WHAT? WHERE?

Lovely leafy South Bucks (two miles north-east of Chesham and close to Berkhamsted) is the setting for this friendly co-ed, partially selective prep school for kids 3-11. Founded in 1938 by the Adlington family (whose great-grandson now attends the school) its home since 1940 has been Orchard Leigh House, an Edwardian home once tenanted by Champneys, which now resides down the road in Tring (frazzled parents take note). Chesham Prep, or CPS, has since added a collection of additional but complementary buildings as it has grown to accommodate its 364 pupils – 170 girls and 194 boys.

From the country roadside the school looks attractive but relatively compact – only when you see the fields at the back do you realise the extent of the grounds. And the 7 acres of school fields feel a lot bigger with all that Chilterns countryside surrounding them.

FACILITIES

The star of the show here is the outside space and sporting facilities. Sitting next to a working farm, there are cows a-plenty to spy from the school rooms, and a feeling of rural tranquillity. The big project – a 4 lane, 25 metre swimming pool – was ceremoniously opened in 2019 by Olympian Mark Foster alongside the large sports hall. All children from Year 1 upwards swim at least once a week. CPS is making the most of the investment, with water polo, after school swimming and swim squad also now on offer and a host of swimming trophies under its belt including the 2023 Bucks School Games Final and the girls team reached the Top 10 in the IAPs National Finals.

Alongside the 800m2 sports hall there’s an all-weather 2/3 size pitch, an astro wicket, grass wicket and bowling machine and two large sports fields. Moving with the times, there’s been a gradual ditching of gender-biased sports, so yoga, football, cricket, fencing, and golf are among the activities now offered to all pupils, though games is still taught separately most terms with girls doing hockey, netball, and cricket and boys rugby, football and cricket. There’s also clubs like tennis and athletics and an opportunity to play at the local golf, tennis and squash clubs.

Academically there’s a specialist Music block with teaching space, keyboard room, now with keyboards that plug into the kids’ Chromebooks, plus 6 practice rooms, and specialist areas for science, Art, DT and languages. Plans are afoot to build another classroom and make separate spaces for Art and DT, which is really the main missing piece of the jigsaw here, though the quality of the art hanging on the walls suggests it doesn’t suffer from sharing the space.

The main hall has been completely refurbished with electric tiered seating fitted for 180 and a more modern, flexible performance space with lighting and sound rigs. Drama is also ramping up with the introduction of LAMDA acting exams. Another new addition that meets with the kids’ approval is the conversion of the second quad into a playground with wet pour surface and attractive wooden play equipment. Outside, an obstacle course of balance bars and ropes has been extended alongside the playing fields for all to use at lunchtime.

Plenty of investment going on elsewhere too, with an outdoor learning area, pond and Learning Resource Centre (21 networked computers in the IT Suite, plus around 200 computers in the school and 7000 library books) all opened in 2017 and the new addition of a pavilion for Forest School to offer cover for outdoor lessons.

ACADEMICS

Over the last few years, 75% of the children who take the 11+ here have passed the exam (and as someone with children at local schools in this area, I can say categorically that’s a phenomenal percentage, more so as this is a partially selective school for children from Year 3).

Unusually CPS gives equal weight to the 11+, rather than funnelling as many children as possible through to private secondary schools – this might make it an attractive option for parents who are willing to stretch to prep fees but hope to make the move over to (free) grammar schools ultimately. It’s also why the school has made the decision to cease offering Years 7 & 8 as numbers naturally dwindle, and instead take an extra form earlier on so there are now two classes of 20 in the Early Years and four classes from Year 3.

There’s a broad mix of scholarships – sports, music, academic – to a wide range of private schools, reflecting the all-rounder ethos of the school. Some of the more popular destination schools include Dr Challoner’s and Chesham grammars as well as Berkhamsted, Pipers Corner and Shiplake.

A new approach to teaching in the Junior School called ‘Creative Curriculum’ sets them apart from the exam factory style, with all subjects teaching around a single topic, most recently, for example, the story of Sir Charlie Stinky Socks. This saw them learning about castles in History, medieval maps in Geography and testing waterproof capes in science.

WHAT ELSE?

Specialist subjects like French, Spanish and DT are taught from Nursery (don’t worry, your toddler won’t be handed a power tool), and prep teachers drop in for one-off activities, such as the History teacher doing an archaeological dig in the nursery sand pit. Music is a big deal here and the new Director of Music, Maggie Watson, has big ambitions beyond the many choirs, orchestras and various performances throughout the year.

And no prep school would be complete without a mud kitchen, part of the Forest School, which goes ahead whatever the weather. Engaging the 7+ age groups in Forest School requires more than bug hunts and mud, and in the case of CPS they’ve had a go with some more age appropriate clubs – Eco Warriors, who hope to grow food for the school kitchen (there’s also a school orchard – perfect for that Eureka moment…), plus they get stuck into the pond habitat and have sown wild flower seeds.

For the Year 6 kids a highlight is the annual Grand Prix, when hand-built cars are raced around a track in the sports hall, as well as the annual trip to France or Spain.

THE HEAD

Jonathan Beale (above) taught both Maths and PE at the school for almost 20 years before taking up the role of Head in Sept 2017. He lives and breathes the school – and even resides, with his family, in the flat above his office in the original building of the school, so he’s rarely unavailable. He’s a real presence, welcoming families on the gate every morning and encouraging the younger ones to make eye contact and say hello.

Aside from the capital investments, his major initiatives have been the refocusing of resources to expand the provision of places in the Junior School and doing away with Years 7 and 8 (thanks, he would say, to the success of pupils securing their first choice school in Year 6). Then there’s also the introduction of a new marking scheme to simplify the process and make it more effective for kids with colour coded corrections in the place of lengthy written prose on each piece of work.

LITTLIES

Nursery and Reception classes are housed in the Early Years building, a bright, light and generously proportioned space. The Nursery has 1:5 ratios and maximum classes of 20, with Reception classes hitting a maximum 20 (as per the rest of the school). There’s a sweet, safe EYFS playground and a pirate ship climbing frame specifically for littlies. The guinea pigs are a big hit with the kids. Named after chocolates and sweets, the current incumbents, Humbug and Toffee, were enjoying some fresh air in the playground when I visited and being fed lettuce by the children.

WRAP-AROUND CARE

As integral to a prep school offering as manners and scholarships. At CPS you can drop off your kids from Nursery onwards from 7.30am for Breakfast Club (£4) and collect at 6pm (£4 including tea at 5pm) for a variety of before and after school clubs. There are currently six school bus routes from across Little Chalfont/ Amersham/ Chesham, Great Missenden, Wendover/ Cholesbury and Tring/ Berkhamsted.

QUIRKS

Is it quirky that a high-achieving prep school can feel so much like a traditional village school? I really liked the friendly, low-key vibe, quite refreshing amongst all the striving we put our kids through. The PE curriculum includes traditional sports like lacrosse plus girls football as well as more unusual options like parkour, Spikeball, Ultimate Frisbee and SAQ (Speed, Agility & Quickness). During their time at the school pupils will try their hand at around 14 different sports.

The School of Rock band is also an option (restrain your husbands, it’s just for U11s). And more of a necessity than a quirk these days, the school provides a confidential counselling service for the pupils, with the kids requesting sessions through a post box system with a qualified counsellor should they need it.

FEES

Standard for this part of the country. Full time Nursery £3,870 per term, Reception £4,165 going up to £5,725 per term for the older years.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Praise and more praise – the consensus is that it hits the sweet spot of inclusivity and allowing children to be children, but also making sure they deliver on academics. The PTA is super engaged here and the camping event, when the whole school is invited to camp out with their families on the last weekend of the summer term, sells out in minutes. Entertainment includes a silent disco and rock band where the Year 6 kids will perform to a crowd of 500.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Those looking for a prep school education without undue pressure. Throwing kids outdoor to play is the order of the day here, and sport is taken very seriously – hockey, swimming and rugby do particularly well.

Not for: Those who feel uncomfortable about mixed ability classes (though in fairness there are ability sets for Maths from Year 4, and English from Year 5). The school has a lived in, homely feel that I like, but those wanting pristine surfaces for their money may take issue.

Dare to disagree: Be my guest! The next Open Mornings are on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 October 2024  See details here.

Chesham Preparatory School, Two Dells Lane, Chesham, Bucks, HP5 3QF. Tel: 01494 782619. cheshamprep.co.uk

Chesham Prep School, Chesham

You may also like