As we reflect on the past year and look towards the promising horizon of “Claires Court Futures 2025,” it is with immense pride and profound gratitude that we present this annual report. Claires Court’s journey has always been one of ambition and adaptation, a spirit that has been tested and triumphed in recent years. Just five years ago, our ambitious plans for a new campus at Maidenhead Thicket faced national planning hurdles, swiftly followed by the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, with our school community navigating closures and the transition to online learning for extended periods. Yet, it is precisely in overcoming these adversities that the true strength and resilience of Claires Court has shone brightest.

The remarkable achievements of our students, particularly those who began their secondary education in lockdown – our “Pandemic Year 7s” now flourishing at GCSE, and those in Year 13 whose school careers were equally interrupted – stand as a testament to their unwavering spirit and our dedicated support. We are thrilled to report that our GCSE and A-level results have not only recovered but have risen back to the highest levels we could possibly expect. Beyond academic excellence, our pupils have garnered national recognition across athletic pursuits, performing arts, and community involvements, showcasing a holistic development that truly defines the Claires Court experience. This success reinforces our fundamental belief that while we maintain a strong reputation for fostering elite scholarship, we equally regard each child as an individual with immense potential, nurturing their strengths and even uncovering “unknown unknowns” that ignite lifelong passions. This ethos was powerfully demonstrated by the successful integration and remarkable progress of Ukrainian refugees into our school community, many of whom arrived without knowledge of the Roman alphabet or English language, yet three years on, have passed public examinations and matriculated for further and higher education. This is the strength of Claires Court: not to deselect or decline, but to welcome children, because ‘their place is here’.

Our vision for Claires Court Futures 2025 extends to a significant reimagining of our existing campus to meet the specifications for a fully balanced program for boys and girls. We are committed to offering ‘Diamond provision,’ ensuring high-quality facilities that are commensurate with our high aspirations, though not necessarily identical in every respect. A cornerstone of this vision has been the successful unification of our Junior boys and girls onto a single campus at Ridgeway. We are incredibly proud of the two years they have spent working together, fostering a junior community that feels fully cohesive and vibrant. Furthermore, we have meticulously modelled and adapted the junior curriculum to encompass not only key features of literacy, numeracy, and physical development, but also a rich array of creative aesthetic and outdoor learning activities, including our popular Forest School. Myriad summer activities across all our sites further underscore the school’s flourishing state. Looking ahead, we have secured the necessary planning permissions for the final steps in developing our Senior School boys and girls facilities, particularly in music, drama, and physical education capacities, and now focus on securing the finances to complete these crucial enhancements.

The School’s commitment extends far beyond the campus walls, actively forging relationships and making a significant impact within the wider community. Our co-curricular, before and after school, and residential programs have expanded to their fullest extent, providing unparalleled opportunities for our students. We have cultivated strong partnerships with many of Maidenhead’s major sports clubs, Norden Farm Arts Centre, and the National Sports Centre, Bisham Abbey. We are particularly excited about our next steps: partnering with Redroofs School for the Performing Arts to introduce Level 3 BTEC qualifications in Musical Theatre, Dance, and Drama into our Sixth Form, broadening our reach and offering diverse pathways for artistic talent. Our support for the development of new waterways linking the River Thames to Maidenhead town centre, and the establishment of our own kayaking and canoeing centre – accessible also to adults for acquiring waterman skills – exemplifies our dedication to community enrichment and skill development. Internally, we have proactively addressed considerable societal challenges, working across all age groups to highlight and change behaviours, calling out misogyny, and teaching children from all backgrounds to aspire, develop ambition, resilience, an interest in others, and above all, to serve their school community and the wider nation. It is inspiring to see our students contemplating futures in public service, the military, and critical fields like artificial intelligence and medical sciences.

Claires Court recognises the limitations of a narrowly focused English curriculum that often prioritises academic achievement as the sole measure of success. While we excel in this, we embrace a broader, more holistic approach. Beyond traditional A-levels, we offer a diverse array of respected co-curricular and co-academic programs, including the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), BTEC National Certificates and Diplomas, and other Level 3 qualifications such as Food Technology from the Welsh board. Our goal is not solely to prepare students for Russell Group universities and the professions beyond, but also to keep their artistic and creative flair alive, preparing them for a wide range of foundation courses, university degrees in advertising, fashion, theatre, or commercial activities, and valuable apprenticeships. This open and welcoming approach, embracing boys and girls from different backgrounds, enriches our community life. Our young people can no longer prepare for just one career, and need a far wider palette of skills and interests to assist in making their way successfully in the futures they will face.

In an ever-changing world, we are committed to educational innovation, particularly through the thoughtful integration of technology. We have invested significantly in developing our adult teaching faculty, with experts like Victor Allen, Marlyn Hawes, and Finn O’Regan providing training to ensure our staff remain at the cutting edge of educational practice. Critically, Claires Court has embraced Artificial Intelligence at the heart of our work, utilising tools like Merlyn Mind at Junior level and Google Workspace, Gemini, and NotebookLM at Secondary School. This strategic adoption of AI has empowered our staff to manage their workload more efficiently, develop new and innovative learning methods, and ultimately benefit our children. We are proud to have made a significant contribution to its adoption in the UK, USA, Eire, Europe and the Middle East. Furthermore, recognising the current crisis in adolescent mental health, we are steadfast in providing an environment with sufficient time in the working day that fosters genuine friendships and social interaction, helping children navigate the complexities of growing up in a digital age, learning to trust, communicate, compete, and forge effective pathways into adulthood.

Looking to the future, we acknowledge the considerable challenge posed by austerity and taxation on families’ ability to fund independent education. To ensure Claires Court remains affordable to the vast majority of parents seeking a broad, holistic education for their children, we are forging strategic partnerships with community groups to bring additional revenues into the school. In terms of new recruitment of children for the future, our goal is to attract enough boys and girls each year, aiming to keep our maximum class size at 20 and GCSE groups at around 16. It’s an important balance we need to strike, with classes large enough for competition, small enough for individual attention, and with full agreement that the core values we stand for are adopted by all. We also offer flexible entry and exit points, from a few years in Reception or Junior School, a full secondary education commencing from Year 7 as well as a warm welcome for children switching from middle schools that graduate at the end of Year 8. Adding transition programmes for external students that need to flesh out their GCSE qualifications, and creating Foundation program years beyond Sixth Form to allow students to perfect skills in arts, theatre, dance, and sports have commenced well, and these can only enrich what Claires Court stands for as a leading centre of education. Both Principals of Claires Court, my brother Hugh and I, remain incredibly ambitious for our school. We carry our responsibilities with utmost fidelity, profoundly supported by our outstanding heads, deputies and senior leadership teams across all three sites, who manage the day-to-day running of our exceptional education. Their commitment to the future is as serious as their dedication to the past, and we continually test our success through the invaluable insights of external visitors, who help us identify areas for even greater improvement. The boys and girls of all abilities know their place is here with us. With the continued support of our community, our talented staff, and our forward-thinking strategies, we look forward to the future with huge enthusiasm, confident that Claires Court will continue to flourish and shape exceptional young individuals for many generations to come.

James Wilding
Academic Principal
26 August 2025