Sevenoaks Prep School, Sevenoaks
Winner of the national Muddy Stilettos School Award for Outstanding Pastoral Care, this co-ed prep is also known for its first-class facilities and a great all-rounder education.
WHAT? WHERE?
An established co-ed independent day school, with 360 pupils from 2 to 13 years old. As well as drawing a lot of children from the immediate area (Sevenoaks Prep is located just on the outskirts of the town) Sevenoaks is also a popular destination for families relocating both from London and abroad.
These same families are then drawn to the prep school thanks to its long-standing, excellent reputation. The school’s good name has been further boosted by winning national recognition in the Muddy Stilettos Best School Awards 2024. Sevenoaks Prep beat entrants from around the UK to win the Award for Outstanding Pastoral Care, sponsored by Debrett’s Education.
FACILITIES
Despite being a town-based school Sevenoaks Prep (also known locally as The Prep) sits in 25 acres of playing fields and backs onto Knole Park, the 1,000 acre deer park, which is used for nature walks and cross-country running.
Five years ago the school celebrated a milestone 100 years since The Prep was founded in 1919. To celebrate, the school designed and built the smart Centenary Centre (pictured below) a project that was largely possible due to contributions from parents who clearly feel very connected to the school.
The Centenary Centre is a huge space which is primarily for teaching the older years Y6-Y8 pupils and has now become the central hub of the school.
There’s a focal library when you enter, complete with mini amphitheatre-style seating, so making the perfect presentation space. The rest of the building flows as you walk through – past new classrooms, science labs, an IT zone and an art studio.
The building is a light and large space – bold and imaginative – and has a very grown up campus feel about it. Walking around you can feel the energy and buzz created by this space – the children clearly love it too.
I’d say this smart building reflects the high quality of teaching at The Prep. When I visited, an ex-professional tennis player was giving the older pupils a talk on her time competing at the top of her game and answering their (many) questions.
SPORT
There’s the usual generous dollop of super sporting opportunities that you’d expect from a top prep school (team sports include football, hockey, rugby, cricket, cross country, athletics and netball). There are lots of opportunities to participate in a range of sports throughout the year in their extra curricular clubs including judo, fencing, golf, football, athletics, Futsal, tennis and netball.
Teams compete in IAPS regional and national tournaments and at more local tournaments in a variety of sports. They encourage sport for all and every pupil in Years 3 to 8 gets the opportunity to represent the school in fixtures each week while Year 2 actively participate in various matches and tournaments throughout the year.
School Houses compete in all sports and some, including football and cricket, involve boys and girls in mixed gender teams representing their House, which we thoroughly approve of.
MUSIC & DRAMA
On top of that is orchestra, choir, chamber choir and fun music competitions, such as, Prep Idol and House Music. As many as 70 per cent of children play instruments and there’s lots of opportunities to get involved in drama productions.
Every pupil from nursery to Year 8 has the chance to take part in a drama production each year, either acting or behind the scenes. These include nativities and summer shows in the Pre-Prep, end of year shows in Year 3 and Year 4 and then a middle school and senior school production. House drama and house music are also annual events where the Year 8 pupils produce, direct and manage the other pupils in their house performances.
There’s a real focus on making sure that the older children at ‘senior school’ age are fully stretched. For example, Year 7 & Year 8 put on a performance of Frankenstein. They also staged Romeo & Juliet, bringing it bang up-to-date by adapting the play to set it in the modern context of Glastonbury.
Recent middle school and senior school productions include Pride & Prejudice, War of the Worlds, Oliver and Peter Pan.
ART
All pupils receive a double period of art and DT each week and a number of visits from practicing artists are arranged each year too. Pupils are taught a range of skills including drawing and painting, animation, printmaking and 3D product design.
Art takes place in the Art Room in The Centenary Building in a big, light, bright space, that has the brilliant enviable storage space for materials you only see in a purpose-built space.
I walked in on a lesson where they were making Bake Off inspired cakes out of sponges and covering them with highly realistic looking decorations and icing (that they’d also manufactured themselves). Really imaginative stuff.
In the Prep-Prep, there is a dedicated art room where pupils are encouraged to use their imaginations and to explore their topic work through different mediums. From Reception, pupils benefit from regular Art lessons in The Centenary Centre with The Prep’s specialist art teacher.
DIGITAL CREATIVITIY
Digital creativity’ very much part of the curriculum. All students in Years 1 to 6 develop fundamental skills in Computer Science. Part of their learning is spent using an online course (code.org) that allows them to work at their own pace. Each year group has a specific course (A to F) to complete, that has several tasks to do.
Each task develops a student’s understanding of sequencing, looping, conditions, events, problem-solving and algorithms. These are all the fundamental skills needed with the computer science discipline. Last year, six students reached the second round of the Bebras Computer Challenge. Logical thinking in the Pre-Prep and coding & minecraft clubs are popular.
ACADEMICS
A popular school, the main entry points are Nursery, Reception, Year 3 and Year 7. Nursery and Reception are non selective and early registration recommended (priority is given to siblings of current pupils).
For those entering Year 7 children wanting to join the school will be offered a place subject to a successful taster day and assessment.
In Year 3 the children are streamed in maths. In Year 7 & Year 8 the children are streamed across all subjects.
With so many great boys and girls grammars in the area it’s not surprising that there are some leavers at the end of Y6, but many choose to stay.
The main independent feeder schools are Sevenoaks, Hurstpierpoint College, Tonbridge, Caterham, Sutton Valence, Walthamstow Hall and Kent College.
Having said that, a strength of the school is the breadth and quality of senior schools to which they send pupils whether to local grammar schools at 11+ or to independent schools after Common Entrance. The Headmaster meets with all parents, usually during the first term in Year 5, to discuss options for the child’s future and to begin an ongoing dialogue.
The school offers independent advice on which school might best suit your child and use their knowledge of the full range of senior schools, both local and further afield.
They are not surprisingly proud to point out that in July 2024, once again, Year 8 pupils achieved 100% pass at Common Entrance with 85% being awarded A/A*.
Scholarships were awarded to various senior schools including Sevenoaks and Caterham. Just under one third of their 2023/24 Year 8 and Year 6 pupils received scholarship places including Academic, Sports and Music scholarships, bringing their total to 49 scholarships over the past three years.
PASTORAL CARE
Is excellent – as evidenced by beating other UK schools to win the Debrett’s Education Award for Outstanding Pastoral Care in the Muddy Stilettos Best School Awards.
The Prep also received the Wellbeing Award for Schools. In order to qualify a verifier interviewed parents, staff, governors and pupils as part of the day and was really impressed with the knowledge and dedication of all parts of the community at The Prep. They were also runners up in the Prep School category in the You HQ Global Wellbeing Awards.
The general feedback is that staff are thoughtful, knowledgeable, caring and enthusiastic about their role in supporting Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health.
The school has made it a priority to put initiatives in place that equip pupils with the tools to cope with life’s challenges – which we all know will come – so they want to promote resilience, positive wellbeing and mental health for all.
HEADTEACHER
Mr Luke Harrison is so at home in his role as head here it’s no surprise to learn that he’s an old boy of the school. The children in turn seem very respectful, yet relaxed in his presence.
His wife Clare is assistant head and in charge of admissions. She’s a font of knowledge too and they make quite a dynamic duo – having worked together throughout their professional career and in a senior school setting.
Their daughters have also gone through the school so this really is a place close to their hearts. Mr Harrison’s mantra is: ‘If the child is happy everything follows.’ Any parent with a child of school age knows this to be true.
He actually teaches too (not as common as you’d think) – his subjects are English and Drama. And he gets stuck in – even performing himself at the annual Prep Idol when the main hall is turned into a live music arena fit for any rock concert. ‘Much to everyone’s horror!’ he jokes.
Luke Harrison also talks convincingly about the range of benefits in keeping your child at prep school until the end of Year 8 – giving them a ‘mini sixth form’ top of the tree experience while still in a very intimate setting where they can really shine.
And of course having those two extra years in a setting that is familiar and secure while they go through such an intense period of social and physical development – i.e. puberty does sound like it has a lot of advantages.
WHAT ELSE & NEXT STEPS?
The pupils in the top two years are very much encouraged to develop their responsible side and ‘help run’ the school so as to keep them engaged and stretched at an age where a lot of children are already in secondary school.
The Centenary Building space is very much geared towards these older years – and feels more like a Secondary School space. To reinforce this, children are given extra responsibilities. Those that have a flair for ICT become digital leaders and help teach the Pre-Prep, that kind of thing.
Year 7 & Year 8 have a different uniform (they move into black blazers, pictured above). Plus there’s some great initiatives. like the Oak Award, a bit like Duke of Edinburgh for Years 7 & 8s.
The advantage here of course is that they still have the super supportive environment of a prep. The teachers in Year 7 and Year 8 are secondary school trained and experienced.
Throughout the school pupils are given the opportunity to reinforce their classroom learning with regular trips and their post exam schedule of activities is diverse and rewarding. Year 7 & 8 highlights include Bushcraft week, a ski trip, the memorable Battlefields visit to France and Belgium and a residential on the South Coast to name a few.
NURSERY & PRE-PREP
The Pre-Prep is set aside from the main building to give the smaller children the sense of a smaller, safe environment but near enough for them to feel included and share the facilities when needed.
Helen Cook has been Head of the Pre-Prep since 2017 and believes that if children are happy and feel secure they are more likely to embrace the opportunities and challenges that are offered.
Bright and colourful both in the building itself (see above) and the surrounding grounds (see play equipment and astro below) it has its own hall and dining room too.
Reception and Years 1 and 2 get specialist teaching (by prep school teachers and in the prep side of the school) in art, music, IT, science and PE as well as swimming.
The school journey at Sevenoaks Prep starts in Nursery at the age of 2. Nursery children do a minimum of 3 mornings a week chosing from various themes offered on different days – music, forest school, free-play etc. They then move into the main prep in Year 3, affectionately known as ‘The big side’ and remain there from age 7 – 13.
OUTDOOR LEARNING
Every child, up to Year 6, is timetabled to have an Outdoor Learning lesson each week. In the Pre-prep they call these ‘Outdoor Adventures’ and on The Prep side they are called ‘Outdoor Learning’. But the bottom line is all about the children developing a love for nature, connecting with the beautiful environment they are lucky to be based in, and having opportunities to be confident, resilient, independent and creative learners.
Pupils visit various nature areas around the school site which include the Forest Site, Allotment, Outdoor Classrooms and the nature trail – and they go out in all weathers. The philosophy is that they want the children to thrive, not just survive, so it’s about learning to dance in the rain!
Sevenoaks Prep has also recently received the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with distinction for the second year running, in recognition of their environmental work over the last academic year.
USP & QUIRKS
Children are encouraged to work and play according to the Sevenoaks Prep ‘Way of Life’ (kindness, belonging, inspirational – those kinds of things). These principles are illustrated in simple, bright signs dotted around the school, which is a nice touch (see above).
A new initiative worth a mention is the Junior Duke Award which started up last year. The Junior Duke Award is a nationally accredited certification for children which follows the ethos of (but is not associated with) the Duke of Edinburgh Award that is adopted at most secondary schools. Children complete a series of challenges and the award encourages children to take learning beyond the classroom and foster life skills that develop the whole character.
WRAP AROUND CARE AND HOLIDAY CLUB
New, longer length childcare has been very well-received throughout the school.
The school offers wrap around care for Pre-Prep pupils from 7.30am (Breakfast Club) until 6.00pm (After School Club, which will include a snack). So busy parents are well catered for. For older pupils, there’s the opportunity to do Prep and clubs at school too and the day can be from 7.30am to 6.00pm.
The recent introduction of an onsite holiday club for children across the year groups is a welcomed addition as the school is able to fully support families and their working needs throughout the year.
FEES
The fees are calculated per term and are…
Nursery and Kindergarten, £480*per session or £940 for a full day, (click here for full details).
Reception: £4,592; Year 1 and Year 2: £5,237; Year 3 to Year 8: £6,287. Having done our sums and comparing termly cost these fees are very much inline with other preps in the local area.
WORD ON THE GROUND
I spoke to several parents with children at The Prep who all commented on the sense of community at the school. Teaching is considered excellent. The children, almost without exception, go on to their preferred choice for secondary. I also chatted to pupils during my visit, spending time chatting to Year 8s in particular. They were polite, confident and bright – a credit to the school.
MUDDY VERDICT
The school can’t be pigeon-holed as a ‘sporty’, ‘musical’ or an ‘academic’ school with different subjects all appearing strong. This is a genuinely good all rounder school with a heart, steered by a strong leading partnership who have deep personal bonds with The Prep.
The popularity of this school speaks for itself – it’s not unusual for prospective parents to tour the school in pregnancy to get their child’s name on the list.
Good for: children who would thrive in an academic environment but it isn’t a hothouse school and you don’t have to be Einstein’s love child to get a place here. Anyone looking for a school well immersed in the community – parents also benefit from the location – there’s dog walking into Knole Park via the back gate and families popping along to use the site at weekends to teach their kids to ride bikes etc.
Not for: anyone wanting the grandeur of a school set in a posh historic house – the school’s smart enough but many of the buildings are modern and purpose built. Anyone wanting a very small setting. This is a fairly large prep however it is split into two areas (Prep and Pre-Prep) and both feel cosy and well proportioned.
GO SEE FOR YOURSELF: Contact their admissions team to arrange a personalised tour at a time that suits you.
Sevenoaks Prep School, Godden Green, Sevenoaks TN15 0JU, Tel: 01732 762336, theprep.org.uk
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