- Age range
- 2–18
- Co-ed status
- Mixed
- Number of students
- 498
- Day / boarding
- Day & boarding
- Religious affiliation
- Church of England
- Average fees
- Day £16,861 · Boarding £39,492 (annual, inc. VAT)
- Has a nursery
- Yes
How the school describes itself
- The school is joyful, curious and confidence-building.
- The school's message is that individuality should be cherished and excellence expected from the earliest years.
- It also stresses wellbeing and a strong sense that every child is known.
Fee profile
Annual fees including VAT. 2025-26.
Parents like
- The shared campus gives prep children unusually strong facilities for this age range.
- Families value the clarity of the St Mary's route without locking every child into it.
- It feels nurturing and small-scale while still part of a larger foundation.
Admissions
St Margaret's takes children from nursery to Year 6, with offers typically following a visit and taster process plus a published acceptance fee. The school sits on the same campus as St Mary's Calne and positions itself as the foundation route into the senior school; girls moving on to St Mary's do not sit a separate formal 11+ assessment.
Scholarships
St Margaret's public admissions pages focus more on fees, boarding and military-family remission than on a broad standalone prep scholarship scheme. Families looking ahead to scholarships and bursaries are mainly directed toward the senior school's published routes at St Mary's Calne.
Bursaries
St Margaret's Preparatory School does not clearly publish bursary details. Families interested in fee support should ask the school directly whether any means-tested bursary, hardship help or discretionary remission is available.
- The school does not publish entry-point-specific bursary information, so families should ask whether support differs between prep, senior and sixth-form entry.
- No public award range, remission percentage or fund size is published.
- Families should contact admissions or the finance team directly to ask what fee assistance is available, whether it is means-tested and whether support is reviewed annually.
Inspection snapshot
The ISI institution page now groups St Margaret's with St Mary's Calne and lists a 2025 routine inspection for the merged setting. For families wanting prep-specific context, the last standalone St Margaret's regulatory compliance inspection was in 2022, and the current messaging emphasises a coherent campus, shared governance and strong continuity into the senior school.
Assessment approach
St Margaret's describes academic life as specialist-led and tailored from nursery to Year 6. For older prep pupils the emphasis is on building strong foundations, confidence and curiosity, with transition information shared directly with St Mary's so girls taking that route do not face a separate 11+ hurdle.
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