The 1729 Maths School
Opens September 2026 with Year 7 and 9 only — a fee-charging, need-blind-bursaried independent school, not a free school, and not part of the U-Maths network.
This school is not yet open. Details on this page are provisional and may change — always confirm directly with the school or network before making any plans around it.
The 1729 Maths School is not a University Maths School and is not part of the U-Maths network that makes up the rest of this site — it's the one genuine outlier here. It is a fee-paying independent school, initiated and funded by Alex Gerko, founder of the quantitative trading firm XTX Markets, and his wife Elena Gerko, who have committed £30 million over ten years to establish and run it. It operates as a "school within a school" inside Mill Hill Education Group's North London campus, taking pupils from age 11 rather than 16 — the other structural first in this niche. It opens in September 2026 with Year 7 and Year 9 only, admissions need-blind and heavily bursaried, with more than half the founding intake expected to receive financial support. Its scale, funding model and age range make it the single biggest development in this niche for 2026.
Key facts
- Status
- Opens September 2026 Independent — not a University Maths School
- Location
- Mill Hill, North London (within the Mill Hill Education Group campus)
- Region
- London
- Age range
- 11–18
- Co-sponsor / partner
- Delivered in partnership with Mill Hill Education Group (Mill Hill School and Belmont, Mill Hill Prep)
- Founder
- Initiated and funded by Alex Gerko (founder/CEO, XTX Markets) and Elena Gerko — a committed £30 million over 10 years
- Opened
- Planned: September 2026
- Current roll
- Opens September 2026 with Year 7 and Year 9 only (lateral entry); expected to grow to roughly 150–180 pupils across all year groups once fully established Partly verified
- Website
- 1729mathsschool.org.uk
Admissions
- Entrance test
- A three-stage process: Stage 1 is a computer-based assessment (English, maths, verbal/non-verbal reasoning, via Atom Learning); Stage 2 is a written maths assessment at Mill Hill, based on the National Curriculum with a problem-solving focus.
- Interview
- Stage 3 is an oral assessment day, with separate dates for Year 7 and Year 9 entrants.
- Deadline
- The September 2026 opening-cohort application window has already closed (it ran to 9 November 2025). For September 2027 entry, applications open Tuesday 1 September 2026 and close Friday 30 October 2026; Stage 1 tests 7 & 14 November 2026; Stage 2 written assessment 5 December 2026; bursary-application deadline 11 December 2026; Stage 3 oral assessment days in January 2027; offers emailed 12 February 2027; acceptance deadline 3 March 2027. There is no UK application fee. An Open Morning for prospective September 2027 families is set for Saturday 26 September 2026.
- How to apply
- 1729mathsschool.org.uk/admissions-and-bursaries
Full admissions page for The 1729 Maths School →
Subjects
Required: Not applicable at this age range
Not a 16–19-only school — it takes pupils from Year 7 (age 11) and Year 9 (age 13) at opening, structured as two strands: "Fundamental Mathematics" (precision, fluency and technique) and "Contemporary Mathematics" (modern mathematical thinking — logic, combinatorics, probability — including input from resident PhD students and visiting academics). Reported at roughly 11.5 hours of guided maths teaching a week, described as at least three times typical independent-school provision. The rest of the curriculum (humanities, languages, arts, PE) is delivered through Belmont/Mill Hill School, leading to 9–11 GCSEs overall, with 1729 students following GCSE and A-level Maths/Further Maths and preparation for university admissions tests including STEP and the TMUA.
Boarding & travel
- Boarding
- Offered
- Boarding detail
- Weekly or full boarding is available from Year 7, through Mill Hill's existing boarding houses (220+ boarders school-wide).
- Travel support
- Travel grants are available for families attending in-person admissions assessments.
Fees
This is a fee-paying independent school, not a state-funded free school — the single biggest thing that distinguishes it from every other school on this site. Secondary reporting puts day fees at roughly £27,675/year (Years 7–8) and £30,450/year (Years 9–13), with boarding at roughly £44,250–£52,320/year; we could not confirm these on the school's own site, so treat them as indicative rather than official. Admissions are need-blind, with substantial full and partial bursaries and "Ramanujan Scholarships" (a 25%, annually-renewed fee reduction). The school says more than half of its September 2026 intake will receive bursary support, with roughly a third on fully-funded places.
Catchment
No published catchment restriction — it draws nationally and internationally in the way independent schools typically do, rather than operating a defined local catchment. Partly verified
This school does not operate a defined catchment boundary — see the note above for how it actually decides who can apply.
Results
No A-level results yet.
Destinations
Not yet published.
Ofsted
- Rating
- Not applicable yet — not yet open. As part of the Mill Hill Schools Foundation (an HMC/ISC member), it would likely be inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) rather than Ofsted once operating, though this is inferred from the parent institution rather than confirmed for 1729 itself.
Culture & ethos
Named after 1729, the Hardy–Ramanujan "taxicab number." Occupies dedicated buildings within Mill Hill's roughly 120-acre campus rather than a separate free-standing site. Recent activity includes hosting a national primary-schools chess championship semi-final at Mill Hill in May 2026, with more than 400 young players taking part.
Leadership
Nick Hamshaw (Founding Head, in post from September 2025; read Mathematics at Oxford; previously Senior Deputy Head at Haberdashers' Boys' School)
Compare The 1729 Maths School
Sources
- 1.The 1729 Maths School — official site — https://1729mathsschool.org.uk/
- 2.Key information (address, charity/company numbers) — https://1729mathsschool.org.uk/key-information
- 3.Admissions and bursaries — https://1729mathsschool.org.uk/admissions-and-bursaries
- 4."Six things you should know", June 2026 — https://1729mathsschool.org.uk/news/six-things-about-1729-maths-school
- 5.Mill Hill — founding teaching team announcement — https://www.millhill.org.uk/news/introducing-the-founding-teaching-team-at-1729-maths-school
- 6.Financial News — Gerko funds new maths school, Feb 2025 — https://fnlondon-spa-prod.sc.onservo.com/articles/xtx-boss-alex-gerko-funds-new-maths-school-in-london-e86c6b12