more hotly contested, and while Emanuel is academically selective, it’s also looking for interested and interesting children who are willing to share their passions. Talented high-flyers can aim for
scholarships in drama, sport, music or academics.
It’s worth knowing that it’s possible to join Emanuel School in Year 6 (10+), one year earlier than most senior schools. If your primary-school child is ready to move on to a bigger pond (and skip the stress of the 11+ altogether), they will join a small cohort of 48 pupils. If you would rather they wait a year, they’ll be spoilt for choice for friends: in Years 7 to 11, the roll call tallies 144 (with a further 300 pupils in the sixth form). At all entry points, children sit written tests in maths, English and verbal reasoning, before being invited back for an interview and group activity so that staff can see how they work as a team. For the highly popular sixth-form entry, places are offered on the basis of securing an average of 7 or more in at least seven GSCEs.
Academics and destinations
Despite Emanuel School’s relatively small-scale site for such a large student body, classrooms are large, light, bright and buzzing with life. With a curriculum that carefully balances the traditional (our lovely guide couldn’t stop raving about his classics teacher) and the modern, each lesson is designed to make pupils sit up and think. All lower-school children participate in a school-developed social-entrepreneurship programme, where they’re tasked with developing non-profit solutions to social, cultural and environmental issues, and every year group has timetabled life education lessons, which include financial budgeting, talks from prestigious guest speakers and leadership skills. Year 6 pupils take taster classes in French, German and Spanish and add critical thinking to their weekly timetable.
Academic clinics are run by each department for anyone who needs a helping hand, and
SEND pupils are well catered for, with four specialist teachers working closely with heads of year and form tutors and sitting in on lessons where needed. Pre-existing needs are adeptly met (one-to-one and small group additional learning-support lessons are available), while staff are trained to spot and then support those with any issues that arise.
The stunning, newly revamped sixth-form centre at Emanuel School overlooks the grounds and, as well as including group and quiet study spaces, it is also home to a popular café. Pupils choose three or four A-levels from a list that includes film studies, photography, government and politics, philosophy and ethics, and Latin. Those taking three must also do an EPQ, and they are given free rein to pick a topic that ignites a passion (the pupils we spoke to had covered a dizzying selection, taking in ancient Greek, medicines for mental illnesses and dirt-bike restoration). All sixth-form students enter the
Inspired Learners Award programme, which blends academics with co-curricular and community activities as well as training towards each pupil’s future academic and career trajectory. One of our guides singled out the careers adviser for particular high praise.
With this year’s leavers achieving a highly impressive 83.4 per cent A*-B at A-level, it isn’t surprising that the majority head happily to their first-choice university. Destinations include Oxbridge and top-rated Russell Group universities, with a smaller cohort going on to drama schools, music colleges and European and American universities.
Co-curricular at Emanuel School
For a London school, the sports facilities on site are admirable, with two rugby pitches, a mini Astro, an indoor swimming pool, a sports hall and a fitness centre. There are also 14 extra acres at Raynes Park (a short minibus ride away), Emanuel’s off-site sports facility, where a clutch of cricket pitches, tennis and netball courts were recently added, adding to the smart all-weather pitch that opened in September 2023. Sporty girls are particularly attracted to Emanuel, in part due to the sports scholarships on offer, but also because they get a lot of bang for their buck where facilities are concerned.
The main sports are rugby, cricket and football for boys, and netball, cricket and hockey for girls. Matches take place on Saturdays and sports teams are extensive and competitive: more than 1,000 inter-school fixtures are held each academic year, and Emanuel aims to be the top-performing school for sport in south-west London. But the options don’t stop there. A boathouse in Barnes means rowing is increasingly popular; this summer both the boys’ and girls’ crews qualified for Henley Regatta. Other activities include spinning, Pilates and boxing.
Art excels at Emanuel senior school, and the super-modern, glass-fronted Dacre Building houses four art studios, plus a sculpture studio, kiln and glazing rooms, a dark room and a ceramics studio. The syllabus is all-inclusive and adapts to each pupil’s strengths, with everyone encouraged to look outside the classroom and take advantage of the world-class museums and galleries London has to offer, bringing back what they have learned to inform their creations in the studio.
Music is another top-notch strength. Equal weight is given to classical- and contemporary-music teaching, and each year several leavers go on to study music. Over in the drama department, there’s a dedicated theatre, rehearsal space and even a TV studio – and pupils can hone their skills in all areas from set design and costumes to make-up and lighting. A whole-school musical is staged each year (which sees pupils forge firm inter-year friendships), and the annual arts festival is a real highlight on the school calendar, with performances and exhibitions every night in the last two weeks of June, and pupils taking to the stage alongside the parent and community choir. We love the ‘Play in a Week’ initiative too, where pupils audition and rehearse for a play in just five days. A production is taken up to the Edinburgh Fringe most years.
There are plenty of clubs and societies to keep pupils busy outside the classroom, with academic and creative-arts ones taking place at lunchtime and sports activities held after school. Top options include debating, Dr Who (the longest-running club), equality and diversity, and ancient Greek – which led to pupils insisting that it be introduced at GCSE.
DofE starts in Year 9, while Industry Champions – where student groups are connected with a business mentor – is on offer to pupils in the lower sixth. And, as a reward for all that hard work well done, the final week of the school year is Field Week, when residential trips are offered. This year, a staggering 450 pupils travelled to Europe, visiting Paris, first world war battlefields, Amsterdam and Brussels.
School community at Emanuel School
Emanuel is justifiably proud of its outstanding and diverse outreach work, both abroad (sixth formers raise money for partner schools in India’s Tamil Nadu, and head out there to teach during their summer holidays) and in the local community. One highly popular project,
Primary Ambitions, involves lower-sixth pupils preparing and giving lessons (from a course designed by Emanuel’s teachers) to children from local primaries. Staff view these projects as very much a two-way process, with pupils gaining as much from the experience as the partner school or charity.
Pastoral care at Emanuel senior school is equally impressive, with tutors, counsellors, school nurses, teaching staff and the chaplain all on hand whenever pupils need a listening ear. Guest visits from expert educators and in-house pastoral programmes start in Year 6 and continue up the school – and, most importantly, the children know they can rely on each other for kind words and support. Years 6 and 7 learn in their own buildings slightly removed from the main hub of the school, which helps them to settle into big-school life and remain under the watchful and caring eye of their form tutor.
On our visit we were struck by all the laughter, chatting, informal sports and card games happening at breaktime, with not a phone in sight. It confirmed our lovely guide’s opinion that ‘everyone is very friendly’. This extends to the parent community too – they’re an unpretentious, lovely bunch, who enjoy their choir and socialising in a pub in Barnes by the river after watching the rowing.
And finally....
Strong on academics, excelling at arts, sports and co-curricular activities, and with a commitment to widening access that is evident in its generous bursary awards and outstanding portfolio of outreach work, Emanuel is flying high. A historic school with designs on the future, it’s a force to be reckoned with on the highly competitive
London day-school scene.