Academic Ethos

It is our aim to teach boys to think for themselves and to develop a true sense of scholarship. 

The School’s motto, Sapere aude - which translates as 'dare to be wise' - was first used by Horace, the Roman Poet, in his book of Epistles, but it became better known in the eighteenth century, after the publication of an essay entitled Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment by the Philosopher Immanuel Kant. 

In it, he writes:

'Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's own understanding without another's guidance. This immaturity is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one's own mind without another's guidance. Dare to know! "Have the courage to use your own understanding," is therefore, the motto of the enlightenment.’ 

Our goal at MGS is to educate young men and to equip them to have the courage to use the understanding they gain from this.

We provide a strong, traditional academic curriculum which seeks to develop our pupils through challenging them. Experience tells us that this approach works well.

Making the right academic choices

Our principle in adopting any course is to ensure that it will provide a level of challenge which will stimulate our boys and prepare them well for higher level study. For this reason we prepare our pupils for a mix of GCSE and IGCSE qualifications.

In the Sixth Form, we prepare pupils for A-level, International A-level and Pre-U qualifications. The Pre-U is a rigorous alternative to A-levels, and is highly regarded by universities. In each subject we choose the course which will provide the best preparation for university study.

The right choice for the individual

The range of subjects we offer is wide, and there is considerable flexibility of choice, allowing boys to develop their strengths and pursue their particular interests. For example, the passionate linguist can study as many as four languages for GCSE/IGCSE.

We currently prepare boys for public examinations in the following subjects: