b'MIDLANDS AND WALESsuch as PDA in the past. Accommodations areat sensible nightly rates from year 3, although pupil centred and may include additional individ- the reality of demand makes it more like year ual support (paid for), use of technology in lessons5 and above. Head says, We dont push board-and differentiated or supported prep. ing, it happens naturally. However, with most Parents are a hotchpotch of old farmingfamilies local, numbers of full/weekly boarders families, local business owners and home coun- usually only creep into the mid-teens and Covid ties refugees, many rst time buyers and not athas pushed this well down into the single digits. all pretentious. Theres always a congregationFlexi seems popular with the year 5s and up, par-of us having a natter in front of the log re inticularly on Fridays and after sports clubs.the entrance hall, they tell us. All are enchantedThemed termly big weekends are the high-by the wholesome, rustic aspects of school life,lights of the school calendar and no-one is waxing lyrical about their children climbing treeshalf-hearted about dressing up. Wild west week-and coming home with pockets full of stones andend with bucking bronco, Harry Potter night leaves. This is a school with its own mud run,complete with live owls, camo weekend with where conker ghts are de rigeur. Theres den- rations and sleeping under canvas, live human building and pond-dipping and you can learn toHungry Hippos (far too complicated to explain) shoot an air rie. Pupils can apply for their ownand Fright Night, a (slightly disturbing) Halloween small allotments to grow fruit and vegetables.night walk with replica spooky graves and steam-Everyone gets involved in the autumn when iting cauldrons; We scare the bejesus out of them! comes to feeding apples into the press and creat- Parents like that it breaks down the barriers to ing some rather delicious juice. Techno-heads (asfuture full boarding.well as some health and safety purists) may strug-gle. No electronic prep systems and not a sniff ofMoney matters: Scholarships up to 30 per cent a mobile phone. Owning one is more of a year 8of fees available for year 3-7 entry. Means-tested exit rite of passage and parents reluctant to bebursaries available according to need and funds the one to start it before then. in the coffers.Boarding: Boarding seems like a right old romp.The last word: The Moor Park ethos is perhaps rem-Homely dorms in the eaves and spooky cel- iniscent of a time when childhood was simpler lars for hide and seek provide the perfect spotsand, for many parents, the bubble of pleasing for all types of mischief. Its not boarding, itsinnocence is all part of its appeal. A traditional home. So theres home-cooking at the weekendcountry prep that maintains strong family values (dont forget the washing up!) and the morningand a culture of kindness, while also adding some alarm call is an over-enthusiastic sproodle calledinnovative teaching into the mix. No wonder they Fudge. Full, weekly and exi boarding is availableturn out more than their fair share of scholars.Moreton Hall School HN19Weston Rhyn, Oswestry, Shropshire SY11 3EW01691 773671|[email protected]|www.moretonhall.orgAges: 11-18 Pupils: 298; sixth form: 124; Boarders: 173 fullFees: Day: 28,71031,080; Boarding: 35,73037,770 paPrincipal: Since 2019, George Budd, previouslyAs of September 2021, Moretons offering for deputy head at Godolphin, Salisbury. A geog- boys has extended from the prep into the senior rapher (Durham University), his background isschool where they can now stay until 13. Mr Budd almost exclusively at independent girls schools,believes that allowing boys to stay until year 9 having also worked at Lady Eleanor Holles forsaves them drifting for two years (and lets face three yearsrst as head of geography and subse- it, is a more attractive offering to parents). After quently assistant headand Sir William Perkinssage 13 he is adamant about the benets of girls School as head of sixth form for six years. only education, full of statistics about take-up for 1057'