WHAT? WHERE?

Akeley Wood Senior Independent School in Buckinghamshire

Akeley Wood school is an attractive, three-site non-selective independent nursery, junior and senior day school in rural North Bucks for boys and girls from 12 months through to 18 years. Close to Milton Keynes and Buckingham, there’s a broad catchment covering around a twenty mile radius from Northampton to Bicester and as far as Woburn Sands, but plenty of pupils attend from local villages too. There are currently 710 pupils here – 233 at the Junior and nursery departments; and 478 collectively at the Senior (Years 7-11) and Sixth Form sites. Class sizes are small – between 10-14 (Junior) and 15-20 (Senior) in a collective 50 acres of grounds.

Akeley Wood Hosue Senior School buildings

The Senior School, previously set across two sites, has been integrated into one cohesive site at Akeley Wood House (above) since 2021, whilst the Sixth Form, AW6, now sits within its own grounds at Tile House Mansion. The drive in to each of the three sites is nothing short of bucolic and the grounds are abundantly green.

In addition to the bricks and mortar upgrades, there have also been significant changes in the senior leadership team more recently, with new heads across all three sites and a new overall Executive Head being brought in since September 2023. Big change, but also a real solidification in terms of direction: as well as a renewed academic vigour, developing the Akeley community across the three sites is a focus point.

FACILITIES

SPORT

The Senior School has seen some heavy sports investment in recent years, including a heated dedicated sports dome, a gym, 12 tennis courts, a double astroturf, a basketball court, pitches for rugby and cricket, a running track and four badminton courts. Triathlon is having particular success here and there’s also been a strong showing in National ISA competition in athletics with multiple medals across the years and disciplines.

Good to see also that there’s weekly onsite Outdoor Learning for Years 7 to 9 – not something you often see in a Senior School, but it’s taken seriously and the kids love it. Activities include axe throwing, den building and low ropes.

Low ropes outdoor learning Akeley Wood independent school in Buckinghamshire

CREATIVE ARTS

This is the sweet spot for Akeley Wood Senior School, with music especially strong – there’s a recording studio along with a dedicated Music Tech suite, with the children here able to take Music Tech for GSCE and A Level. Around 150 students take private music lessons and there are the usual orchestras and ensembles, from jazz band, guitar ensembles and music tech clubs plus smaller rock bands who play at Wood Fest, an annual summer festival held in the school grounds.

Drama performances are held in the main hall and the subject is offered for both GSCE and A Level, and LAMDA exams are offered within the school.

Art is well catered for, offering textiles, ceramics, fine art and photography in the mix in two dedicated art rooms – the rooms are eclectic, but I kind of like that, and the Art teacher I spoke to was clearly passionate about the subject and allowing the children to really express themselves and art is a definite area of strength.

SCHOOL

There are 6 science labs here, a slick Mac tech suite, a rather lovely refurbed and extended dining area (light, spacious and a window overlooking the foliage on the lawn). The DT area has had an overhaul with new worktops, workbenches, floor, cupboards and some new equipment too.

Perhaps most importantly for the children, with the Sixth Form students now occupying the AW6 campus, the pupils’ swanky glass and chrome common room has been taken over by Year 11 – a real plus for Akeley Wood GSCE students who, unlike most secondary school pupils, have their moment of feeling they’ve ‘made it’ rather than having to wait until Year 13.

LITTLIES

Geographically, AW6 and the Senior School are close to each other, whilst the Junior School at Wicken Park is a fifteen minute drive. Its 6 acre site surrounded by field and woods, and includes ‘Tudor House’, one of Henry VIII’s former hunting lodges that now houses the Year 5 & 6 classrooms. Facilities here include a sports hall, astro turf for football, cricket and tennis, plus cricket nets and a cricket astro strip.

The Wicken Park site is seriously blessed in terms of grounds, so getting outside is easy. There’s an allotment, where pupils can grow salad, to be used in the school kitchens, thus helping to promote an understanding the importance and relevance of caring for the environment and an awareness of the agricultural community within which Akeley sits. The children are taught how to be socially and environmentally responsible citizens and the changemakers of the future. Understanding their role in the world.

The nursery area, with its lovely outside play area backing onto the playing fields, had a huge makeover fairly recently, and you’ll find it now with lovely muted colours and tasteful wooden toys. A smoother transition between Junior and Senior schools has been helped by the flow of teachers between the two campuses. The Junior School has two choirs and an orchestra, plus modern foreign languages, music and ICT all taught by specialists, plus there’s cheerleading, dance, ballet, chess, creative writing, cricket, tennis, origami, athletics, lego, drawing, karate, American football and a myths and legends club – take your pick.

SIXTH FORM

Akeley Wood Sixth Form Campus AW6 Bucks independent school review

A £1m undertaking, the Sixth Form AW6 site opened in Sept ’21 at Tile House Mansion. With a palpable pre-university, campus-like feel (no uniforms and purely 17-18 year olds) it offers something very different to most day school Sixth Forms in the area, and a real mix of old and new – cornicing co-exists with neon signs, morning rooms are filled with modern work stations. There are a couple of subjects that the students will head to the main building for (DT workshops are on the other site, for example, and Sixth Formers regularly visit the Senior School site to help out with sports coaching and mentoring), but AW6 has its own dedicated science labs, a music technology suite and an art studio.

AW6 places a distinct emphasis on driving the students towards living and learning more independently once they’ve bagged those A-levels and are embarking on their next chapter. Hence, there are two common areas, as well as a café space where students can work, collaborate, meet their tutors and socialise, encouraging them to manage their time responsibly and be less teacher-led. Whatever he’s doing, it’s working – the Sixth Form cohort has almost doubled in size in the space of a year, with 54 pupils in Year 12 at the start of the 24/25 academic year, reflecting a renewed confidence in the Akeley. It’s an increase in numbers that can easily be accommodated both in terms of classroom capacity and in terms of teaching across the broad range of A-Level subjects offered. Average class size in AW6 is 7-8 pupils, often smaller.

AW6 has its own outdoor learning space, which is rather unique for a Sixth Form campus and is really a hangover from it’s former days as part of the lower school, but it really serves quite a key function in terms of inviting the Sixth Formers to spend time outside and gives them a fantastic social space, especially if the fire is lit. There’s also a sports field and a sports hall, The Dome, on site for indoor games.

ACADEMIC

Akeley Wood independent school review Buckinghamshire classroom learning

Though Akeley Wood isn’t going to be tickling the top of national results league tables (its non-selective cohort and local grammar school competition makes that difficult), its showing in 2024’s GSCEs and A level results that it can perform at the top level. In GSCEs, 32.9% of all grades in 2024 were awarded at levels 7 to 9 (A**, A*, and A), with 89.4% of all grades awarded at levels 4 to 9. For A Levels, 16.1% attained A and above.

The vast majority of students head off to higher education in particular to Russell Group universities, including Loughborough, Bath, Manchester, Newcastle to read subjects including International Business, Economics, History, but there are always pupils who choose to pursue degree apprenticeships and some who go straight in to full time work, so it’s definitely a mixed bag, rather than a one-size fits all. Akeley is, after all, a non-selective school, embracing the individual aspirations of and the breadth of pathways available to their students.

PASTORAL CARE

Pupils at Akeley Wood private independent school in Bucks

Pastoral and wellbeing elements, which are always the foundations of academic success, are really strong across the schools and each of the sites has its own wellbeing team who then work together with the Pastoral Lead. There’s an Assistant Head with pastoral responsibility at the Junior School and Assistant Head with pastoral responsibility at the Senior School and the same at AW6 with a Deputy Head who oversees wellbeing at Sixth Form. At Senior School, where the pupil cohort is largest, there’s also an Emotional Literacy Support. At Junior level, this translates as a Wellbeing Lead and a Wellbeing Assistant, who sees students one to one or in small groups for social and emotional aspects of learning or personal development.

There’s a packed calendar of co-curricular and enrichment opportunities in place, with a huge range of clubs, activities and trips for the pupils, from sports tours and ski trips to cultural trips abroad and to London museums and galleries. Every Friday afternoon the children pick an activity to participate in – those on offer include everything from table tennis and skiing at the snow dome in nearby Milton Keynes to visiting a local care home.

Wood Fest is the school’s summer outdoor festival, with a professional stage, sound and lighting, there’s also Drama in the Woods, Akeley Musician of the Year, Akeley’s Got Talent, a Christmas Carol Concert and the annual production (last year it was Annie).

SEND

Junior and Senior sites have their own SENCO, with the Senior school also covering AW6. As stated above, Akeley is non-selective, but will only admit those with special educational needs if they’re absolutely confident in their ability to meet a child’s individual requirements so, whilst there’s no cap in terms of numbers, there are some limitations in terms of what’s possible.

HEADTEACHER

Vanessa Conlan Executive Head Akeley Wood

Executive Head Vanessa Conlan, who oversees the three sites at Akeley, brings a wealth of experience to the role, with over twenty years of teaching, eight of which have been in headship. She’s clearly dedicated, having moved her family to the area from Surrey (where she previously worked as head at Little Downsend Ashtead) and enrolled her children at the school, so there’s a real sense of stability and future focus here. Vanessa took up post in September 2023 with a distinct vision for taking Akeley forwards and changes have been made – she hasn’t wavered in bringing her team in-line with a refreshing and exciting vision for the school that resonates with both staff and parents. Vanessa leads Head of Senior School Eleanor Holding, AW6 Head Gavin Moffat and Head of Junior School Esther Hunter.

QUIRKS

To quote Vanessa, “there’s definitely a streak of madness that runs through Akeley,” and there is a sense that quirkiness and creative energy is something to be embraced and encouraged. Allowing the children to learn with an understanding that life and education can be fun.

ISI REPORT

You can read the ISI’s 2023 compliance report for the Senior School and the Junior School’s ISI 2023 Inspection Report.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

In Senior School, mobile phones are allowed to and from school, but mustn’t be switched on during the school day, though in AW6 smartphones are very much used as a positive education tool, so there aren’t any restrictions around phone usage for Sixth Formers, the students are simply expected to manage their usage at this stage.

WRAP AROUND CARE

The school day starts at 8.50am, and children can stay for after school activities until 4.30pm free of charge, with paid for after school care until 6pm. Early drop off provision from 8am across junior and senior schools are included in the fees. For an extra charge, children can be dropped off from 7.30am for breakfast club at the junior school. At the nursery, earliest drop off is at 8am, and latest pick up is 6pm.

TRANSPORT

The school offers bus pick ups within a 25 mile radius. No need to deploy time travel if you have children at more than one of the school’s campuses either – there’s a minibus that moves the children to one central pick-up point for the end of the day.

FEES

Competitive for a Buckinghamshire school. Senior School fees are £7,391 per term (inclusive of VAT, applicable from 1 Jan 2025), and £6,986 per term for Sixth Form. Reception, Y1 and Y2 starts at£5,023 per term, moving to £5,895 for Year 3 and £6,207 for Years 4-6. Nursery fees work out at between £83-£31851 per week depending on the age of your child and how many days you opt for.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Akeley Wood has a good reputation amongst parents for its inclusive, unpretentious vibe and its excellent SEND provision. Some families understandably prefer shorter school days for their children and often boarding schools, even those offering day places, simply do not cater for this. That Akeley do allow this broader community outlook is a real draw card for some families I’ve spoken to. There was a sense of disquiet over recent upheaval around the SLT, but this has certainly been laid to rest with the renewed sense of focus and cohesion.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Those looking for an unpretentious, friendly school that won’t ‘hothouse’ children, set in idyllic surroundings. It’s a small enough school to suit those who thrive on individual attention but big enough to field A-D teams and put in decent productions. Ideal for parents who want the ease of keeping their kids at the same school from 1-18.

Not for: Akeley Wood’s relaxed ethos and non-selective cohort might not suit more overtly ambitious parents, there’s no ivory tower vibe here.

Fancy a visit? The Admissions Team will always do it’s best to accommodate one-to-one tours and welcome mid-year joiners.

Akeley Wood School, Akeley Wood House, Buckingham, MK18 5AE. Tel: 01280 814110.

Akeley Wood School, Nr Buckingham

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