Bucks &amp; Oxon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School.jpg" alt="Moulsford independent prep school" class="wp-image-198125" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Moulsford School</figcaption></figure>



<p>Are you part of a constantly pinging school or nursery Whatsapp group? Spare a thought for Ben Beardmore-Gray, who is not only Headmaster of highly-regarded <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/moulsford-school-review/">Moulsford Prep School</a> in South Oxfordshire, but also chairs an 85-strong Whatsapp chat of Prep school Heads. Yelp. It’s a role that may seem at odds with steering the ship at one of Oxfordshire&#8217;s top standalone Preps, but being an ‘indie’ doesn’t equate to being an island, according to Beardmore-Gray.&nbsp;In fact, he sees it as his superpower &#8211; connected to the latest ideas and innovations in education but with no school group to answer to. He spills the beans to Muddy on why staying independent is Moulsford’s calling card.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Moulsford-School-1000-x-1000-px-5.jpg" alt="Ben Beardmore-Gray Moulsford independent prep school head" class="wp-image-198572" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Moulsford-School-1000-x-1000-px-5.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Moulsford-School-1000-x-1000-px-5-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Moulsford-School-1000-x-1000-px-5-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Moulsford-School-1000-x-1000-px-5-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ben Beardmore-Gray with Moulsford Prep pupils</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-being-a-truly-independent-school-a-usp-these-days">Is being a truly independent school a USP these days?</h3>



<p>Six or seven years ago I wouldn’t say so, but it’s absolutely become one!  Locally we’ve seen lots of prep schools join large groups; it became a trend in the market around ten years ago but it’s dramatically accelerated in the past few years. We’ve been approached four or five times, and while there’s undoubtedly benefits to being part of a group, we&#8217;re now distinctive as an indie school, in control of our own destiny&nbsp;and ethos.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-the-benefit-for-the-children-and-parents">What&#8217;s the benefit for the children and parents?</h3>



<p>It allows us to give truly impartial advice to parents about next steps &#8211; frankly invaluable! We feed into around 25 different Senior schools and can recommend the one that best suits each child. There’s no pressure to steer pupils towards a particular destination. We never know where children will end up when they arrive, and that journey of discovery is part of the beauty. The list of leavers’ destinations changes every year.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Also we can adjust our curriculum or introduce new systems quickly, without waiting for approval from a head office. We completely rewrote our curriculum  six years ago after recognising that traditional Prep school models were too focused on knowledge and exams. We wanted to prepare pupils with life skills like critical thinking, collaboration, communication, resilience and leadership, so we consulted senior schools, universities, even World Economic Forum reports, and implemented a new curriculum in months. That’s the kind of innovation that being independent makes possible.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="998" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/Moulsford-Forest-School-2-2.jpg" alt="Moulsford Forest School" class="wp-image-136827" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/Moulsford-Forest-School-2-2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/Moulsford-Forest-School-2-2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/Moulsford-Forest-School-2-2-1000x665.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/Moulsford-Forest-School-2-2-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/Moulsford-Forest-School-2-2-789x525.jpg 789w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Moulsford&#8217;s Forest School</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-think-your-standalone-status-improves-your-pastoral-care">Do you think your standalone status improves your pastoral care? </h3>



<p>Well it certainly helps us move faster to proactively support children. We use an online system called CPOMS to track pastoral trends and, because decision-making sits within the school, we can implement these kinds of tools immediately. It also means our pastoral care stays personal. As a family-run school &#8211; my wife works with me too &#8211; that personal, family feel is woven into everything we do. Back in the Seventies and Eighties, the child had to mould to the school, and thankfully that’s flipped around. Parents increasingly want a tailored experience for their children, not a one-size-fits-all system.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School-18.jpg" alt="Moulsford School students sat on bench outside" class="wp-image-198100" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School-18.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School-18-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School-18-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/Moulsford-School-18-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-isn-t-it-true-that-joining-a-school-group-gives-more-financial-stability">Isn&#8217;t it true that joining a school group gives more financial stability? </h3>



<p>Yes for sure, depending on the situation, especially for smaller schools with tight margins but for us there was a trade-off as we didn’t want to risk losing any control. If a school within a group becomes financially unviable, no group will sustain it indefinitely. Private equity, for example, typically looks for a return on investment in five to seven years. That’s a very different model to a charitable trust where any surplus is reinvested directly into the school.&nbsp;Well-run independents,&nbsp;such as Moulsford, can preserve&nbsp;their ethos and quality over the long-term and that&#8217;s appealing for families. But of course the finances of the school need to be properly managed.&nbsp;Moulsford&#8217;s&nbsp;Governors are all either current parents, past parents or educationalists, and are all passionate about the school.&nbsp; All the decisions taken are educationally&nbsp;driven and taken for the long term benefit of the school.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gazing-into-your-crystal-ball-will-you-become-one-of-the-few-non-group-preps-in-the-next-few-years">Gazing into your crystal ball! Will you become one of the few non-group Preps in the next few years? </h3>



<p>Groups are on the up and there can be great strengths to being in one &#8211; many groups have a rich culture and they suit certain schools brilliantly. There’s also real potential to share resources in a group setting, particularly when it comes to office work, admin and running the estate, so in truth I think there will be fewer independents in future &#8211; but the ones that remain will be strong, dynamic and in demand. Pupils won&#8217;t come to a school just because it&#8217;s independent;&nbsp;it has to offer the whole package. Luckily for us, Muddy parents do their research!</p>



<p><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/moulsford-school-review/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read our r<em>eview of Moulsford School</em></a></p>


The perks of being a truly ‘indie’ school

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