WHAT? WHERE?

Gateway is a small but perfectly formed non-selective co-ed prep school taking 257 children from 2-11 years with small classes of 14-16 (Pre-Prep) and 18 (Prep) and an unpretentious, family atmosphere. Set in a compact 2.5 acres, with an attractive, sash-windowed, portico-fronted Victorian building as the centre piece with other add-ons and stand-alones, you’ll find Gateway flush to the road but behind gates on the approach to Great Missenden, the village most famous for being the home of Roald Dahl (five minutes’ walk down the high street will take you straight to the ‘Red Pump Garage’ made famous in Danny the Champion of the World). The children (46% girls and 54% boys) are dotted around the site in year groups, with a standalone Preschool opposite, Year 1-2 in the main building, Years 3-4 in the so-called T-Block, and then Year 5-6 moving around the site in readiness for next schools.

FACILITIES

/SPORT

No surprise that, given the size of the school, much of the sport is outsourced – so swimming takes place at Risborough Springs and Fitness Centre, with Ballinger’s Cricket Club the venue for rugby, cricket, football and athletics, using Jarman Park Athletics track for the annual sports day. Onsite, there are two astroturf courts, a climbing wall, a medium sized grass area (not quite a field) for running around and a small running track that was created just before lockdown, in addition to the multi-use hall that’s used for gym as well as many of the 40 extra-curricular clubs on offer each half term.

The head of sport and PE is Andy Bradley, formerly of New College Prep School, Oxford, and he’s clearly popular with the kids and full of enthusiasm, talking to me with one and a half eyes still on his little tennis players on the day I visited. Athletics seems to be a strong suit here, with 8 runners reaching the cross country national finals in 2022. Also this year, U11 netball team also made the national finals, finishing fourth in London North, and the U11 Girls Football team qualified for National Finals. There’s a regular roster of fixures across all the main sports – rugby and football this term for the boys and hockey and football for the girls, with mixed teams on offer for cross country and hockey.

/CREATIVE ARTS

Rebecca Izard, over 20 years at the school, is Head of Creative Arts and her passion for music in particular is palpable (she previously studied singing and piano at the Guildhall School of Music before taking Music Education at Trinity). Kids here can begin individual music lessons in Year 2 (age 6) with 45% of children taking up instruments from Year 3-6. They can take part in orchestra and the usual ukelele and recorder groups, but choral singing is the strength with Junior, Senior and Chamber choirs, with pupils previously taking part in the Young Voices concert at Wembley. Aside from Rebecca Izard, David Michener is the music teacher and I know him a little (he taught at my children’s school some years back), so from experience I know he’s an absolute charmer with the kids; they respond to his love of music.

Drama is part of the curriculum from Reception via the class teacher with specialist teaching kicking in at Year 5. The majority of big school performances take place at the school, though the Year 6 performance brings out the big guns with shows at The Elgivan Theatre in Chesham.

In terms of art, there’s a fair-sized, light bright studio with a smaller DT space adjoining, adorned with children’s artwork. I couldn’t talk to the art teacher who was mid-lesson but the DT teacher was disarmly enthusiastic and funny, and very excited about the laser cutter that the school PTA is buying for the department.

/SCHOOL

This isn’t a school with a roll call of specialist blocks and wealthy endowments but there’s a charming senior library space with vaulted ceilings, bunting and beanbags, and a traditional science lab with benches and gas taps, a music room with plenty of specialist equipment.

LITTLIES

The standalone Preschool for 2-4 year olds in a purpose-built wooden chalet is a calling card for Gateway – open 47 weeks of the year from 8am – 6pm, and light and airy, with its own picket-fenced outdoor space, qualified teachers and access to the facilities on site including the school lunches and specialist teachers. There’s Forest School here, running from Pre-school through to Year 2, with an onsite base that includes a story circle of tree-stumps around a firepit.

ACADEMICS

Gateway is in an affluent area and also a grammar school hotspot, so it knows its bread and butter has to be strong academics. From Reception the children receive specialist teaching in Modern Foreign Languages, Music, Art, Design & Technology and PE, with Japanese introduced at Year 3. Languages are a strength here, with French, German and Spanish also taught in lessons.

In 2022, out of 58 pupils, of the children who took the 11+, 27 gained Grammar school places (with a huge 76% pass rate), and 24 went onto independent schools, with three scholarships (Art at St Mary’s; Academic at Rye St Antony and Music at Berkhamsted Girls). Unusually the school puts 11+ into the curriculum so there’s genuinely no extra cost or training needed; by doing this it also has the welcome effect of avoiding too much pressure when it comes to 11+ exam time.

There are plenty of extra curricular clubs for the kids to take, some academic of course (who doesn’t want to try Homework Club?), some sporty or musical, and others more left-field like Comic Book Club, Podcasting, Mindfulness and Film club.

There’s also a great initiative, Farm School, launched in Sept 21 and open to Years 1-6 , where all the children have the chance to travel to a nearby dairy farm in Bledow owned by one of the part time teachers. The curriculum has been modified so that it links to the farm visits, so the children can meet the animals, enjoy the countryside and learn by stealth, whether that’s counting chickens, handling a fleece, searching for mini beasts or using compasses to get around the site.

PASTORAL CARE

In a school of 257, with small class sizes, the mantra of ‘every child is known’ that I’m often told when being shown around school rings true here. Wellbeing and safeguarding software CPOMS is used here to track the children, there’s a staff briefing on the children every morning to share any concerns, and the teachers eat lunch with the children. There’s also an emphasis on wellbeing techniques, with the kids taught mindfulness by a trained, dedicated mindfulness teacher from Year 4, yoga on option as a club and in Year 4, meditation taught as part of a learning on Buddhism.

There’s no counsellor on site, though any child who needs to talk can be put in touch with one who then comes to the school to support. There’s a worry monster for eating scary or sad thoughts, and a vertical school system (houses, class pairings) that encourages peer support and friendships between the years.

THE HEAD

Cath Bufton-Green’s first day at Gateway, in Jan 2020, was the day Boris closed down all schools, so ‘baptism of fire’ doesn’t quite cover her first year in the job. Now of course the dust has settled on Covid closures and Bufton-Green’s priority is to take Gateway as she see’s it, onwards and upwards. The mixed ability cohort means that value-added is top of her agenda regarding academic and pastoral progress. Happiness is also high on the agenda and she only half-jokes that one of the big USPs for the school is “having a childhood” – in other words, Gateway won’t hothouse your kids to boiling point.

Warm and approachable, with previous headship experience at Chandlings in Oxford and Surbiton High School Prep in Surrey, her mark can be seen throughout the school – already a google school, Bufton-Green is prioritising digital learning as a way to future-ready the kids, has introduced the popular ‘Farm School’ initiative (see Academics), has brought in Philosophy to Year 5 as a subject to encourage opinion and debate, increased parent involvement with workshops on a wide range of subjects including E-Safety, assessment, phonics and introduced parent readers. There’s room for the school to grow and she knows her market is generally double income families looking for good value – hence wrap around care, clubs, day trips and lunch are all included in the fees. Finally, all hail the queen of fancy dress – she clearly has a well-honed sense of humour.

QUIRKS

I haven’t come across many Prep schools who actually put Current Affairs into the curriculum itself, but Gateway can take a bow on that one. Full mark too, for being the first prep school in the UK to be recognised by Google for its use of technology to drive positive learning outcomes.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Good. The school is open from 8am – 6pm each day during term (breakfast/after school snacks). There’s also an Ofsted-registered Holiday Club for 4-11 year olds run by two former members of the Gateway team for pupils and the wider community.

SEND

There is one SEN teacher here, along with a specialist dyslexia teacher who comes in three days a week. This is delivered either one on with a specialist dyslexia teacher in the SEN room or in small groups.

ISI REPORT

The most recent report is from Feb 2018, with all compliance targets, and there is a full inspection report being published in Jan 2023 so watch this space.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

The pupils don’t really have phones but any YR 6’s who do hand them in on entry to school and collect them as they leave at the end of the day.

TRANSPORT

No direct transport links (yet).

FEES

Less punchy in price than local Prep schools with shinier facilities, Gateway offers the allure of all-inclusive fee options (never more atrractive than during a recession with bonus inflation boom!), and also a monthly payment scheme.

All-inclusive termly fees are: £3800 (R & Y1); £4230 (Y2-6). Breakfast club is £3.95 per session. Pre-school all-inclusive termly fee per day is £845. All fees include text books and materials, lunches, day trips, before and after school clubs and care.

WORD ON THE GROUND

The new headteacher has proved popular with parents who like the raft of initiatives coming through. Lack of space and limited onsite facilities are brushed off (that’s why the fees are less!) and talk instead of the community, family atmosphere here. A 10 year old girl I talked to while I was reviewing told me she’d give the school 9 out of 10 – with a point dropped for having too many carrots on the menu and no class pet. Shout outs from the pupils to Mr Mitchener for Music, Miss Topping in KS1, Mr Bradley in PE, Mrs Rance for Maths (very funny apparently) and Mr Roberts the young PE teacher – gold stars to you.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Parents looking for independent school education without a crazy price tag and pupils wanting a boost of confidence and support. The brilliant 11+ results speak for themselves but are also delivered within the curriculum (uncommon in private schools) so it means less pressure on the kids. The ‘village’ atmosphere of the school, proximity to the centre of Great Missenden and the Roald Dahl museum literally down the road are all big pluses.

Not for: If your idea of an independent school is a Palladian mansion amid acres of playing fields with separate performing arts centres and DT blocks, give Gateway a hard pass now. The school stops at Y6, which may not be an issue for all but with boys’ independent senior schools mostly taking from Year 9, some boys may need to move to a Prep school for Year 7 and 8.

Dare to disagree? Be my guest! Book a family tour here and see what you make of Gateway fro yourself.

Gateway School, 1 High Street, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, HP16 9AA. Tel: 01494 862 407.

Gateway School, Great Missenden

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