Why many see their prep school years as ‘the best of their life’

Roger Leake, Headmaster of Leehurst Swan Preparatory School, explains why prep schools have an ‘exciting, dynamic’ environment...

Preparatory schools are by their nature and name nurturing schools, where we endeavour to create an atmosphere of happiness and warmth, supporting and motivating our children to play and work to the best of their abilities. It is also the place where our children are prepared for their chosen senior school. A good prep school will always be seeking to ensure that children are fully equipped for the demands of senior school education, irrespective of whether the children start at age 11 or 13.

Many prep schools invest considerable amounts of time and effort in ensuring that their pupils gain entrance to their first choice of senior school, meeting the demands of the selection procedure. Some proudly boast about how many of their pupils secured places at prestigious independent senior schools, and some emphasise their 11-plus results, as their pupils gain places at state grammar schools. The prep school years are nurturing and developing years which form the foundations for future academic success and provide the necessary academic rigour for pupils to gain entrance to senior schools. Their pupils go on to succeed in senior education. However, a good prep school will offer far more than simply the route to senior school success.

For many, including myself, the prep school offers the golden age of education. The inherent enthusiasm of prep school pupils for learning and discovering new information, coupled with a stimulating and often idyllic environment of a prep school, can seem to many as the “best years of their lives”. The prep school curriculum is largely freed from the demands of central government and external examination boards (that set the requirements of what should be taught and how it should be taught). This is the age before the demands of public examinations and the channelling of learning into specific subjects, for the explicit purpose of passing GCSE/ IGCSE and A level exams – an ideal time for when a love of learning can be developed and nurtured, allowing pupils to investigate and discover knowledge, and hone skills which cross the traditional boundaries of subjects. Good prep schools operate a carefully planned but flexible curriculum which sees the subject as secondary to the learning process and the skills and knowledge imparted. They serve within the loose confines of a curriculum that is easily adapted to the abilities and talents of the pupils, coupled with the expertise and knowledge of the teachers. Good prep schools extend the horizons and stimulate the creative imaginations of their pupils, whilst giving them a sense of purpose and direction. The awe and wonder of the natural world is explored along with the creative and spiritual developments of humankind.

It can also be the greatest opportunity for pupils to participate in sports, with time taken to both discover new sports and develop team skills at a high level. Trips and expeditions flourish, as children learn outside the classroom and provide happy memories for pupils to look back on.

Music and drama too often flourish, as pupils have the opportunity to perform in productions and performances, many of which display skills and expertise well above the age of the participating children. As many prep school teachers know, the window of creativity is thrown open during prep ages and children become accomplished poets, dramatic actors and creative writers.

In short, prep schools are exciting, dynamic environments with the benefits of unfettered freedom, helping their pupils to learn and develop in so many ways.

The move to senior school can be upsetting for some children and prep schools therefore strive to make the transition as smooth as possible by preparing their pupils for the increased demands organisationally, academically and socially. Senior schools are generally good at inducting and introducing new pupils into their schools and making them feel welcome. But there will always be the challenge of starting afresh with unfamiliar faces, teachers and, usually, a new campus to learn.

A growing number of schools avoid this challenge and problems for their pupils by offering an all through education. In these schools, the pupils receive all the benefits of a prep education but then they continue seamlessly in to the senior school which may occupy the same campus with teachers already familiar to them. The transition of such pupils into the senior years is managed in a more effective way as the pupils remain part of the same community. Their peer group largely remains the same (although some new faces are most likely to join at this stage too) and friendships are maintained. This applies to parental friendships also – having spent many hours on touch lines and in school concerts together, parents too can form strong supportive relationships as part of the school community.

It is no wonder that prep schools that operate as part of an all through school continue to develop both in size and number. Prep schools in these fortunate circumstances really do have the best of all worlds and the satisfaction of fully preparing the pupils for senior school.