WHAT? WHERE?

Winchester House School (WHS) is a nurturing, non-selective co-ed prep, pre-prep and nursery school for 3-13 year olds sitting in 18 acres in south Northamptonshire. Part of the Stowe group of school (including Stowe School and Swanbourne School, both in Buckinghamshire) since 2021 and as such an official feeder prep for Stowe, you’ll find its honey stone walls and huge wrought iron gates at the top of the high street in the attractive market town of Brackley.

Respected locally as a strong all-rounder day and boarding option, WHS currently teaches 320 pupils, 90 of whom board either occasionally, flexi or weekly. Small classes sizes of around 18 are guaranteed here, and you’ll find a split of 55% boys to 45% girls.

The school was established in 1875 in Kent before moving to Brackley in 1918 to escape the coastal dangers of WW1 and into the current location in 1926. The half-timbered Manor house, originally designed in the 19th century as a faux-Tudor hunting lodge, retains a sense of grandeur with plenty of turned wood, wall panelling, a grand staircase, stained glass and Manor-house style gardens. At present it’s mainly used for dining, administration and – on the top floor – boy’s boarding, with lessons taking place elsewhere but huge changes (and investment) are afoot, with all boarding moving into this area by September 2024.

FACILITIES

SPORT

If your child like sport, it’s happy days at WHS, with access to 6 rugby pitches, 2 football pitches, 2 hockey pitches, a full size astro, 3 cricket pitches, indoor and outdoor nets, 2 squash courts, 5 netball courts, 8 astro tennis courts, a 400m 10 lane athletics track, a rifle shooting range and – go on, why not – an 20 metre outdoor swimming pool. A massive benefit for children at WHS is also access to the extraordinary facilities at Stowe School for swimming, athletics and cross country.

Rugby, hockey and cricket are the main boys sports – the 1st XV rugby team are currently through to the national finals), while for girls it’s netball, hockey and most recently cricket, where they’re confident now to use a hard ball and share the first square with the boys.

There’s been some serious investment in sport staff over the last 12 months with a new Head of Sport appointed, plus from Sept 2022 two full-time positions of Head of Boy’s Games and Head of Girls’ Games, along with a Head of pre-prep PE.

Niche sports have also flourished here since the new head started, as part of an initiative to offer more breadth and inspire all children to find a sport they love. Polo club, a ski team, riding lessons, and squash all have their place here and for the younger years football (not exactly a fringe sport, I grant you, but new for WHS), supporting the sports department’s policy that every child has the opportunity to represent the school.

CREATIVE ARTS

Drama and Music seem to be well catered for with the usual singing and ensemble groups. Over 75% of the kids play at least one musical instrument which is very much on the higher side of what I usually see. There’s currently an orchestra of 23 members, which may sound small, but in a prep school of 320 kids, it’s quite an achievement to create an orchestra at all – I visit plenty of schools without one! There’s also an audition choir, Cantaris, which sings at school events and, before Covid, took biannual tours of Europe.

WHS’s performance facilities do need an overhaul, and they’re getting one – there’s massive investment of £2m+ in the planning stages for an upgrade to the performance hall, as well as boarding, Pre-Prep learning areas and classrooms. In the meantime, the show must go on, and the Drama department appears to be a highly popular area offering innovative practices like physical theatre and shadow puppetry which sit alongside the more traditional musical theatre, Shakespeare and film-making.

There’s a new head of Drama who is introducing new disciplines such as film-making, and encouraging entirely child-led productions such as The Little Shop of Horrors this summer. LAMDA lessons form a key part of the school day with around 100 pupils taking part each week. In 2021 a punchy 93 pupils took Speech and Drama Lessons in Years 5-8. with 82 of those taking LAMDA exams, and nearly two thirds of them getting distinction.

SCHOOL

In terms of general facilities, there are 3 recently refurbished specialist science labs, a smart ICT room, and updated Art & DT areas. There’s a charming ‘Secret Garden’ set behind a green wooden door – a lovely private, walled space where the children from nursery upwards are able to roam or take part in outdoor lessons.

LITTLIES

Winchester House School was an early innovator offering nursery places from 2014 in a modern setting, recognising that toddlers would eventually move into the school’s pre-prep and beyond. Its nursery department is thriving, with children able to start here in the term they turn three. They get to enjoy lovely weekly ‘Going Wild’ sessions in the Secret Garden, and they also use all the facilities of the main school, including specialist teachers who come over to the nursery to teach ICT, French, music and sport.

The development of the new boarding house within the main school will have the knock-on effect of improved facilities for Pre-Prep for Sept 24, with a new separate sleep room for the Nursery, a dedicated Pre-Prep hall for performances, indoor PE and dining and of course more space for increased pupil numbers.

ACADEMICS

WHS really monitor pupils abilities and academic progression. Children are screened either before or upon entry to the school with all pupils from Year 1 being screened annually using standardised tests. Learning Support staff are on hand to discuss any concerns expressed by teachers or parents. These progress reviews are discussed on a regular basis and those children considered to be gifted, talented or more able are given ample opportunities to extend their skills. All the pupils are provided with sufficient challenge through opportunities which offer enrichment, extension and acceleration.

There’s specialist teaching in all subjects from Year 5, with Latin taught from Year 6 with Greek as a further option. 2021 saw 11 scholarships, three of which were academic. The school sees itself very much as an all-rounder, reflected in the wide range of scholarships won over the last five years in sport, music, drama and even computing.

Aside from the scholarships and senior school chase – bread and butter for all independent prep schools – WHS has a well-established Learn to Lead programme, a school initiative that encourages self-esteem, goal-setting, analysing personal strengths and weaknesses and becoming a good role model. There’s also an Independent Learning Tutorial system including drop in sessions and subject clinics.

PASTORAL CARE

This is an area where WHS is strong but has also bolstered since Covid. The ‘Winchester House Way’ is embedded into all aspects of the school with values such as forgiveness, sharing and ‘being my best self’. There’s a Wellbeing Mentor on site, based in The Cupboard (not literally, though it’s not far off), a small room located between the School Office and Chapel where the kids can talk about their feelings when they need to, and there have been two other recently introduced roles – Head of Years for Years 5/6 and Years 7/8), each of whom works closely with the tutors and two Assistant heads on pastoral matters.

BOARDING

With a total of 80 children boarding, there’s a homely atmosphere here that the head sees as as the ‘beating heart’ of the school. There’s certainly a desire to put boarding back at the heart of Winchester House School, whether that’s occasional, flexi, or weekly boarding and it appears to be working – boarding has grown here over the last 12 months. Kids can board weekly from Year 3 onwards, and it’s the only option available for boarders in last four terms, no doubt to prepare kids for Senior school.

Currently the boys’ dorm is in the manor house, with the girls in a separate, more modern building with sleeker accommodation (think wide screen TV and comfy communal sofas). However, the plans are approved to move all boarders into the manor house together to create one large co-ed boarding house in the school’s most beautiful building, with administrative rooms moving elsewhere – reflective I think of the priority the children are given here.

THE HEAD

Antonia Lee joined WHS in Jan 2022 from all girls’ day school St Helen’s in Northwood where she was Head of Prep, though her CV also includes co-ed and all-boys schools, and teaching in comprehensive secondaries.

With her own children now away at university and freedom to make a move with only herself to please, this is what Lee describes as her ‘forever school’ – in other words, she’s here to stay. Friendly and down-to-earth, ‘Tigger’ (as she’s known to her family – think boundless energy), is already making her mark on the school with her staff appointments, emphasis on leadership skills for the children and mindfulness timetabled and taught within the curriculum. She’s created a new vision statement for the school that, when released, you can expect to be totally pupil-centred. Gunning for an increase in pupil numbers to 370 within the next few years, she’s clearly ambitious for the school and the children.

QUIRKS

Winchester House School isn’t a place I’d associate particularly with quirkiness or eccentricity. It has tradition. It wants to demonstrate, as Lee says, “standards without stiffness”. It places a lot of emphasis on manners – you can win a cup for manners here! Not to mention cups for being a ‘Good Egg’, having an optimistic outlook (the Sweetnam Cup Half Full), cups for perseverance (the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On!’ in the Face of Adversity cup) and others for initiative, leadership, good values, and selflessness.

Also worth mentioning the fact that at WHS there’s in-house laundering of every child’s PE and Games kit. Quirk or miracle? Maybe both.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Flexibility is the name of the game at Winchester House School. Kids can be dropped as early as 7.45am for breakfast club and picked up at 6.30pm after prep and supper. with no extra charge. I can’t think of another prep school locally with such steel-reinforced wrap around care for day pupils.

Children here can board weekly, occasionally, or come as a day pupil to the school. Boarding seems very popular – 41% of all children in Year 3 and above board at least one night a week. The boarding houses look fairly standard to my eye though the girls dorms, as is so often the case, are in better nick than the boys dorms. Whilst WHS no longer offers morning academic Saturday school, kids can still sleep over on Friday nights. WHS have also introduced Mastery Mornings for Years 7 & 8 with workshops and classes and Sporting Saturdays take place each term so parents will be able to attend competitive sporting fixtures on selected weekends.

ISI REPORT

The school was inspected in Jan 22, literally as Antonia Lee started (talk about in at the deep end), but it’s happy reading for Winchester House School – check out the ISI report here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

No mobile phones are allowed anywhere on the premises for both day and boarding pupils.

TRANSPORT

Travel wise, a daily minibus picks up from Chipping Norton, Banbury and Bicester areas.

FEES

Pre-Prep: from £3,327 (Nursery – Y2) to . Prep (Y5-Y8): Day £7,236 and boarding £9,072). I’d say that’s on the upper side of average for this neck of the woods.

WORD ON THE GROUND

The parents I’ve spoken to are pro the school, happy with the academic side, and the music, drama and sport. There are loads of opportunities for all kids to take part in sports teams (the school regularly fields A, B, C, and D teams). Like most schools I visit there are corners of scruffiness but there’s plenty of investment going in to solve that. Head teacher Antonia Lee seems popular, and there’s a lot of excitement about how Stowe school, which is only 10 minutes away, is benefiting the kids.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Anyone looking for a traditional local prep-school with positive values but with all the extra curricular trimmings, with the ability to feed into all the top national senior schools. The relationship with Stowe School means that the extraordinary facilities at that school are now available to WHS pupils – a huge boon. The central town location is a plus for older children – the school actively outreaches to the community and other local schools. Anyone who likes the ethos of a non-selective school.

Not for: Parents looking for English eccentricity, or expecting pristine teaching blocks or bucolic country views from every direction may wish to look elsewhere.

Dare to disagree?! Take a look for yourself, to arrange a personal tour or an initial virtual meeting, please contact the Admissions Registrar, Stephanie Reeder, or call 01280 846 497.

Winchester House School, 44 High Street, Brackley, Northants, NN13 7AZ.

Winchester House School, Brackley

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