WHAT? WHERE?

Ashford Prep School consists of three Nurseries, a Pre-Prep and Prep school, in the picturesque village of Great Chart. On the one hand it’s a rural setting with 44 acres of land, 25 acres of which are playing fields, but it also has the convenience of being just over 2 miles from Ashford station so perfect for those commuting to and from London.

The three nurseries currently look after just over 240 children, and there are 273 pupils in Reception to Year 6. The school saw a 10% increase in pupils last year in the wake of the pandemic and the considered move from London to the countryside for many people.

The word ‘bored’ will not exist in these pupils’ vocabulary thanks to a staggering 85 Co-curricular activities at their disposal during breaks and after school as well as playing a staggering number of sports fixtures and putting out up to eight teams for boys, and eight teams for girls on a match day.

We will also add that the school has one of the most varied list of extra-curricular clubs that we have witnessed on our Muddy school recces with the incoming Go-Kart construction club as a flavour of the wealth of fun activities on offer.

FACILITIES

In 2005, Friars School merged with Ashford Girls’ to form Ashford School, which now consists of the Prep School at the Friars site in Great Chart, and the Senior School on East Hill in Ashford town centre. There is real mix here of the old with the new.

The main house now looks after the admin dept, head and staff room, and breaks out into a huge space, built in 2006. What you will now find is an impressive building with a huge amount of space (both inside and outside) for kids to learn a wealth of new skills – the obvious and the not so obvious.

As well as a fabulous LOC (Learning Outside the Classroom), the School has recently introduced a Forest School area with a firepit perfect for roasting marshmallows. There is even a whisper of a Beach School coming in Summer 2022 so watch this space!

SPORT

Aside from a sports hall that is scheduled for renovation in the next year or so, the facilities in this department are top notch and this is reflected in the results too. An all-purpose all-weather astro-turf (with floodlights) was installed a few years ago and a pavilion was opened this term right next to it – with changing room and dining facilities which are used for match teas. Muddy confession, we have sampled their flapjacks and they are a little addictive.

U11 teams regularly end up in the finals of the national IAPS competitions with the girls (U11) hockey team having ranked as high as second nationally in recent times, so the proof is in the pudding on this front.

Swimming is also a huge success story for the school with regular wins at inter-school galas which I am sure is partly aided by the fact that swimming is part of the curriculum at the school, starting from Nursery right through to Year 6 in the on-site 20m heated indoor pool. Any dolphins in your family? Send them this way…

As well as the standard sports that you may expect from a quality prep, the school is also known for its cross country (well there are acres to practise in) and placed third nationally for biathlon (running and swimming) and modern pentathlon (running, swimming, riding, shooting and fencing). We’re exhausted just thinking about it.

As well as the wealth of clubs on offer, ranging from sailing, riding and judo, so no stone is left unturned in finding a skillset that might interest your child. Success stories aside, it is an inspiring place to play with so much greenery around you.

ICT/DT/ART & HOME ECONOMICS

These departments are all conveniently housed in the same area and close to the Music School. There’s a very nurturing feel to this side of the school as we were greeted by the wafts of Year 4’s homemade tomato soup, made with onions grown in the garden and cultivated by the school’s Gardening Club, with mooing cows in the near distance. It struck me that from a child’s point of view that this is a great environment to learn as the setting feels homely rather than a stiff school setting.

Year 3 and upwards come to this area to learn these crafts (Pre-Prep do Art in their classrooms). The Art Room benefits from a kiln, so pottery is on the cards and lessons are built around learning about different artists and producing art to reflect them. Graffiti is within the mix to ensure that learning is also modern and relevant.

The DT department has a 3D printer as well as a laser printer so the students can do innovative projects based on these tools and there are also DT days at the Senior School to motivate the next generation.

Computing is also a real strength in the School with not only a 1:1 iPad provision from Reception upwards and banks of school laptops, but also lots of opportunities to grapple with new skills like coding and programming. We were particularly impressed with the interactive robots and watching the children apply their programming knowledge to make their robots do all manner of activities. The school hopes to move towards becoming an Apple Distinguished School in the not too distant future.

MUSIC & DRAMA

Drama is a key part of Ashford Prep School – and is a stand alone subject, as well as built into the English curriculum not only to inspire the pupils but as a great tool to help with confidence building. Year 6 productions are considered a big part of the school year and Years 3, 4 and 5 also put on entertainment evenings throughout the year (dances/poetry/plays).

Word on the ground is that it’s not always the most obvious candidates given the big parts every year to ensure that everyone gets their moment in the spotlight. Drama classes take place in the hall and they are often linked back to wider topics such as anti-bullying to ensure that these life lessons are nicely weaved into the learning process.

Music is also a highlight here and it was refreshing to see how encouraging they are with initiatives such as the Viva Violins, as well as the range of choirs available for all standards – from the Young Voices (pre-prep Choir) right through to the selective Chamber Choir.

Classes from Reception to Year 6 have Class Music lessons and the option to learn individual instruments if of interest – around two thirds of children take up the option to learn a musical instrument.

ACADEMIA

Here you will find an average class size of 15 (with a three-form entry) for most age groups and a 1:9 staff to pupil ratio. There are assessments in English and Mathematics for entry into Year 2 and above, as well as an interview (nothing to worry about – more like a chat) with the Head of Prep, which takes place on a Taster Day.

Younger pupils are assessed by spending a session in the setting where they are observed by teachers. Considering the weight of good grammar schools in the area, an average of 60% still heads to the senior school with the remaining mainly heading to local grammars.

As previously mentioned, pupils, from Reception – 6 have their own iPad which they take to all lessons, but only use when there is a genuine opportunity for technology to improve the learning.

On my visit, a Year 6 class were using their IPads with a new Questions by Learning app which allows teachers to swiftly identify if anybody is struggling with a topic or question and provide tailored support to move their learning onto the next step.

French is the main language taught with the option to learn Spanish through clubs. SEN provision includes a dedicated break-out learning area for pupils to get one-to-one support, and further plans to enhance this area throughout the school.

The aim is to develop the current availability and use of technological aids to help support SEN children within mainstream education e.g. maths tools, handwriting practices, dyslexia friendly apps etc. on the children’s iPads so that the tools are always accessible to them.

THE HEAD

After beating off some pretty stiff competition, Nick Tiley-Nunn was appointed Head of Ashford Prep School in September 2020, replacing Penny Willetts.

His previous position was at Norwich High School for Girls where he served as Head of the Prep School and Nursery since 2016.  Nick Tiley-Nunn is also an ISI Team Inspector, published author and regularly delivers tailored professional development and training to schools and educational professionals in a consulting capacity. If that all sounds rather intense, he is also very approachable and likeable.

Everyone, seems excited about what he’ll bring to the school – including Michael Hall, Headmaster of Ashford School, kids, parents and, of course, Nick Tiley-Nunn himself who is clearly relishing the new role as well as his family as his two children have also joined the school. As Nick identified, when we caught up with him, he is very lucky to be able to pick up the reins of such a well-oiled machine and his role is to ‘help it shine a little bit more.’

And some of those wheels are already in motion with a big focus on wellbeing with ‘Always Be Caring’ as one of the school’s new mantras. This is spun out in many ways with the obvious self-care, caring for others, the environment as well as caring about your future and what path you can create for yourself.

Well-being Journals have been shared with pupils packed full of fun anecdotes and opportunities to doodle down your thoughts and pictures helping them think about their achievements and evaluate what is special to them. Nick is working hard to define pupil voice throughout the school and this is a pretty good place to start.

LITTLIES

Again, Ashford Prep School gets a big tick for this category, with three nurseries on offer:

Ashford Prep School Nursery is for children aged 3 to 4 years and is situated at the Prep School site in Great Chart.

The Stables Nursery, set on the same premises as the Prep School, opened in September 2019, with the capacity to take children from 3 months to 3 years. As you can well imagine, they are not short of space to roam around plus, when they make the transition to the Prep School, it will not be such a daunting experience for them. Typically, 50% go from Nursery to Ashford Pre-Prep with the remaining heading off to local primary schools. You can tell it is popular with local families as there is currently a waiting list so get in quick…

For those looking for an in-town solution or have older kids as well as pre-school aged ones, Bridge Nursery is based by Ashford Senior School and takes children from 3 months to 3 so all bases are very neatly covered!

There is a healthy capacity with 80 at the Nursery and 72 for the Prep School Nursery. Staff to pupil ratio for under 2 years is 1:2, for 2-4 years is 1:4 so you are getting some quality hands-on care here.

The ethos at the Nursery is focused on Adventurous Learning and they are in the right setting for that. There’s a big focus on music, playing instruments, role play, acting out stories, dancing and moving to music as well as painting, drawing and other craft activities so no bored kiddies here.

QUIRKS & USP

With a recent decision to abolish traditional after school ‘homework’ and replacing it with actively encouraging children across the school to take part in their enrichment programme (with over 200 children actively taking part daily).

The basics of reading, spellings and times tables are still expected to be practised at home, but that’s it – and interestingly – the wider development that the enrichment programme brings has had a noticeable improvement on maths and literacy results. As a consequence of this, you’ll find is an environment where the focus is on ‘happiness breeding success’. As the church bells pealed away and tractors tootled past, I too was in a pretty happy place upon arrival.

A special shout-out also needs to go to the wide Enrichment Programme which includes a huge range of clubs on offer that really think about the individual children’s interests with upwards of 85 co-curricular activities on offer during breaks and after school, ranging from Mindfulness and Coding right through to Debating, French, Drama, and Building, Engineering and Construction club with all the obvious ones in between.

ANYTHING ELSE?

A hot topic within education, Ashford Prep School places a large emphasis on mental health and wellbeing starting with staff who can take advantage of yoga sessions, pottery workshops and massage sessions to ensure that they are in the best frame of mind.

They have trained over 20 staff members in Mindfulness and host regular mental health awareness assemblies with guest speakers and charities like Mind.

Mental health talks are also hosted to educate parents and there is a wellbeing team comprising of 3 counsellors who provide support to children through drop in sessions and play therapy should the need arise. Health Centre nurses on site are trained in mental health (plus a pastoral team including a chaplain and form tutors) as well as selected Year 6 children who can be the eyes and ears within the playground.

Each child has a go-to person identified as well as their form teacher, a champion who can support that child throughout the school. There are also plenty of quiet zones such as the peace garden within the adventure playground if boisterous play is not your kid’s idea of fun as well as break clubs such as LEGO to keep everyone happy during their down time.

Children learn more about mental and physical health in designated PSHE sessions as well as them weeks throughout the year. Previous theme weeks have included laughology, learning about pets as therapy and a smoothie bike during lunch. Exercise and healthy food – win/win.

WRAP AROUND CARE

You can drop children off at 7.30 for Breakfast Club with the school day starting at 8.30am and finishing at 4pm with the option to stay on for clubs until 5pm and then After School Club until 6.30pm which works particularly well for any parents needing to commute to and from London. There are holiday clubs (including half term) which are open to everyone – even kids not at the school – which is good for mixing up the dynamics and for pupils with siblings at other schools.

It’s also worth mentioning that there is a free shuttle bus from the Senior to Prep school – meaning parents can benefit from one drop-off if struggling for time and have children that straddle both schools. School buses also head as far as Folkestone, Dover and Canterbury.

FEES

Reception £3,605 per term.

Years 1 – 2 £3,605 per term.

Years 3 – 6 £5,200 per term.

There are only bursaries for Pre-Prep and Prep but there is support with scholarships (within Sports, Music, Drama, Art & DT, and Academia) for Year 7 upwards at the Senior School.

WORD ON THE GROUND

It’s all very well getting the spiel from the teachers and co during your visit about a school but what you really want to know is what the pupils really think too. Muddy got acquainted with a couple of Year 6’s during our visit to find out the lowdown.

They were delighted by the lack of homework, particularly as this rule had not been set up when one child’s older brother was at the school, but more importantly (their words, not mine) it meant that less pressure when they got home and they could relax or concentrate on learning about life.

The clubs are a big hit for them, quoting National Geographic, Junior Life Guarding, News, Drama and Rugby as particular favourites. Trips away also get the thumbs up including their Bushcraft sessions where they claimed to have eaten salmon eyes….yikes. I was hugely impressed by the friendly confidence these children showed.

Parents also seem very happy too quoting the incredible grounds on the edge of farm-land, the pastoral care that is very supportive of every child and the unrivalled opportunities that the school offers as the main driving factors for them. Most of all, their children are very happy which is music to any parent’s ears.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

GOOD FOR: Those looking for endless space and opportunities as the wealth of options here will help you identify an area where your child can excel – and enjoy. Sporty children will also benefit as the school ranks highly in local competitions and it will certainly suit those who groan at the very mention of the word homework. I would also say it’s a great option for anyone working in London due to excellent wrap-around care and proximity of the school to station.

NOT FOR: The school has a three-form intake, which makes it larger than some other preps locally, so anyone looking for a more intimate-sized school might hesitate. However don’t rule it out, because each of those forms are small in pupil numbers and the staff to pupil ratio is very good. Each child is certainly known and nurtured. The lack of scholarships (which you often find available for the older Prep School years) might be prohibitive.

Don’t just take our word for it – go and see for yourself by booking a tour so you can find out more about the school, meet the teachers, its current children and the Senior Leadership Team. Email the Registrar, Daisy Davidson: davidsond@ashfordschool.co.uk.

Great Chart, Ashford, Kent, TN23 3DJ, +44(0)1233 620493, www.ashfordschool.co.uk/

Ashford Prep School

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