WHAT? WHERE?

Beachborough School is a charming rural co-ed day and boarding Prep school at honey-stoned Westbury Manor that tickles the Northants, Bucks and Oxon borders. Currently teaching 390 pupils from 2-13 years, with a 50/50 boy-to-girl ratio and classes of 18 maximum, the children here get to run around 35 acres of lovely grounds that takes in woods, a wetland area and several large play grounds. The main manor house building is attractive and homely – sofas in hallways, light and spacious, cosy tweedy armchairs. If you like your schools with a feeling of informality and intimacy, you’re in the right place.

FACILITIES

/SPORT

Beachborough has invested heavily in the last few years across all areas of the school, with sport the recipient of a 700sqm sports hall, full-sized astro, netball and tennis courts and, most recently a new pavilion. Competitive sport starts in Form III (under 8s) across the major sports of hockey, netball and cricket for the girls and rugby, hockey/football and cricket for the boys, with four hours of sport additional to the fixtures each week. Hockey in particular is being targeted as a sport to develop – since Oct 23 hockey specialist teachers at Bloxham School have been coaching Forms 3-6 at their Friday games lessons.

Beachborough was one of the early adopter schools for triathlon and now has links with the Beachborough and Brackley Triathlon Club which trains there every Saturday morning. There’s also the annual Beachborough Prep X-Country event, held at the school each January, with around 10 other schools participating.

/DT

One of Beachborough’s biggest calling cards is its impressive £700,000 DT building, known as TED (Technology, Engineering and Design) with spacious workshop and separate computer lab area, built in 2017 to inspire the Beachborough kids to really embrace robotics, coding, 3D printing (CAD design is introduced from Form III) and electronics.

Goblin, renamed Beachborough Racing Team, started in April 2016, and the first check down was lead by Rob Smedley, famous race engineer to Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, at Ferrari then Williams F1. Children in the after school co-curricular club learn to build and race three ‘Goblin’ cars with huge success – they’ve won every small race (between 10-20 cars) they’ve entered since 2017 and won the major race, the Gathering of Goblins, at Goodwood Motor Circuit in 2019 and 2023. There’s now plans to have a purpose-built race base that would free space in the TED suite. Beyond this, there’s also an after school Tech Club for those who need more TED in their lives and a Robotics Club (sponsored by Haas F1) that is now taking part in the Lego League Challenge.

The focus on tech goes beyond the TED building and into every subject – Summer 2022 saw the introduction of a digital musical composition suite, while science has an augmented reality set-up that allows pupils to walk through a solar system.

/CREATIVE ARTS

If your child is more interested in the stage than the saw, there’s a Performing Arts Centre with its own theatre, used for talks and LAMDA exams, as well as the drama stagings that include an annual musical and various year-specific productions.

Musically, all children from Pre-Prep 2 (7 years old) learn keyboard, recorder, ukelele and violin at school, and all children in Forms 3-4 are required to join Junior Choir, with an audion-only Chamber Choir for Forms 5-8. The usual guitar groups and brass, reed and woodwind ensembles are here, plus there are clubs for musical theatre, orchestra and popular music. A biennial tour takes the kids abroad to perform and experience music- most recently to Belgium.

For artists, there are two bright studios within the main Manor House building, offering everything from photography and claywork to textiles and lino, along with an extra-curricular art club.

/SCHOOL

The grounds are worth the mention here – plenty of space for Forest School, and a natural spring Wetlands Area delivered by the nearby Great River Ouse that the kids can use for various geography and science lessons. There are big views out onto the fields with woods for den building – there’s no ‘stay off the grass’ signs here, hence the all-weather ‘boiler suits’ that you see the kids wearing when they’re running around outside.

A recent refurb of the food tech kitchen has introduced a separate allergy-sensitive food prep area and individual ovens for each child (usually 8-9 per class).

PASTORAL CARE

Undoubtedly a strength at Beachborough, the pastoral care has nevertheless been bolstered since Covid, with the appointment in April 2023 of Angela Crook as Nurture and Wellbeing Practitioner, who offers everything from one-to-one drop in sessions with children, at no extra cost, and Lego therapy to drawing and talking therapy and even dog therapy – Arnie the wellbeing dog (and resident boarding house pet) joined the staff in January 2024.

There is a ‘worry box’ on the door and a form that goes to the children once a term to check how they are feeling, so that any worries can be acted upon. There’s also a regular new staff drop in slot so they can discuss any concerns about the children asap, rather than waiting for schedules to align.

In addition to PSHE, Weekly Wellbeing lessons have been scheduled as part of the curriculum here. A Wellbeing Garden has been created for quiet time and, further up the school, pupils in Years 7-8 take part in Curriculum for Life – a character, ethics and leadership programme that centres on self-awareness and compassion for others as well as practical life skills such as money-management, first aid and even self-defence.

BOARDING

Roughly 40 per cent of kids at Beachborough board, either flexi or four days a week (there’s no termly option here). Flexi really is flexi here – one night here or there, and no need to book months or even days in advance if you have a last minute need. The boarding houses here are well above average, with lovely individual murals that raise them way above the usual white plasterboard dorms (the boarding houses are undergoing a full refurb in 2024/25 so watch this space). There are six dorms, three for girls and three for boys, with a communal common room.

ACADEMICS

Your child is safe! 100 per cent of children at the school pass the Common Entrance exam – as a broadly non-selective school that’s a big academic tick. In June 2024 the leavers achieved 30 Scholarships and awards for the second year running – Academic, Art, DT, Drama, Sport, Music, Performing Arts and Heads’ Awards. Destination schools include Eton, Millfield, Uppingham, Marlborough, Stowe, St Edward’s, Headington, Repton, Bloxham, Magdalen College School… the stellar list goes on, no doubt assisted by a strong Top Performers programme and Scholarship Sets (for Years 7-8).

The school was awarded Microsoft Showcase School Recognition in Sept 2024 for its use of tech in teaching. It gives pupils and teachers Office 365, Teams and various interactive learning platforms, and Years 7-8 now have a personal device.

THE HEAD

Simone Mitchell joined as Head in Sept 2023 (succeeding Christian Pritchard), with Beachborough as her second headship, having been head at Swanbourne House School in Buckinghamshire. She’s enthusiastic and warm, and has been positively received by parents so far. She’s strongly centred on the Beachborough ethos of world-ready, tech-savvy children, so watch this space for her plans for the school once she has the first year under her belt.

LITTLIES

Little people can start at two and half years old in the Nursery, giving them a strong start before they’ve even stepped through the door of Reception. The Nursery areas here are spacious, bright, with a great outdoor space right next to the main lawn. The Pre-Prep is next door in its own purpose-built building with a fabulous outdoor play area. Specialist teaching starts from Kindergarten with music, games, gym and French.

QUIRKS

Well, all the kids have to wear blue boiler suits to go out and play which looks super cute when they’re toddlers – fortunately by the time they’re higher up the school food chain it’s not compulsory!

There’s the kind of Friday night special that frazzled parents weep for in gratitude – the kids can stay at school on Fridays, be entertained by the likes of laser questing or a magician, get their weekend homework done, and be ready for a late collection on Saturday morning at 10.30am having been fed a full cooked breakfast.

SEND

SEND is well supported at here. All pupils from Pre-Prep One onwards complete termly assessments to keep check on ability versus attainment and Learning Support is on hand to support should there be the need. The SEND department is led by a specialist teacher, and also includes an Early Years SENCo and Learning Support Assistants.

There’s an Assisted Tech Club for SEND kids (eg instructions read out by the computer) so they can join in what is one of the most popular clubs at school, and also a check in session for those kids who are neurodivergent on Friday afternoons at the Wellness Hub – feedback from parents was that weekends at home were tricky after a week of their children trying hard at school and so this thoughtful intervention is designed to release pressure prior to the weekend.

WRAP AROUND CARE

If you’re a working parent, you’ll love the flexibility here. All kids can stay for tea up until 6pm with older children able to extend that time until 6.45pm. The after school clubs can be attended without charge. The children can board at short notice (an extra cost) and book in for as many nights as they like and weekly boarding is also offered.

Nursery and Kindergarten runs in three-hour morning and afternoon sessions but there are flexible extended hours available from 8am to 6pm if you need them.

ISI REPORT

The most recent inspection is from 2018, so a different head teacher in pre-Covid times! There is a regulatory compliance report from 2022 in which all the criteria were met. See both here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Beachborough School is a mobile free site.

WORD ON THE GROUND

I know several parents at this school and they confirm they are huge advocates, emphasising the school’s nurturing ethos and also the huge amounts that the kids get to do here.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Well-rounded kids. The vibe is informal and friendly, but academically strong – not an easy mix to pull off. The superior sport, drama and music facilities are impressive and all children get to participate fully. Good flexible after-school care is particularly helpful for busy working parents.

Not for: Those who require full-boarding, a town location, a larger school cohort, or parents who prefer a more edgy approach to schooling – you’ll either love or hate the unapologetic wholesomeness of the place.

Dare to disagree?! Have a look for yourself — the school is also encouraging interested families to book an individual tour to get a real feel for the place. Email the Admissions Team on admissions@beachborough.com to arrange your full school tour and a proper in-person chat.

Beachborough School, Westbury, Nr Buckingham, NN13 5LB. Tel: 01280 700071.

Beachborough School, nr Brackley

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